Mama Gone Green is a blog dedicated to raising happy children and reducing our impact on the Earth. My name is Taryn and I am the mother of 2 young kids and an environmental studies instructor at a community college in Portland, Oregon. Please join me as I journey through life as a mama, teacher, knitter, photographer, gardener, and environmentalist!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Blue Gold: World Water Wars: A Review

I just finished watching a moving film called Blue Gold: World Water Wars. This film shared many of the same stories as FLOW (For Love of Water) and Water Wars, and even though I have heard this information many times, I was moved to tears more than once. Maybe those tears were partially due to pregnancy hormones, but even so, this film presents some important ideas that need to be shared.
This film focuses on the world's water supply, and how while it is dwindling away, governments across the globe are practically giving their water away to huge multinational companies to generate a profit from. Governments are taking water away from their own people in exchange for personal gain. Water across the globe is becoming privatized, and the cost to the people is skyrocketing while the water quality is degraded. Many citizens in developing countries cannot afford to pay for the water that comes out of their tap, so they instead walk miles to a polluted stream and risk contracting deadly diseases. And why? So some huge water company from Europe or the US can turn a big profit for their shareholders.
As climate change continues to haunt us and more and more water is being used for crop irrigation and industry, the water we do have is becoming more and more valuable. Groundwater supplies are diminishing and above ground sources are becoming polluted, yet the only people who seems to really understand the true value of water are those who have realized they can make a profit from it.
The best part of this film is the ending. It shows some of the successes in these water wars across the globe; the cases where the people banded together to stop the corporations and take back control of their water. It goes to show that YOU can make a change.. all it takes is a few like-minded individuals and some determination to demand the rights that you deserve.
I didn't enjoy this film quite as much as I enjoyed FLOW, but it is still a worthwhile watch. Thumbs up. Pin It Now!

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