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The full citations for books referenced on this site are given below. A few other items, such as DVD's, are also listed. Hopefully your local library system will be able to provide all of these resources for you. |
| Barlow, M. (2004). The Corporate theft of water [videorecording]. Woods Hole, MA: Z Video Productions. |
Maude Barlow, chair of the Council of Canadians, describes in detail how corporations, with the collusion of governments, have stolen water from communities, mostly in third world countries, and sold it back to citizens at outrageous prices. In an interview with Sonali Kolhatkar of KPFK Pacifica radio, Barlow adds to the information in her talk by describing in more detail how the corporate theft of water has been carried out worldwide. She closes with information about the groups struggling for water justice. |
| Barlow, M. & Clarke, T. (2002). Blue gold: The battle against corporate theft of the world's water. Toronto: Stoddart Publishing. |
Review: A clear-cut description of the reasons why we will be battling over water in the next centuries. Big companies, such as coca cola, buy up freshwater rights very rapidly and the water consumption still doubles every twenty years. Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke, active opponents of these trends, show how water shortages consist and how water only flows uphill to wealthy people who can afford it. The book captures in striking detail the forces behind the increasing depletion of the world's freshwater and its human and ecological impacts. Review from:Lenntech |
| De Villiers, M. (2003). Water. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. |
Winner, Governor General’s Award for Non-Fiction Water – where it is, who owns it, how much we’ll need, and how to make sure we’ll have it – is quickly emerging as one of the most important ecological issues of the new century. de Villiers describes the grim situations in arid regions – in the southwestern United States, southern Africa, Mexico, Egypt, Israel, India, and Asia – and makes it clear just how serious the ramifications can be. He outlines how water is being manipulated by technology, used as a political bargaining chip, or imperilled by ignorance – and what this could mean to us in the future, how it could shape the way we live. We must act now, says de Villiers. And although our choices are conservation, technological invention, or violence, he sees hope in the fact that we still have choices. Summary from:McClelland & Stewart |
| Maich, S. (2005). America is thirsty. Maclean's Magazine, Vol 118 (48). |
They're already looking for ways to take our water. We should tone down the emotion and figure out how to sell it to them. The first hint of water tension surfaced in 2001, when U.S. President George W. Bush made an offhand comment that he'd like to begin discussions with Ottawa about a framework for international trade in water to alleviate shortages. Canadian reaction was swift, shrill and unequivocal: "We're absolutely not going to export water, period," then-environment minister David Anderson said. The issue quickly faded from the headlines, but not from the public consciousness. Whether it's inherent distrust of corporations, latent anti-Americanism, or simple fear of ecological destruction, Canadians recoil at the very thought of treating water like oil or natural gas, or any of the other commodities that form the bedrock of the Canadian economy. In the words of Maude Barlow, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians and the country's leading water crusader, "Water is part of the Earth's heritage and must be preserved in the public domain for all time. Instead of allowing this vital resource to become a commodity sold to the highest bidder, we believe that access to clean water is a fundamental human right." |
| Shiva, V. (2002). Water wars: Privatization, pollution and profit. Cambridge, MA : South End Press. |
Vandana Shiva's concise, intelligent and well-written book Water Wars examines the political economy of water, a scarce resouce that is fast increasing in value all over the world. Among many themes explored in the book, the author effectively contrasts two markedly different approaches to water stewardship: centralized vs. decentralized management systems. Centralized systems are associated with private for-profit capitalism whereas decentralized systems are typically managed by local community co-ops. Shiva draws from her extensive knowledge of her native India to describe how centralized controls imposed during the colonial and post-colonial eras have largely failed to meet the needs of the people and the environment. She discusses how dams built with World Bank and other foreign dollars merely reallocated water resources at an enormous cost to the environment and to the many poor people displaced from their ancestral homes. The author also points out that modern pumps installed in the name of progress have unfortunately succeeded in withdrawing water at an unsustainable rate, thereby causing thousands of wells to run dry and consequently causing suffering for many. On the other hand, Shiva relates cases where villagers have returned to native systems of water management that have succeeded in resuscitating wells, streams and rivers that had previously dried up. These projects are managed democratically by the villagers themselves with an eye towards sustainability and social justice (everyone gets their fair share of water but no one gets more water than necessary). Shiva also gave the book a spiritual dimension. She cites both ancient and contemporary sources to prove that water holds special meaning to people the world over for its unique life-giving properties. The implication is that it is perhaps immoral to regard water as merely the latest market opportunity. Clearly, respect for the natural environment and the needs of other people requires us to do better. Water Wars is a great book for anyone who cares to learn more about water management issues and democracy. Taken from a customer review on Amazon.com |