Week+11


 * WEEK 11 - BLUE GOLD **

 Water is a human right as it is a basic need for survival. All known forms of life exist from liquid water. It should be held in the “public trust”, to be easily accessible to everyone on a global scale. The movie “Blue Gold: The Water Wars” showcases our growing increase for fresh water as well as how much we waste and pollute this resource. It notes how corporations are privatizing water supply in developing countries for economic and political gain. Control of water will eventually lead to water becoming a commodity as demands increase and water supplies diminish. World water wars refer to how military control of water will create new geo-political maps and power structure. It follows examples of people fighting for their basic right to water as court cases and protests and revolutions.
 * 1. The central debate regarding water is water a commodity to be bought, sold and privatized, like Coca Cola or is it a human right, held in “public trust”? What does the movie “Blue Gold: The Water Wars” posit in this regard? This question will become central to our society in the next twenty years. **


 * 2. Write a one-paragraph biography of Maude Barlow. What is her most outstanding award? **

Maude Barlow is a Canadian activist who is concerned with promoting the human right to water. She is the co-founder of the Blue Planet Project, and involved with Food & Water Watch. She has authored and co-authored 16 books. Her most outstanding award is the //2005 Right Livelihood Award// (also known as the //Alternative Nobel//). She has won numerous other awards, such as the //Citation of Lifetime Achievement// which she received at the 2008 Canadian Environment Awards, the //2009 Earth Day Canada Outstanding Environmental Achievement Award//, the //2009 Planet in Focus Eco Hero Award//, and the //2011 EarthCare Award//, the highest international honour of the Sierra Club (U.S.). She has also been named the first UN senior advisor on water issues.

**3. What UN Resolution did Maude Barlow work on to have passed in relation to water? Why is this resolution so monumental?**

Maude Barlow served as a Senior Advisor on Water to the 63rd President of the United Nations General Assembly. She led the campaign to have access to water sanitation and health recognized as a human right. “Water justice” and “water democracy” is an issue that has affected many people globally; the UN estimates that 42,000 people die every week from diseases related to bad water and poor sanitation. By making water a human right, Barlow hopes to also prevent water from being privatized by companies and making clean water a monopoly to be economically controlled.

**4. Describe the concepts of “the commons” and “holding in the public trust”.**

The commons are resources that are shared by everyone, and maintained and used collectively to serve the greater good. Commons can range from natural resources like forests to more anthropogenic examples such as democracy, government, sidewalks, and parks. They should provide equitable access for all of society.

Holding in the public trust is the concept of having a resource made accessible to present and future generations. In regards to the commons, resources likes fresh clean water and biodiversity in natural environments should be accessed in moderation today to remain sustainable for the next generation to use.