water is a right...

i have been doing my level best to be as green as possible in our current living situation. we live with my mom, stepdad, and little brother, none of whom is particularly green-minded. however, we do what we can. i've stopped using plastic bags at the store and started using the reusable kind. i bought a water filter and stainless steel water bottle to cut out the bottled water buying when i'm on campus. in other words, i'm trying. all of this is to say that it aggravates the ever-loving crap out of me when i see companies being willfully anti-earth.

last night, i caught most of flow: for love of water, a fabulous documentary, on sundance. i hate that i missed the beginning and most of the middle, but the parts i saw were enough. the film goes to several places in the world including india and bolivia to investigate what basically amount to abuses of water. in india, coca-cola started bottling and ruined the local water supply within 6 months. the water was so bad that it made your skin itch and burn when used for bathing. they finally ousted the bastards. in bolivia, the world bank threatened to withhold water development grants and other money unless they privatized the nation's water. suez (one of the 3 big private water management companies from europe) took over , and instead of actually building the multi-million dollar treatment facility they claimed to have built, raw sewage was directed into a river which emptied into lake titicaca. closer to home, nestle (owner of pure life, deer park, zephyrhills, and at least 3 more water brands) came into a michigan area and promptly cause water levels to drop to insane points. they also pumped so much in zephyrhills, florida that sinkholes began forming. utter disregard for the land and people on it in the name of profit.

this is not really anything new, unfortunately. but it doesn't mean we shouldn't be pissed...the filmmakers started a petition to add a 31st artcle to the UN's declaration of human rights...

"Everyone has the right to clean and accessible water, adequate for the health and well-being of the individual and family, and no one shall be deprived of such access or quality of water due to individual economic circumstance."

this isn't that hard to understand...despite the fact that many claim not to...go to article31.org and sign the petition...and watch flow...because water is a right, not a privilege.