bluegoldciara

__Blue Gold,__ 2008 Director: Sam Bozzo
 * 1. Title, director, and release year? **

2. **What is the central argument or narrative of the film?**

This documentary shows how water resources are being exhausted and polluted by corporations. The supply of water in several countries’ waterways is unequally distributed due to privatization. Corporations are controlling these supplies through the ownership of municipal and regional water services, including bottled water, dams, and the construction of water infrastructure. Globalization is supporting this through deregulation of policies pushed by multinational corporations. Water is seen as a commercial security by these businesses, not as a necessity of life for humanity.

The World Trade Organization dominates tariffs on developing countries, which allows the corporations to make a larger profit by not allowing taxes on traded goods. Developing countries are especially being taken advantage of and their resources are being depleted. Large aquifer projects take away water from poorer nations, and strip away their rights to fight back. Some examples of this injustice in the film are: one of a family in South Africa, where the mother cannot give her family enough water to survive. Another very outrageous scene is when a family’s shelter burns down and they don’t have any water to put the fire out.


 * 3. What sustainability problems does the film draw out? **

This film addresses several facets of sustainability problems. Water, just like oil, is a finite resource; however, water can be conserved. The privatization of water does not follow this principle.

The water industry follows the inherently unsustainable globalization model, which is wreaking havoc on the environment. Production demands are exploiting natural resources. For example, damming rivers for hydropower reduces biodiversity of several fish and aquatic species worldwide. Blocking rivers, they stress, blocks the nutrients that keep ecosystems healthy and fertilize lands. The privatization of water is also contributing to climate change, especially in the transport of water from region to region. **4. What parts of the film did you find most persuasive and compelling? Why?** I was compelled by the citizen activism in the movie, especially the Michigan alliance that stepped up to stop nestle from pumping their aquifer. I feel that this encourages citizens to become activists in the movement. If everyone did their part, corporations could be shut down. 5. What parts of the film were you not compelled or convinced by? Why? It was very discouraging to see the water wars in Bolivia, however it was an important feature to show in the movie for awareness purposes. This could be smaller-scale representation of what our future could look like if we don’t act soon. Water could be privatized by the military as well.

**6. What audiences does the film best address? Why?**

This The film best addresses an audience which has some recognition of the water crisis, but would like to gain a broader awareness of the problem itself. I am inferring this from my own experience. This film gives supporting evidence that this issue needs to be confronted by the public.

**7. What could have been added to this film to enhance its environmental education value?**

The film could have added more water use statistics to give the viewer a stronger idea of how much water is used and wasted. For example, how much has urbanization impacted water supplies? A larger volume of water needs to be transported in spread-out communities.

8. **What kinds of action and points of intervention are suggested by the film? If the film does not suggest corrective action, describe actions that you can imagine being effective.**

The film shows citizen activism as part of the solution. One was Ryan’s Well Project, which was started by one boy who learned of children in developing countries that don’t have access to clean water. He started to raise funds to buy a well, and learned that he didn’t actually have enough to buy a well. Outraged, he began public speaking and has raised awareness about bringing clean water to these suffering regions.

The film truly gives optimism to the viewer. There are interventions that can be used, and it is not too late to act. The earth is able to renew itself, as long as we act before it is too late. Small community projects and individual actions can add up. For example, there is a movement to put a moratorium on housing growth until water supply is available. Also, homes using low-flow shower heads can save a significant amount of water annually.

9. **What additional information has this film compelled you to seek out?**

Water desalination, which was one of the interventions that corporations may get their hands on in the future if natural supplies are depleted, piqued my interest as to how intensive the process is and how economically viable it is.

Water desalination removes excess salt and minerals in the water by converting it into freshwater using vacuum distillation. It typically uses large amounts of energy. It is much more costly than using freshwater from rivers or groundwater. Yet, since we are not using this natural resource sustainably, we may have to use this technology to survive. Also, desalination may only be a viable solution for richer nations.

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The water war in Cochabamba, Bolivia also piqued my interest. In 2000, the World Bank wouldn’t renew a loan contract with the city unless water was privatized. The US water corporation, Betchel, was responsible for this control. They raised water rates and people had to obtain licenses to collect rainwater from their roofs.

Protests followed daily against these rates and water cut-offs. Eventually, the protests ignited a strike that shut down the city’s economy. Betchel then removed itself from Bolivia. The local activists involved gained recognition and spread the message about anti-globalization to environmental organizations all over the world.

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