Posts by Michael E. Campana

Coke and Pepsi Fear Bottled Water Backlash
Posted by Michael E. Campana, WaterWired on July 15, 2008 at 3:11 PM.

Well, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are tanking, the USA owes a supertanker fleet-load of Benjamins to China, The House That Ruth Built is coming down, and A-Rod and C-Rod are splitting up. So is there any good news?

You bet! Coke and Pepsi fear a bottled water backlash. Read Anthony Mirhaydari's story here.

Looks like some consumers have finally discovered that gasoline is cheaper than most bottled water.  

And the Swiss have found that the environmental impact of bottled water is 90 to 1000+ times greater than that of tap water. Download the report:

Download bottled_water_impact_lca.pdf

Life is good.

"When the people take to reasoning, all is lost." -- Voltaire

Is Water Part of the Tibet/China Conflict?
Posted by Michael E. Campana, WaterWired on May 12, 2008 at 4:24 PM.

The Tibetan Plateau, source to great rivers (Brahmaputra, Ganges, Yellow, Yangtze, Indus, Irrawaddy, Mekong) in whose basins live well over 2 billion people, may be at the heart of the China-Tibet "debate."

Why? Water, that's why.

The region, at 2.5 million square kilometers about four times the size of Texas, covers almost 2% of the Earth's land surface. It is the world's biggest plateau, and has an average elevation of almost 15,000 feet (4500 meters). It plays a significant role in the climate of the planet. Its glaciers nourish the aforementioned rivers and others. And it is those glaciers that may be at the heart of China's "interest" in keeping Tibet on a tight leash.

Circle of Blue has an excellent about the strategic power of water in the China-Tibet debate (thanks to Eric Daigh).

Like many other resources, water is of great concern to China. I've previously posted on China's water issues: Three Gorges Dam; the Great South-to-North water transfer; Lake Balkhash.

The take-away: what with Tibtean Plateau glaciers shrinking because of climate change and China's water development plans, the Indians, Vietnamese, Laotians, Cambodians, Bangladeshis, Burmese, et al. might have cause for concern.

And perhaps the rest of us, too.

"In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong, there is nothing that can surpass it." -- Lao-tze, 6th century BCE

South African High Court Rules: A Human Right to Water
Posted by Michael E. Campana, WaterWired on May 8, 2008 at 1:14 PM.

Colleague Kate Ely clued me in that the South African High Court in Johannesburg recently ruled that people have a human right to water. The Court ruled that the poor have a constitutional right to water, and it's believed to be the first time this constitutional right has explicitly been raised anywhere.

Judge MP Toska ruled that the City of Johannesburg had to provide free basic water in the amount of 50 liters per person per day to the residents of Phiri, Soweto. The City had been cutting off water when residents exceeded a monthly household limit of 6000 liters (200 liters per day per household) of free water, unless pre-payment for more was made.

The judge found the aforementioned practice unconstitutional and wrote that denying the poor access to adequate water "is to deny them the rights to health and to lead a dignified lifestyle."

In specifying the 50 liter per person per day figure, Judge Toska referenced the research by Dr. Peter Gleick of the Pacific Institute. Here is the press release.

Read more here.

This decision really struck a chord with me. I remember at the Third World Forum (3WWF) in Kyoto in 2003 during an open-mike session, a South African man from Soweto told the audience in trembling voice:

"When the whites ruled the South Africa, my water was free. Now that I live in a democracy and my people [the African National Congress (ANC)] are in charge, they turn off my water when I cannot pay."

I hope he's around to witness this historic decision.