There are enough people still asking “What’s Twitter?” that announcing we’ll be participating in Montreal’s first Twestival tomorrow night may just add a layer of confusion. But to just skip to the chase, tomorrow night will see an awesome fundraising event that has it’s origins purely in the world of twitter, but has grown into a series of regional parties. The good cause benefiting from this twitter-organising is charity : water, a “non profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. We give 100% of the money raised to direct project costs, funding sustainable clean water solutions in areas of greatest need.”
Since our national WATER campaign, screening short films about H2O across the country, the wet stuff has remained and important issue to us here at CITIZENShift. Tomorrow night we will be screening some of the short films from that collection, and raffling off four of the WATER DVD collections. Other great prizes to win include water filters, eco-shower heads, Willam Marsden’s book on run-away oil development, ‘Stupid to the Last Drop’ and a grand prize trip for two to Vancouver with a stay at the Vancouver Opus.
Enterntainment will be provided by DJs Maus and Luv.Tickets are just 10$ in advance, 15$ at the door, with 100% of money raised going directly to providing clean drinking to a community in need. Liveliness starts at 6pm tomorrow night at Suco Lounge, 2108 boul. St-Laurent, Montréal, QC, H2X 2T2.
If you’re not in Montreal, there are Testivals happening around the word, in 120 cities to be precise. Find one near you!
“Water is the essence of life, sustaining every being on this planet. Without water, there would simply be no plants, no animals, and no people. But the global water supply isn’t just at risk, it’s already in crisis.”
Holding its world première at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in Utah last month, this film highlights the local intimacies of an emerging global catastrophe.
As FLOW’s team so movingly put it:
“…With an unflinching focus on politics, pollution and human rights, FLOW: For Love of Water, ensures that the precarious relationship between humanity and water can no longer be ignored. While specifics of locality and issue may differ, the message is the same; water, and our future as a species, is quickly drying up. Armed with a thirst for survival, people around the world are fighting for their birthright; unless we instigate change, we face a world in which only those that can pay for their water will survive…”
To listen to the podcast of Irena Salina discussing this film at the Sundance Film Festival, click below:
Want a sneak peak? Click below to view video clips from the film:
To watch other clips, to view the FLOW: For Love of Water website in its entirety, and learn how you can get involved and combat the Water Crisis, click here.
Want to learn more? Check out info about water’s global state of emergency on our website, in the Water Dossier.
We must unite and act now for this is a global problem - one that transcends Nations, beliefs, and ways of life!
The Water Front is a new film that covers the front-line battle of water privatization in Highland Park, Michigan. The trailer is great - filled with rich, passionate people facing the crisis of skyrocketing water bills with little or no municipal accountability.
The film is premiering in Montreal at the Rencontres Internationales du Documentaire de Montreal (film is 53 minutes with french subtitles).
WHEN: Friday November 16th, 8:00 pm
WHERE: UQAM Coeur des Sciences - 175, avenue du President-Kennedy
People often ask about the Pros and Cons of bottled water vs. tap water. I think it’s important to remember that there are more than just Pros and Cons. There are also environmental, ethical, health, and social issues to consider. Attached is a presentation that I gave addressing these issues and more at The Seeds for Change Conference at UBC.
David Suzuki and Al Gore were quite inspiring in Montreal last week at the ‘Less Talk, More Action’ event on Climate Change.
Suzuki knew how to sum things up with alarming statements such as, ‘If we continue fishing the way we do, there won?t be 1 fish left in 2048”.
Al Gore showcased his research with shocking visuals and statistics he updates regularly. He claimed that Winter of 2006-2007 was the hottest in history; an effect of global warming that is slowly killing off polar bears and not to mention, our own human species.
With Suzuki?s speech and Gore’s charismatic presentation, I don?t think there was 1 person who left the room without the desire to make a difference for the environment.
Humans have always had a very strong connection with water. This is one of the most sacred, nourishing, and essential substances on earth. There is no substitute for water (as opposed to oil). Most humans have very strong emotional ties to it whether they are conscious of this or not. Abba Eban, former Israeli statesman once remarked that people will react rationally in regards to water only once all other options have run out.
Not well known is the fact that there are already a number of armed conflicts around the globe over water access. As draught and water demands increase, there will be more and more conflicts over water. Water access will be controlled by the countries with the most power and military might even if they are the last country downstream like Egypt on the Blue Nile. ‘Water & Security: Challenges for the 21st Century’ Sandra Postel’s audio recording available from alternativeradio.org describes the existing and the potential future conflicts.
In his article ‘World Water Day: Wars, No, Conflicts, Yes’ Sanjay Suri notes that there are no wars over water at present but that this does not mean there are no conflicts. He quotes Mark Zeitoun, researcher with the London Water Research Group, a part of the Centre for Environmental Policy at King’s College and the London School of Economics: ‘There is a conflict between Ethiopia and Egypt over the Nile waters. Ethiopians in the highlands are unable to irrigate their land and develop hydroelectric projects as they would like to. Israelis and Palestinians are not fighting over water, but Israel controls 90 percent of trans-boundary flows that Palestinians have very little ability to control, and there is deep resentment over this on the Palestinian side.’ Taken from a March 22, 2007 article in the London, England paper. For the full article visit: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37044
Check out the film section of our water dossier to watch Water Thieves, a futuristic drama from Quebec to see what water shortages can lead to.
A Journey in the History of Water, a Norwegian documentary explores many themes around water, conflict being one of them. You can watch parts of the video on: http://watervideo.com/
You can read Vandana Shiva’s book ‘Water Wars’ available in most public libraries.
Here?s a beautiful example of how water stands as the fundamental source of livelihood.
Photojournalist Guilhem Alandry captures how “life is tough” for local villagers surrounding Le Canal des Pangalanes, on the Eastern coast of Madagascar. Orginally constructed by the French in the 1940?s for commercial use, the canal was not maintained after independence.
The native people fully depend on this body of water for fishing and transportation.
So, first night of the tour went really well. Close to 300 people in attendence. The films looked great on the big screen and a really good Q&A session followed.
Was interesting to note that there were very different types of people coming out to this, the student activists who frequent Cinema Politica, the senior members of the Council of Canadians, and lots of concerned citizens who just want to get involved… but if there is one issue that will bring us together, WATER is it!
Looking forwards to hearing about tonight’s Toronto screening!
Over the last few weeks I´ve attended a number of events that indicate to me that much needed public attention is being focused on the need to protect and recuperate the productive value of our environment.
The first event was a screening of Refugees of the Blue Planet (http://www.nfb.ca/trouverunfilm/fichefilm.php?id=54349&lg=en) which outlines the reality that in 2003, refugee numbers caused by environmental degradation surpassed refugee numbers due to military conflict by 2 million people (25 million vs. 23 million). This trend was not unexpected, yet had there been open-minded expectations regarding this increase in the number of environmental refugees, there might have been laws put into place that define the status of an environmental refugee similar to those established for people displaced by war and conflict. For the moment, protection is not legally guaranteed. The presentation on February 8th included a panel discussion with Dr. David Swann, Andrew Nikiforuk (http://www.andrewnikiforuk.com/) and Brian Pincott. A few points of interest for me that came out of this discussion included the suggestion that writing letters to elected representatives and the media is an effective method of civil action. Most importantly, when a letter is written, you must CC the letter to as many like minded entities as possible—including opposition members of parliament and opposition members of the legislature. Often, members of the opposition are not privy to the letters that are addressed to the ruling government. If you want the government to know something, don´t simply rely upon sending a letter to the government in power to respond to your concerns. Be diligent about making your voice heard by CCing as many lobby organizations that would have a relative interested in the topic being discussed.
Perhaps a more interesting event took place just this last week. On March 14th, the Alberta Environmental Stewardship Coalition (http://www.albertastewardship.ca/albertastewardship/) presented its inaugural event at the University of Calgary: a panel discussion about what environmental stewardship means.
The panel: Moderator, Preston Manning, David Swann, Shelley Willson, Rob Renner (Minister of Environment, Province of Alberta) and Barry Worbets. (photo credit: ItzaFineDay)
The two speakers that resonate most with my own way of tackling the environmental problem were David Swann and Shelley Willson. David suggested, accurately I think, that the environmental problem will not be solved unless we act with courage; courage to refuse the destruction now taking place, courage to stand up to those destroying the environment, courage to speak out, etc. Shelley is inspiring and hopeful that solutions are available. She encourages people to start thinking about how to reverse the damage we´ve already done and offered a number of possible solutions.
Significantly, subsidies should be shifted away from the current oil and gas industry to alternative green energies. We simply do not have the motivation for innovation required to solve the issues because there are numerous barriers to that innovation— lack of funding, subsidies, incentives, and the political will that endorses GREEN solutions to our energy needs, our clean/freshwater needs, and our need to preserve our Natural Capital.
While this new initiative in Alberta is welcome, its mandate, as defined by the title of the organization, still only extends to the jurisdiction of Alberta. It must be emphasized that the real environment does not adhere to political boundaries. Eventually, perhaps, this organization should be called the Great Plains Stewardship Coalition—or some such name to emphasis that stewardship is a cross-boundary issue. Each of these speakers would do well to read Mike Carr´s Bioregionalism and Civil Society: Democratic Challenges to Corporate Globalism (2004, UBC Press). I would say that bioregionalism is not as radical a democratic shift as most people think, and holds many solutions.
CITIZENShift and Cinema Politica are hosting a Water Film Festival in your area! (it’s FREE)
From the falls to the tap, the screening will feature cutting-edge films that deal with water issues.
The event starts this Monday in Montreal:
Montreal
Date/Time: Monday, March 19, 7:30PM Location: Room H-110, Hall Building, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd.
Toronto
Date/Time: Tuesday, March 20, 7:00PM Location: Innis Town Hall, 2 Sussex Avenue, University of Toronto (downtown campus) NW corner of St. George Street and Sussex Avenue (just south of Bloor Street) Subway stop: St. George Station
Calgary
Date/Time: Wednesday, March 21, 2007, 7:00PM Location: Plaza Theatre, 1133 Kensington Rd NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 3P4
Vancouver
Date/Time: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 @ 7:00PM Location: SFU Harbour Centre, Room 1900
Edmonton
Date/Time: Thursday, March 22nd, 2007, 6PM - 9PM Location: Stanley A. Milner Library, 7 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Winnipeg
Date/Time: Thursday, March 22nd, 2007 - 6:30PM - 9:30PM Location: Bulman Centre, University of Winnipeg
Hamilton
Date/Time: Thursday, March 22nd, 2007 – 7:00PM – 10:00PM Location: The Ewart Angus Centre, Room 1A6, 1280 Main Street
Lethbridge
Date/Time: Thursday, March 22nd, 2007, 7pm Location: University of Lethbridge Room PE 261 in the Centre for Health and Wellness
Welland
Date/Time: 6-8PM in Welland Location: City of Welland Civic Centre Community Room
Brock University
Date/Time: Thursday, March 22nd, 2007, 2-6PM Location: Brock University (Campus) - Academic South Room 217, St.Catharines, Ontario
Halifax
Date/Time: March 22nd, 2007, 7PM Location: Weldon Law Building, Dalhousie University
