The wars of the next century will be about water. That is what activist and author Maude Barlow warned on yesterday’s Democracy Now. Sitting in our firehouse studio, she explained that the consumption of water doubles every twenty years–more than twice the rate of the increase in human population. At the same time, she explained, transnational corporations are plotting to control the world’s dwindling water supply. In England and France, where water has already been privatized, rates have soared and water shortages have been severe. The major bottled water producers–Perrier, Evian, Naya, and now Coca-Cola and PepsiCo–are part of one of the fastest growing and least regulated industries, buying up freshwater rights and drying up crucial supplies. In the end, corporate giants act in their own interests and water flows only to the wealthy, who can afford it.

Well, today on Democracy Now! we are going to continue our conversation with Maude Barlow, author of ??Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of the World’s Water. I started by asking her how extensive the threat is to the world’s water supply.

Guest:

• Maude Barlow, national volunteer chair of the Council of Canadians, Canada’s largest public advocacy organization, and author of ??Blue Gold: The Fight To Stop The Corporate Theft Of The World’s Water.

Related link:

• Council of Canadians

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