“Who Owns the Water? The Global Grassroots Fight to Take Back the Tap” with Maude Barlow, Canadian Anti-Corporate Water-Rights Activist

Summary: “The global water crisis is one of the most serious issues of our time. Maude Barlow is an outstanding leader who has pioneered people's and nature's right to water for the last decade. Blue Covenant will inspire civil society movements around the world.” –Vandana Shiva, physicist, ecologist, activist, editor, and author of Biopiracy and Stolen Harvest The “water wars” are on the horizon. Just like oil today. We suffer a moral predicament as big corporations reap windfall profits from privatizing water while billions go thirsty. Bottled water today sells for many times more per gallon than gasoline as public water systems decay. Instead of our policy makers pressing for conservation, corporations are set to make billions on energy-intensive technologies to desalinate and clean sewage water and sell it back to consumers. But who owns our water in the first place? How can we protect this common resource for all, now and forever? There is no one better to address this issue than Canadian anti-corporate activist, and world renowned expert on water rights, Maude Barlow. She will discuss how protecting our water sources from corporate interests is as crucial as curbing greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, she will lay out the actions that we as global citizens must take to secure a water-just world — a “blue covenant” for all. Read Maude's latest article on Alternet.com About Our Speaker Maude Barlow is the national chairperson of The Council of Canadians, Canada's largest citizens' advocacy organization with over 100,000 members and 70 chapters across Canada. Maude Barlow is also the co-founder of the Blue Planet Project which works to stop commodification of the world's water. Maude Barlow began her career as a high-profile leader of Canada’s Women’s Movement, eventually becoming an advisor on women’s issue to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. In 1985 she helped to found the Council of Canadians and continues to this day to act as its national chairperson. Most of Maude’s work focuses on the regional and global trade agenda, with water being an issue of equal special concern. Working with Tom Clarke, Maude has been influential in defeating the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), and campaigning against the World Trade Organization’s free-trade agenda, especially at Seattle (1999) and Cancun (2003). Maude serves on the boards of the International Forum on Globalization and Food and Water Watch and is a councilor with the Hamburg-based World Future Council. In addition to being nominated for the "1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005" she is a recipient of the "2005/2006 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship" and the "2005 Right Livelihood Award". She is the best selling author or co-author of 16 books, including Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop Corporate Theft of the World's Water (with Tony Clarke), now published in 47 countries. This event co-hosted by: Many thanks to the co-sponsors of this event: Boston Climate Action Network (BCAN) Massachusetts Global Action Clean Water Action - Massachusetts