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Summary: Another great book from AK Press
Review: A detailed analysis on one of life's staples, and the prognosis is not good. Chapters on the impact of globalization, the failure of governments, the threat of international trade and investment agreements, and a vital citizen's guide to action. "The wars of this century will be about water."
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Summary: pie in the sky
Review: A typical, poorly written rant from the left. It is contradictory and unrealistic in its scope, all the while avoiding the true underpinnings of the scarcity of available drinking water. Written by ivory tower idealogues who have no clue as to how the world works. Avoid this one sided, skewed rag.
Rating:
Summary: pie in the sky
Review: A typical, poorly written rant from the left. It is contradictory and unrealistic in its scope, all the while avoiding the true underpinnings of the scarcity of available drinking water. Written by ivory tower idealogues who have no clue as to how the world works. Avoid this one sided, skewed rag.
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Summary: Blue Gold
Review: Blue Gold is extremely easy reading replete with abundant data and reasons why private corporations should not be allowed to provide public services. While there is no doubt that private enterprise has failed in some cases and has been guilty of unseemly business practices, the authors completely ignore the dismal failure and inability of government to develop and manage water supplies. Santa Fe, New Mexico, for example, convinced their citizens that the Sangre de Cristo water company was poorly run and the water was too expensive. Since they took it over, service has been downhill and costs have been uphill. Readers are urged to use google to determine the Santa Fe water woes. The book provides a specious look at the Walkerton, Ontario affair, a publicly run water system, by saying the E. Coli outbreak was the fault of a private laboratory because they only reported what the government required. Other examples of poorly run public systems are too numerous to mention including Dar es Salam, Nairobi, Cochabamba and many others.The book is a pleasant and informative read but must be read with the understanding that the authors are completely opposed to any private involvement in the production and distribution of water. They make the mistake of equating the operation of a water system with the ownership of the resource. They make the mistake or would like the reader to believe that the cost of water is actually the cost of water. It is not. When we refer to the cost of water it is really the annualized amortation of the capital infrastructure cost and the annual operation and maintenance cost. There are very few situations where the water is sold as a resources, San Diego, El Paso, and San Antonio being a few recent examples. So to say water is like oil is misdirection. The authors also would lead readers to believe that bottled water is bad. In actual fact, bottling companies are held to the same standard as municipal systems for water quality. The authors are strongly opposed to the bulk water export from Canada or from anywhere else. Those who propose such schemes could not make their proposals unless there were an uneven distribution of water on earth and their proposals are sometimes received favorably by governments such as Israel in their proposal to temporarily import 50 million cubic meters for 10 years until their desalination plants are up and running.
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Summary: SOCIALIST VIEW OF WATER
Review: Blue Gold is extremely easy reading replete with abundant data and reasons why private corporations should not be allowed to provide public services. While there is no doubt that private enterprise has failed in some cases and has been guilty of unseemly business practices, the authors completely ignore the dismal failure and inability of government to develop and manage water supplies. Santa Fe, New Mexico, for example, convinced their citizens that the Sangre de Cristo water company was poorly run and the water was too expensive. Since they took it over, service has been downhill and costs have been uphill. Readers are urged to use google to determine the Santa Fe water woes. The book provides a specious look at the Walkerton, Ontario affair, a publicly run water system, by saying the E. Coli outbreak was the fault of a private laboratory because they only reported what the government required. Other examples of poorly run public systems are too numerous to mention including Dar es Salam, Nairobi, Cochabamba and many others. The book is a pleasant and informative read but must be read with the understanding that the authors are completely opposed to any private involvement in the production and distribution of water. They make the mistake of equating the operation of a water system with the ownership of the resource. They make the mistake or would like the reader to believe that the cost of water is actually the cost of water. It is not. When we refer to the cost of water it is really the annualized amortation of the capital infrastructure cost and the annual operation and maintenance cost. There are very few situations where the water is sold as a resources, San Diego, El Paso, and San Antonio being a few recent examples. So to say water is like oil is misdirection. The authors also would lead readers to believe that bottled water is bad. In actual fact, bottling companies are held to the same standard as municipal systems for water quality. The authors are strongly opposed to the bulk water export from Canada or from anywhere else. Those who propose such schemes could not make their proposals unless there were an uneven distribution of water on earth and their proposals are sometimes received favorably by governments such as Israel in their proposal to temporarily import 50 million cubic meters for 10 years until their desalination plants are up and running.
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Summary: Thoughtful, mature treatment of a vital issue
Review: Blue Gold succeeds at correlating the issue of dwindling fresh water supplies with the increasing power of multinational corporations. The book also suggests what needs to be done to secure a water-rich future for the world. Barlow and Clarke begin their analysis by discussing the shortcomings of many publicly-owned water systems, where the use of science and technology have overwhelmed the carrying capacity of the earth. The author's description of Mexico City literally sinking into the ground as underground water supplies are pumped to exhaustion is frightening. But private ownership of water will not rectify the situation. If the corporations' purpose is to serve shareholder interests, the authors argue, how can anyone suppose that water resources will be managed sustainably or equitably by them? Indeed, the book provides many examples of corporate projects that threaten to deplete local fresh water supplies in order to provide (short-lived) profits for investors. Yet, Barlow and Clarke show that schemes to transfer control to corporations are often promoted by the World Bank and other institutions that champion multinational capital investments. This should not be too surprising, as water infrastructures are not unlike other publicly-held assets that have become favorite targets of the investment community (disguised under the banner of "deregulation") in recent years. While making a compelling case that growing corporate influence can only make a bad situation worse, the authors spend several chapters discussing how people can begin to constructively address the situation and turn it around for the better. These sections in particular are thoughtful and are obviously written by persons who have spent a great amount of time on this issue. Far from being merely a "screed" (as the reviewer from the pro-business Cahner's reviews claimed), I found the author's thoughts in these later chapters to be mature, balanced, and humane. Water, as a necessity for life, might indeed be the one issue that unites people around issues of social, economic and environmental justice. I highly recommend this book for readers interested in learning more about an issue that will undoubtedly become increasingly important in the future.
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Summary: Pirating our Water Supply
Review: Blue Gold's a book to let you know more about where your water in America is going. Can we stop this theft of our most valuable resource. A study reports huge corporations seeking control of the world's water supply. These involve giant European corporations in collaboration with the World Bank. Together increasingly taking control of public water supplies with tragic results. a report 'The Water Barons' says that by 2002 private water companies were operating in 56 countries and 2 territories. This rose from a dozen in 1990. Companies that are expanding control are Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux and Vivendi Environment of France, Thomas Water by RWEAG of Germany, Suar of France and United Utilities of England working with Bechtel Co. of the United States. All of these have worked closely with the World Bank. They lobby aggressively for legislation and trade laws to require cities to privatize their water. A recent update is that these companies continue in their acquisition to control water companies in the Northeastern U.S. region.
In major cities around the world, they persuade governments to sign long-term contracts with major private water companies. The concern, is that a handful of private companies could soon control a tremendous bulk of the world's most vital resource. Are water barons providing a good product? One certain city in the U.S. cancelled it's water contract because of complaints of poor service and unsanitary water conditions. In other countries and poorer countries were unable to pay huge water bills were forced to drink from disease-ridden lakes and streams resulting the spread of deadly epidemic outbreaks such as chlorea. In regions of the U.S. where ground water isn't enough to support domestic and fire protection water needs. It's necessary to develop alternative sources of water. The water crisis is worldwide. Many countries are facing a severe shortage. Some will run out of water by the year 2011. Can we find alternative ways to conserve our greatest resource. And, in the meantime can we stop the railroading of public water to greedy giant corporate barons. This book is a eye-opener. Another good reading on this subject is, 'Cadillac Desert.'
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Summary: Blue Gold
Review: Compared with Marc Reisner's Cadillac Desert or Marq de Villiers Water I found Blue Gold to be relatively poorly researched, presenting only the authors' point-of-view rather than a thoughtful analysis of the world water situation. The authors failed to convince me that "public" (government) control of water distribution would be better than private control; after all, the government in the U.S. has a very poor record of equitable distribution, especially through Bureau of Reclamation projects. A private distribution system modeled after our natural gas distribution system, with a regulatory board setting prices and two-tier pricing (cheap baseline rates plus higher rates for use above baseline amounts) could perhaps work, but was not discussed by the authors.
I think, also, that the editing was somewhat poor: Does California factory-farm runoff really leak into the Ogallala aquifer (p. 34)? Did the FBI really order reservoir gates closed in Klamath Falls (p.65)?
Overall, I think better books are available that discuss the water issue in a less biased manner.
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Summary: A Wake Up Call
Review: Maude Barlow's "Blue Gold" is an eye opening book that helps us to see what is happening to our water. Slowly but surely, the ownership of our world's water, including water many of us drink at home, is falling under the control of private ownership. When this occurs, it is very tempting for greedy owners to increase the price any time they wish. Since there is usually no alternative for obtaining water, we as users are forced to pay or end up being cut off. This is not joke - because it has already happened in some places, and will happen more often as we enter a future of scarce water.
We are at a time in history where humankind's management of water will determine what life forms live and die on the face of our earth, including other humans. What ecosystems have water to sustain their life forms; what farms receive water to produce food for our escalating populations; what suburbs and cities receive water to continue growing while quenching the thirst of their rising populations; what manufacturers receive water to produce consumer goods - will all be determined by those who control or own the rights to water.
Over the past 30 years I have read hundreds of books on water - Barlow's book is one of the best when it comes to alerting us to the dangers of monopolistic control and ownership of our earth's waters. I recommend this book to anyone who cares about their children and our human civilization. Water is one of the basic rights any human being should have reasonable access to. Without water - you cannot live. What price you are willing to pay may soon be determined by owners who live in other countries and who could care less about your so called 'rights" to have water.
I see "Blue Gold" as a wake up call for all of us. It is only by being informed that we will be able to protect ourselves from being victimized.
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Summary: Threats to Blue Gold
Review: There are not many surprises in BLUE GOLD. The primary message of Maud Barlow and Tony Clarke's book echoes the Blue Planet Project, a global campaign to assert the universal right to water, of which Barlow is one of the international leaders. It is the 'battle against the corporate world' - here in particular the 'theft of the world's water'. Of course, it is not so much a 'theft' of water - the world's water supply has been more or less stable since the beginning of time - rather the increasing control by a small group of multinationals over the water's allocation to the peoples of this planet.
Consequently, the strength of the book is in its coverage of the multi-national corporations, the 'Global Water Lords', and the exposure of their expanding power over water delivery and processing systems around the globe. Initiatives to privatize water delivery at a national level probably started with Napoleon III in France in the middle of the 19th century. At that time, governments were usually in charge of water management. Since then privatization has spread from France to the rest of the world. Today, Barlow and Clarke maintain, some 10 corporate players dominate the global water industry. Two French companies hold the lion's share. Most of these major players are multi-utility providers, which increase their hold on the water resources of countries and regions. Once a government opens a door to privatization of any of the water related services, such as water delivery or waste management, it abandons its right to take back control at any stage even if water user groups complain about bad or no service or the company does not live up to the contract. The rules and regulations of the WTO see to that, the authors claim. Although the percentage of national water systems controlled by multi-national corporations at the present time is small, Barlow and Clarke want to warn of the trend and its implication. Examples are described where things have gone wrong: poor quality of project implementation resulted in water pollution and environmental damage, and/or communities and local business lost the water supply altogether. In these instances corporate water suppliers maintained their profit margin through cutting back in previously promised investments and/or increasing consumer rates. The latter was implemented without any regard to the capacity of the poor to pay. As a result, they could be cut off from the service. Barlow and Clarke's analysis of the progression of the global water crisis and its origins is less satisfactory. A reader unfamiliar with complex topic of water might find the tour d'horizon overwhelming. The review of the diversity of root causes at local, national and regional levels is superficial and tends to present generalizations where concrete examples would have been more meaningful. The tendency to paint a black and white picture with big business as the main villain sidelines other major reasons for water crises around the world. Agriculture is only mentioned in passing, although some 70% of all water resources are used by agriculture: agribusiness and millions of small-scale and mid-size farmers across industrialized and developing countries. Implementing water conservation methods (through improved irrigation, drought tolerant crops, etc) could lead to substantial water resource savings. Recent initiatives against global corporate water control highlighted in the section 'Fightback' are selective, emphasizing well-known international as well as North American cases. The approach is usually confrontational with clearly identified opposing sides. Examples of constructive multi-stakeholder collaboration efforts in many parts of the world which attempt to tackle water scarcity are not given enough recognition.
The 'Way Forward' spells out fundamental principles and recommends a series of standards that should be included in any agreement of public-private partnerships in the water delivery sphere. These include the involvement of water users in the planning of the systems, local stewardship and watershed protection, strengthen water preservation and reclaiming of polluted water systems. Underlying all these standards is the recognition of water as an essential part of life and the right of all beings to water whatever their social or economic status. A call for capacity building and education of consumers, communities, government officials and private sector actors at all levels should be added. BLUE GOLD is an easy read, maybe for some too easy considering the seriousness of the topic. It covers very important ground, often in an overview fashion that tends to generalize and take a black and white stand. Although it is obvious that the authors did comprehensive research in preparation of the book, it shows a certain lack of thoroughness by not providing citation references (footnotes), adequate source listings and a bibliography or reading list.
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