Our Water Commons blog
Published Friday, March 5, 2010 at 7:22 am | Permalink
People cringe in horror when they learn that Bechtel, in its quest to privatize water supplies in Bolivia years ago, actually prohibited people from capturing rainwater in barrels. But it turns out that a similar rule already applies to water in the State of Colorado. Under a legal doctrine of “prior appropriation,” it is illegal for someone to capture rainwater because it is preventing water from reaching a river, whose supplies are already allocated and owned by someone.
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Published Wednesday, September 9, 2009 at 2:16 am | Permalink
The pursuit of globalization has "led to a downsizing of social security systems as the price to be paid for seeking greater competitive advantage in the global market, with consequent grave danger for the rights of workers," and "budgetary policies, with cuts in social spending often made under pressure from international financial institutions, can leave citizens powerless in the face of old and new risks; such powerlessness is increased by the lack of effective protection on the part of workers' associations.
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Published Wednesday, September 9, 2009 at 2:08 am | Permalink
What to do when Mexico City, the eighth-largest city in the world, swallows up watersheds, diverts water from neighboring towns and villages and sinks a bit deeper each year due to over-extraction of water?
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Published Wednesday, September 9, 2009 at 2:02 am | Permalink
For over two weeks, Gloucester, Massachusetts residents and businesses were ordered to boil all water. For Dunkin’ Donuts, coffee is a big seller and with no boiling facilities, the boil order meant sharp temporary layoffs at their stores. You may not care much about Dunkin' Donuts' profit margins, but your heart would likely go out to the unemployed families.
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