Nestlé CEO Says Water Is Food That Should Be Privatized – Not A Human Right

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Do you believe water is a basic human right?

According to Nestlé CEO water is a foodstuff that should be privatized, not a human right. Nestlé CEO Peter Brabeck says that with the global population rising water is not a public right, but a resource that should be managed by businessmen. Please do share your thoughts.

Nestlé CEO Peter Brabeck: “Access to water should not be a public right.”

Amazon People Theaten War Against Brazil's Dam Projects Destroying Rivers

 

Brazil dam row – local activists march past machinery being used in the construction of the massive Belo Monte hydroelectric dam.

 

An Amazonian community has threatened to "go to war" with the Brazilian government after a military incursion into their land by dam builders.

The Munduruku indigenous community in Para state say they have been betrayed by the authorities, who are pushing ahead with plans to build a cascade of hydropower plants on the Tapajós river without their permission.

Public prosecutors, human rights groups, environmental organisations and Christian missionaries have condemned the government's strong-arm tactics.

Helicopters, soldiers and armed police have been involved in Operation Tapajós, which aims to conduct an environmental impact assessment for the first proposed construction, the 6,133 MW São Luiz do Tapajós dam.

The facility, to be built by the Norte Energia consortium, is the biggest of three planned dams on the Tapajós, the fifth-largest river in the Amazon basin. The government's 10-year plan includes the construction of four larger hydroelectric plants on its tributary, the Jamanxim.
Under Brazilian law, major infrastructure projects require prior consultation with indigenous communities. Federal prosecutors say this has not happened and urge the courts to block the scheme which, they fear, could lead to bloodshed.

"The Munduruku have already stated on several occasions that they do not support studies for hydroelectric plants on their land unless there is full prior consultation," the prosecutors noted in a statement.

A similar survey in November led to deadly conflict. One resident, Adenilson Kirixi, was killed and several others were wounded in clashes between local people and troops accompanying the researchers in Teles Pires village.

The ministry of mines and energy noted on its website that 80 researchers, including biologists and foresters, would undertake a study of flora and fauna. The army escort was made possible by President Dilma Rousseff, who decreed this year that military personnel could be used for survey operations.

Missionaries said the recent show of force in Sawré Maybu village, Itaituba, was intimidating, degrading and an unacceptable violation of the rights of the residents.

"In this operation, the federal government has been threatening the lives of the people," the Indigenous Missionary Council said. "It is unacceptable and illegitimate for the government to impose dialogue at the tip of a bayonet."

The group said Munduruku leaders ended a phone call with representatives of the president with a declaration of war. They have also issued open letters calling for an end to the military operation, "We are not bandits. We feel betrayed, humiliated and disrespected by all this," a letter states.

One of the community's leaders, Valdenir Munduruku, has warned that locals will take action if the government does not withdraw its taskforce by 10 April. He has called for support from other indigenous groups, such as the Xingu, facing similar threats from hydroelectric dams.
Environmental groups have expressed concern.

The 1,200-mile waterway is home to more than 300 fish species and provides sustenance to some of the most biodiverse forest habitats on Earth. Ten indigenous groups inhabit the basin, along with several tribes in voluntary isolation.

With similar conflicts over other proposed dams in the Amazon, such as those at Belo Monte, Teles Pires, Santo Antônio and Jirau, some compare the use of force to the last great expansion of hydropower during the military dictatorship.

"The Brazilian government is making political decisions about the dams before the environmental impact assessment is done," said Brent Millikan of the International Rivers environmental group.

"The recent military operations illustrate that the federal government is willing to disregard existing legal instruments intended to foster dialogue between government and civil society."

Dept Of Interior Endorses Removal 4 Dams Klamath River

 

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The four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River that block salmon migration and cause toxic algae blooms in stagnant lake water should be removed, concludes the most comprehensive environmental study ever done on the river system that flows from Oregon through California to the Pacific.

If the dams go - still no sure bet - 420 miles of historic habitat would open for the first time in more than a century.

The final environmental impact statement on what would be the biggest dam-removal project in California history was released Thursday by the U.S. Department of the Interior. It supports removal of the dams: Iron Gate, Copco 1 and Copco 2 in California north of Yreka (Siskiyou County), and J.C. Boyle in Oregon.

The study predicts dam removal would employ 4,600 people during 15 years of work, and result in an 81 percent increase in chinook and similar increases in steelhead trout and coho salmon.

The project, which would cost about $1 billion, including habitat restoration and sediment removal, would nevertheless cost less over time than maintaining the reservoirs and building federally mandated fish ladders, according to Interior Department scientists.
The report "represents the most comprehensive scientific, engineering and environmental evaluation of facilities removal ever undertaken in the Klamath Basin," said Ken Salazar, secretary of the interior, in a statement.

The secretary, who will have to sign off on the plan, said removing the dams would resolve a lot of water-related problems among Indian tribes, farmers and utilities in the Klamath Basin while restoring historic fish runs.

Wild and scenic river

The mighty Klamath, a federally protected wild and scenic river, flows 255 miles from Oregon through California to the Pacific Ocean, draining 12,600 square miles of mountains, forests and marshlands that some have called the Everglades of the West.

The dams have blocked salmon migration along the California-Oregon border since the first one was built in 1909. The Klamath is the third-largest salmon run in the lower 48 states, behind the Columbia and Sacramento rivers.

Destructive parasites and blooms of toxic blue-green algae also contaminate the water behind the dams during the summer. Water diversions to cities and for agriculture exacerbate the problem, according to fishery biologists.

Serious talk of removing the dams began in 2002 after a federally ordered change in water flow led to the death of 33,000 salmon in the river.

About 40 parties, including American Indian tribes, farmers and fishermen, signed the 2010 Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement, which laid out the process of removing the dams operated by the PacifiCorp utility beginning in 2020. The groups also approved the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, which would appropriate $800 million over 15 years to divide up water and restore the habitat.

"The scientific and common sense conclusion is clear," said Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael. "We should tear down these dams."

Congress' approval needed

The problem is that both agreements need the approval of Congress, which appears reluctant to approve large expenditures for restoration and other costs. Supporters are now calling on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to call hearings on the matter.

"Dozens of groups came together and, despite their very different perspectives, were able to hammer out these agreements," said Curtis Knight, the conservation director for California Trout, a conservation organization. "Congress must do its part to turn this proposed local solution into reality."

There are opponents

Still, opposition remains, particularly among the 100 or so owners of lakefront property created by the dams. The value of 668 parcels is expected to go down as the reservoirs are drained.
In addition, customers of PacifiCorp in Oregon and California would pay an extra 2 percent on their monthly electric bills to cover the cost of dam removal. PacifiCorp has agreed to pay the first $200 million, and California will cover any costs above that, according to the removal agreement.

Read the report

The final Environmental Impact Statement is available at
www.klamathrestoration.gov.

Do Drugs In Tap Water Cause Autism?

Autism has been and will continue to be a controversial issue, with the possible causes of autism being at the center of the discussion. While there are a number of possible causes of autism, some research has shown that anti-depressants and other chemicals found in the water supply could be helping to surge autism rates, specifically ‘idiopathic’ autism spectrum disorders.

Drugs in Water Leading to Autism

After exposing fish to two different anti-depressant drugs, Prozac and venlafaxine, and a seizure-controlling drug called carbamazepine, experts from the University of Idaho were ‘astonished’ after observing changes in the genetic pathways of the fish. They found that just traces of common medications and other chemicals in the water were enough to bring about autism. What’s more, the drug concentrations were comparable with the highest estimated environmental levels.

“While others have envisioned a causal role for psychotropic drugs in idiopathic autism, we were astonished to find evidence that this might occur at very low dosages, such as those found in aquatic systems,” said lead scientist Dr Michael Thomas.

This research lends even more concern for pregnant mothers who drink water with trace concentrations, who run the risk of passing along these drugs and other chemicals in the water to their unborn children.

Other Likely, and Possible Causes of Autism

In addition to research pinpointing anti-depressants and other chemicals in the water as possible causes of autism, there are a number of other likely and possible causes. Among the most controversial and the most researched causes of autism are vaccines. As children receive more and more vaccines at extremely young ages, mercury and other heavy metals are also being injected into these underdeveloped bodies.

The mercury and other heavy metals cause extreme amounts of toxicity, shown to contribute to neurological disorders and the development of autism. In one survey involving 7,600 people, only four children reported having severe autism – the mother’s tested very high in mercury in all four cases.

In other research, scientists found that overweight pregnant women have a startling 67% increased chance of having an autistic child than mother’s who are a healthy weight.

Latin America Facing World Water Forum

The media tells us that 8 million people die every year from illnesses related to water; that more than a billion people lack access to potable water; and that more than 2.4 billion do not have access to sanitation.

These grave numbers, revised upward every three years, are cited by the World Water Council as the reason for convening their tri-annual World Water Forum. While the Water Forum, billed with a strong corporate flavor as an “international multi-stakeholder platform,” has a different character than the annual Conferences of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the results are largely the same: a lot of talking, perhaps even a lot of good intentions, but little action, and universal frustration.

So it is that the Sixth World Water Forum opens today (March 12-17) in Marseille, France. At $1000 for participants from wealthy nations, and about $450 for participants from the ‘under-developed countries,’ the cost of attending makes the forum inaccesible to those who come from the countries of the Global South.

And so it is that every three years those of us who believe this Forum to be illegitimate gather together to denounce it. And every three years, over the course of many months, organizations and movements from around the World come together to hold the Alternative World Water Forum. We have done so previously, in Kyoto in 2003, in Mexico City in 2006, and in Istanbul in 2009. Now, in 2012, in Marseilles, the last details for this year’s convening are being worked out.

The challenges facing our social movements are enormous. The greatest of these challenges is the construction of viable alternatives to the dominant economy and to the regime of natural resource management that is based on extraction, exploitation, and extreme energy.

The questions are clear, the answers diverse and complex. For example, who should convene these fora? If the World Water Council has no legitimate right to push decisions regarding global water issues, does the United Nations? We are struggling to put water in public hands – but is it truly public when the State controls it? Or when it is in the hands of us, the people? How can we create conditions where State-managed water systems coexist with systems developed and managed by the community? How can we get beyond the demagoguery that dominates the discourse of human rights and the Human Right to Water? In the cases of Bolivia and Ecuador, how can we advance the defense of Mother Earth and her natural Rights when the practical demands of running a country within a global economy are in direct contradiction to ecological concerns?

Wherever we are headed, the world continues turning, and it will not stop in Marseille. Throughout the Americas, discontent is on the rise in the face of governments left, right and center, red, green and pink. We are witnesses, not to a series of isolated uprisings, but to a global movement against the unwarranted ambition of the corporate agenda, and in defense of the Commons.

In Chile, the population of Aysén has risen up and put state authorities in checkmate, because the government of Sebastian Piñera remembers them only when it comes time to launch a hydroelectric project.

In Ecuador, March 8, International Women’s Day, marked the launch of the National March for Life and the Dignity of the People. The march, convened by the National Confederation of Indigenous Nations of the Ecuadorian Amazon (CONAIE) and other sectors, seeks to unmask the neoliberal policies of the Correa administration and the ongoing criminalization of the indigenous peoples’ movement. The march, which began in the province of Zamora and will end in Quito on World Water Day, March 22, is also in defense of the Constitution of Montecristi and the approval of the revolutionary agrarian law and the popular water law.

Not long ago in Peru, a similar March for Water ended with the alignment of new social sectors following the approval by the government of Ollanta Humala of mining projects in Cajamarca, in the face of widespread resistance and discontent.

In Bolivia, the peoples of the Indigenous Territory and National Park Isiboro Secure (TIPNIS) are preparing their ninth march against the Villa Tunari-San Ignacio de Moxos highway that the Morales government continues to promote as part of the interoceanic corridor to unite Brazil to Chile.

In the United States, the Occupy movement has been evicted from the plazas, but has expanded to the neighborhoods and other public spaces in the form of workshops, gatherings, and assemblies that may easily come to be more of a threat to the authorities, and teh authroitarians, than the simple occupation of public spaces.

Hours before the beginning of the World Water Forum in Marseille, reflecting on what is happening in our countries, I feel a kind of anger that it is an affair like this – a gathering of corporate elites – that brings us together, again. Every three years we unite to delegitimize and denounce this profit-oriented trade fair that is built on our backs by the corporations that make up the World Water Forum. It shouldn’t be this way.

But, I maintain hope: the day will come when we will gather together not to respond to the destructive agenda of the corporate elites, but because we see the way forward, because we have a clear, common agenda; because we are called by solidarity to do so. We will gather together because we will have learned not only from our defeats, but from our victories.

At the end of the day, we will join together because we desire to do so, as brothers and sisters on this planet we call Earth, and because it is our legitimate right.

Marcela Olivera is a Bolivian water rights activist, based in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Currently she is a Visiting Global Associate of the Center for Women’s Global Leadership at Rutgers University.

Will The Dust Bowl Return To The US?

For decades, the heartland of America has been the breadbasket of the world. Unfortunately, those days will shortly come to an end. The central United States is rapidly drying up and dust bowl conditions will soon return. There are a couple of major reasons for this. Number one, the Ogallala Aquifer is being depleted at an astounding pace. The Ogallala Aquifer is one of the largest bodies of fresh water in the entire world, and water from it currently irrigates more than 15 million acres of crops. When that water is gone we will be in a world of hurt. Secondly, drought conditions have become the “new normal” in many areas of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and other states in the middle part of the country.

NOTE: Not to mention the enormous amounts of water used for fracking, GMO crops etc.

Toilet To Tap Water

Next time you pour a glass of water from the tap try not to think about this - you might be about to drink what you once flushed away.

Rising numbers of Americans are consuming wastewater, or 'toilet on tap', without even realising it, according to an official report.

Even though it once contained human waste, food scraps and bath scum, the National Research Council claims that it could actually be better for you than fresh water.

It also says says that only wastewater that has been treated gets back into circulation, although the last industry-wide study was done was back in 1980.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, wastewater is nothing more than 'used water'.

It includes substances such as oils, soaps and chemicals and comes from sinks, bathtubs, toilets, washing machines and dishwashers.

Businesses and industries also contribute their share of used water that must be cleaned.

Wastewater is sent to a treatment plant where large material is filtered out before it is oxygenated to make it safe for human consumption.

The NRC looked at water drawn from a normal source that had five per cent wastewater and compared it to a sample which had been completely treated.

'You can have a supply that is as safe as the current drinking water supplies. It's a drought-proof supply.'

- Professor Jörg Drewes

By examining 24 different potential contaminants and a number of pathogens, they found no difference in risk between the two.

In fact, when it came to the pathogens, the fully wastewater sample had fewer.

The announcement from the NRC is a change from its stance in 1998 when a paper said that reclaimed water should only be used for drinking as 'an option of last resort'.

Jörg Drewes, an engineering professor at the Colorado School of Mines who contributed to the report said that wastewater was now a 'viable option'

He said: 'This can be done reliably without putting the public at risk.

'We can really say that there is no difference from the risk standpoint. You can have a supply that is as safe as the current drinking water supplies.

'Wastewater is a drought-proof supply. People are always generating wastewater.

'That can be a very viable option, the committee felt, compared to imported water and other options.'

Water scarcity is growing problem in the U.S. especially in arid states like California and Arizona.

Contributing to the problem is the amount we waste - less than 10 per cent of drinkable water is used for cooking, drinking, showering or washing dishes.

Olga Naidenko, a senior scientist at the non-profit Environmental Working Group, said: 'We flush it down the toilet, literally...we have to do something'.

In the instances where wastewater has been put back into the system, voters have sometimes reacted badly and rejected it.

Water reuse projects also tend to be more expensive than most water conservation options, although they are cheaper than seawater desalination.

In Arizona a case is currently ongoing in the Federal Court over the use of reclaimed water to make snow at a ski resort.

Until it is resolved the U.S Forest Service in Flagstaff has put up a sign telling people not to eat the snow, even though it is considered safe for skiing.

NOTE: Drinking water should not be used for flushing toilets, there are ample means of composting without water. Most of California already drinks waste water, but has yet to catch on that allowing "gray water systems" would save water, plus allowing rain catchment systems.

Yes, the waste water is treated, then chemicalized with potent toxins, rendering in harmful to touch or drink.

Collecting Rain Water Off Your Roof Illegal In Many States

Collecting rainwater is now illegal in many states as the Government claims ownership over our water sources. Yes even rain water. ~ Health Freedoms\



Many of the freedoms we enjoy here in the U.S. are quickly eroding as the nation transforms from the land of the free into the land of the enslaved, but what I’m about to share with you takes the assault on our freedoms to a whole new level. You may not be aware of this, but many Western states, including Utah, Washington and Colorado, have long outlawed individuals from collecting rainwater on their own properties because, according to officials, that rain belongs to someone else.

As bizarre as it sounds, laws restricting property owners from “diverting” water that falls on their own homes and land have been on the books for quite some time in many Western states. Only recently, as droughts and renewed interest in water conservation methods have become more common, have individuals and business owners started butting heads with law enforcement over the practice of collecting rainwater for personal use.

Check out this YouTube video of a news report out of Salt Lake City, Utah, about the issue. It’s illegal in Utah to divert rainwater without a valid water right, and Mark Miller of Mark Miller Toyota, found this out the hard way.

After constructing a large rainwater collection system at his new dealership to use for washing new cars, Miller found out that the project was actually an “unlawful diversion of rainwater.” Even though it makes logical conservation sense to collect rainwater for this type of use since rain is scarce in Utah, it’s still considered a violation of water rights which apparently belong exclusively to Utah’s various government bodies.

“Utah’s the second driest state in the nation. Our laws probably ought to catch up with that,” explained Miller in response to the state’s ridiculous rainwater collection ban.

Salt Lake City officials worked out a compromise with Miller and are now permitting him to use “their” rainwater, but the fact that individuals like Miller don’t actually own the rainwater that falls on their property is a true indicator of what little freedom we actually have here in the U.S. (Access to the rainwater that falls on your own property seems to be a basic right, wouldn’t you agree?)

Control The World? Control The Water!

30% US Water Supplies Contaminated With Parkinsons Causing Solvent

A global team of scientists are hailing a major breakthrough in finding a significant link between exposure to an industrial solvent and Parkinson's disease.

A team of scientists from the U.S, Canada, Germany and Argentina found that individuals who had been exposed in the workplace to trichloroethylene (TCE) were six-times more likely to develop Parkinson's.

Due to concerns about its toxicity, the use of TCE in the food and pharmaceutical industries has been banned across much of the world since the 1970s.

However, the chemical is still used as a degreasing agent.

Dr Samuel Goldman of The Parkinson's Institute in Sunnyvale, California, who co-led the study published in the journal Annals of Neurology, told the BBC: 'Our study confirms that common environmental contaminants may increase the risk of developing Parkinson's, which has considerable public health implications.

'Our findings, as well as prior case reports, suggest a lag time of up to 40 years between TCE exposure and onset of Parkinson's, providing a critical window of opportunity to potentially slow the disease before clinical symptoms appear.'

20 Year Cover Up Radiation In Texas Drinking Water

It's the water you drink, clean in and pay for. It's the water you rely on, because you have to have it.

For the past year the KHOU 11 News I-Team has been investigating the quality of the tap water in Texas.

What they found was surprising: That many of the state's communities have a real problem with radioactive contamination in their local drinking water.

However, the team also discovered that many of those consuming it didn't know they were also being exposed to a health risk.

With these latest discoveries, KHOU 11 News is presenting Investigative Reporter Mark Greenblatt’s findings in a comprehensive one-hour special.

In the program (seen in the five parts below), you'll find out how state scientists found some of Texas’ water could pose a 1 in 400 cancer risk.

You'll also find out how neighborhoods across the state have been getting illegal amounts of a particularly damaging form of radiation, an exposure that some say was “covered-up” by Texas officials.

We’ll present how water with under-the-legal-limit amounts of radiation still might not be “safe”.

You'll read about how concentrated "bursts" of radiation could be released into your home (see note from Dr. Bill Field below) from water pipes that become "a hidden risk" themselves.

NOTE: This is a thorough investigation and represents great resources for those living in Texas.