Blue Gold: World Water Wars

"Blue Gold: World Water Wars" was originally released in 2008 but its message is even more relevant today.  As world fresh water supplies decrease the looming specter of water wars is becoming more apparent.  We didn't get the message in 2008 and we're still not doing what we need to do worldwide to protect our water.

The film was produced and directed by Sam Bozzo, who originally intended to produce a sequel to the 1976 science fiction classic "The Man Who Fell to Earth" starring David Bowie.  The film was about an extraterrestrial being falling to earth at a time when earth was running out of water.  In his research for the film Bozzo came across the book "Blue Gold: World Water Wars" and he was moved to make a documentary film based on this book instead of his original plan for science fiction.

One critic has stated:  "It's not a film about saving the environment.  It's a film about saving ourselves." Ancient societies cherished their water and there were many rituals conducted around it.  In contrast our world has made it a commodity to be handled for profit by the most powerful bidder.  Giant corporations are not only bottling and selling it, they're also depleting the ground water while other multinationals contaminate that same ground water through industrial agriculture.

We are now facing a time when water is in short supply for a few big cities worldwide and Mexico City is at the top of the list. The film offers a few solutions for the conservation of water but the main message is the necessity to organize and resist.  Communities need to resist the huge international corporations that are trying to steal their water in the context of water privatizations. Some impressive examples are given of communities that have opposed these multinationals successfully but the companies are still operating freely in many parts of the world, favouring their shareholders over the local populations. This film makes it very clear that our future on this planet depends on our collective will to understand and resolve this water crisis.