Water rights: no clear solution

The privatization of public water supplies is occurring in many places around the world. Sold like a common commodity, the rights for distribution and management of community water are being bought and controlled more and more by private entrepreneurs and corporations.



But a global movement of activists say this most basic element of life should stay in the hands of the people who use it and out of the control of profit-seeking corporations or government bureaucracies.

On this edition, we investigate what’s behind customer complaints of American Water, North America's largest private water company. And we’ll take you to Detroit, Michigan, where anti-poverty activists are leading the fight to demand that access to water be treated as a human right and not a commodity.

This show was made possible in part by the Park Foundation.

Featuring::

Maureen Taylor, "Detroit: Not a Drop to Drink"; Mary, Michigan Welfare Rights Organization and DWSD customer; John Riehl, President of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 207; Sylvia Orduno, Michigan Welfare Rights Organization; Brennan Brown, formerly of the Macinac Center for Public Policy; Ian Hart, Pacific Institute; Marian Kramer, Michigan Welfare Rights Organization; Dorthy Crawford, Ohio American Water customer; Milton Nielsen, American Water customer, Felton, CA; Jim Graham, FLOW, or "Friends of Locally Owned Water," Felton, CA; Barbara Springer, California American Water customer, member of Felton FLOW; Kevin Tilden, California American Water Spokesperson; Victoria Kaplan, Food and Water Watch organizing director, Washington, DC; Representative Renee Kosel, Illinois State Representative.

Senior Producer/Host: Tena Rubio
Contributing Freelance Producers: Puck Lo, Christina Aanestad, Samantha Calamari
Associate Producer: Puck Lo
Interns: Samson Reiny and Joaquin Palomino, Elena Botkin-Levy

Greener Magazine

Bonus Audio::

Public vs Private Partnerships - Can public-private partnerships ever work? Correspondent Samantha Calamari has this story from Lee, Massachusetts.

For more information::

Michigan Welfare Rights Organization
23 E. Adams, 4th Floor
Detroit, MI 48226
313-964-0618
info@mwro.org
www.mwro.org

Pacific Institute
654 13th Street, Preservation Park
Oakland, CA 94612
510-251-1600
info@pacinst.org
www.pacinst.org

AFSCME Local 207
600 West Lafayette
Detroit, MI 48226
info@afscme207.com
www.afscme207.com

Mackinac Center for Public Policy
140 West Main Street
P.O. Box 568
Midland, MI 48640
989-631-0900
mcpp@mackinac.org
www.mackinac.org

Food and Water Watch
1400 16th Street NW, Suite 225
Washington, DC 20036
202-797-6550
foodandwater@fwwatch.org
www.foodandwaterwatch.org

Friends of Locally Owned Water
P.O. Box 38
Felton, CA 95018
831-335-3053
info@feltonflow.org
www.feltonflow.org

Illinois State Representative Renée Kosel, 81st District
19201 S. LaGrange, Ste. 204B
Mokena, IL 60448
708-479-4200
contact@Kosel.net
www.kosel.net

American Water Headquarters
1025 Laurel Oak Road
Voorhees, NJ 08043
856-346-8200
www.amwater.com

American Water’s Parent Company, RWE
www.rwe.com

Veolia Water North America
14950 Heathrow Forest Parkway, Suite 200
Houston, TX 77032
800-522-4774
general.information@veoliawaterna.com
www.veoliawaterna.com

Massachusetts Senator Ben Downing
20 Bank Row, Suite 202
Pittsfield, MA 01201
617-722-1625 or 413-442-4008
benjamin.downing@state.ma.us
www.bendowning.org

Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
1 Winter Street
Boston, MA 02108
617-292-5500
www.mass.gov

Town of Lee Camber of Commerce
3 Park Place
Lee, MA 01238
413-243-0852
info@leechamber.org
www.leechamber.org

Additional Information:

THIRST (the movie)
www.thirstthemovie.org/index.html

Music:

Raindrops – Avko –The Best of Electronica and New Age
Tom Neilson – www.tomneilsonmusic.com/index.php

Gelatin from corn, a first

Boston 8/22/07:: Scientists meeting in Boston last week announced an advance toward turning corn plants into natural factories producing gelatin.

Currently gelatin for food and used by the pharmaceutical industry for manufacturing capsules is derived almost exclusively from animal products. The advance, described Wednesday at the 234th national meeting of the American Chemical Society, may lead to a safe, inexpensive source of this protein.

About 55,000 tons of animal-sourced gelatin are used each year to produce capsules and tablets for medicinal purposes. Plant-derived recombinant gelatin would address concerns about the possible presence of infectious agents in animal by-products and the lack of traceability of the source of the raw materials currently used to make gelatin. Resourcing plant materials to recover and purify recombinant gelatin has remained a challenge because only very low levels accumulate at the early stages of the development process.

Now, scientists at Iowa State University in Ames and FibroGen, Inc., in South San Francisco say they have developed a purification process to recover these small quantities of recombinant gelatin present in the early generations of transgenic corn.

The studies establish transgenic corn as a viable way to produce gelatin and potentially other products, Said Charles Glatz, Ph.D., a professor of chemical & biological engineering at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa who worked with others including Cheng Zhang a doctoral student at Iowa State to develop the procedure.
In time, researchers may also be able to develop a variety of “designer” gelatins, with specific molecular weights and properties tailored to suit various needs.
“Corn is an ideal production unit, because it can handle high volumes at a low cost,” Glatz said. In addition the recombinant gelatin is free from the safety concerns of using meat byproducts.

The group is now working to refine the method and boost the overall recombinant protein yields in corn. Though the procedure requires more testing, Glatz says the technique could someday be used to produce high-grade gelatin in a safe and inexpensive manner.

Overall costs could be further reduced by combining the production of gelatin in corn with the extraction of non-protein parts of the grain — such as oils and starches — that are now grown and harvested for biodiesel and ethanol production, he adds.

Greener Magazine

Gulf Coast reconstruction in the post reconstruction era

Wander through New Orleans' historic French Quarter today and you might believe the revival of the city after Hurricane Katrina's destruction is complete. Restaurants, shops, hotels and clubs are up and running. Almost miraculously, it seems all is back to normal.

But no miracle has been performed here. Walk outside the French Quarter and you will see an American city and its people largely abandoned by its government and left in near total disrepair, struggling to reclaim some semblance of order and normal life.

On this edition, we will hear from four people speaking at the U.S. Social Forum. They are working to rebuild and strengthen their damaged communities.

Featuring::

Uyen Le, National Alliance of Vietnamese American Service Agencies Community Development Fellow; Sharon Hanshaw, Coastal Women for Change Executive Director; Viola Washington, People¹s Hurricane Relief Fund and the Welfare Rights Organization; Daniel Castellanos, Alliance of Guest Workers for Dignity and Workers Center for Racial Justice Organizer.

Greener Magazine

Senior Producer/Host: Tena Rubio
Interns: Samson Reiny and Puck Lo
Mixing Engineer: Mike Lamar

For more information::

National Alliance of Vietnamese American Service Agencies
1010 Wayne Avenue, Suite 310
Silver Spring, MD 20910
301-587-2781; navasa@navasa.org
www.navasa.org

Coastal Women for Change
336 Rodenburg Avenue
Biloxi, MS 39531
1-228-297-4849
www.cwcbiloxi.org

People's Hurricane Relief Fund
1418 N. Claiborne, Suite 2
New Orleans, LA 70116
504-301-0215; info@peopleshurricane.org
www.peopleshurricane.org

New Orleans Workers Center for Racial Justice & Alliance of Guestworkers for Dignity
803 Baronne Street
New Orleans, LA 70113
504-881-6587

The New Orleans Worker Justice Coalition
504-363-1108
organizer@neworleansworkerjustice.org
www.neworleansworkerjustice.org

Loyola Workplace Justice Project
Loyola University New Orleans
College of Law
7214 St. Charles Ave., Box 901
New Orleans, LA 70118
504-861-5550; molina@loyno.edu

National Day Laborer Organizing Network
www.ndlon.org

United States Social Forum
www.ussf2007.org

Deadly extractions: oil and mining interests in Africa

"In August 1996, Sutton's bulldozers, backed by military police firing weapons, rolled across the goldfield, smashing down worker housing, crushing their mining equipment. ... About 50 miners were still in their mine shafts, buried alive." BBC Correspondent Greg Palast - Bush Family Fortunes.

On the fourth anniversary of the President's visit to Africa we thought it would be appropriate to take another look at that moment in time at the Bulyanhulu Gold Mine and compare it to the present in order to examine what, if anything has changed since then with regard to the developed world's approach to globalization and the welfare of Africa's "mineral poor".

Mining has been a major source of income and development for much of Africa. At the same time mining projects are increasingly linked to serious environmental and social concerns. There is tremendous potential to harness Africa's mineral resources as a means of developing the continent's economy, yet there are notable differences in the efficacy of particular mining projects and regional development plans.

When President Bush made a one-week tour of the African continent in early July 2003 the U.S. public heard a lot about human suffering and conflict there. The tragic AIDS epidemic and the toll of bloody wars are critical issues that should be examined in-depth. Yet, one key component seemed to be missing from the coverage: multinational corporate interests and their effects on people in African nations.

On this edition of Making Contact, we take a look at some examples: In Tanzania a Canadian-based corporation is accused of burying alive artisan miners in order to acquire control of a gold mine; and, the drive for oil has sparked political and social upheavals in Sudan and Angola.

Greener Magazine

Featuring::

Nyang Chol, a senior official with RAS, the humanitarian wing of the rebel SPDF faction in Sudan; Leslie Lefkow, a human rights specialist with Doctors Without Borders; Sam Ibok, director of political Affairs with the African Union; Phillipe Gaspar, a 13 year-old Angolan refugee; Chantal Uwimana, Africa programme officer for Transparency International; Gregor Binkert, resident country representative for the World Bank in Chad; Ongar Lassie Yorongar, a leading political figure in Chad; Tundu Lissu, a Tanzanian human rights attorney; Investigative journalist Greg Palast, author of "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy."

For more information::

Transparency International
+49 30 343820 0
http://www.transparency.org/

Lawyers' Environmental Action Team
+255-22-2780859
http://www.leat.or.tz/

Greg Palast, BBC reporter and author of "Armed Madhouse" and "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy" http://www.gregpalast.com/

Sutton, acquisition of Barrick Gold Corporation, Canada

Design for the Other 90%

In May 2007, the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum opened “Design for the Other 90%,” an exhibition in the Arthur Ross Terrace and Garden that highlights the growing trend among designers to develop solutions that address basic needs for the vast majority of the world’s population not traditionally serviced by professional designers.

The exhibition features more than 30 works that demonstrate how design can be a dynamic force in transforming and, in many cases, actually saving lives. “Design for the Other 90%” on view May 4 through Sept. 23, 2007, explores the variety of affordable and socially responsible objects designed for the more than five billion people across the globe (90 percent of world’s total population of 6.5 billion) who often lack the means to purchase even the most basic goods.

The exhibition features design solutions for the poor and marginalized people around the world, including the LifeStraw, a mobile personal water purification tool, and furniture made from hurricane debris made available through the Katrina Furniture Project, which works to rebuild the economic and social capabilities in New Orleans.

“By showcasing the work of designers using their skills and ingenuity to produce architectural and design solutions that really affect quality-of-life issues, Cooper-Hewitt will raise awareness of the critical need for humanitarian design,” said Director Paul Warwick Thompson.

Organized by exhibition curator Cynthia E. Smith, the exhibition is divided into sections focusing on water, shelter, health, sanitation, education, energy and transportation and highlights objects developed to empower global populations surviving under the poverty level or recovering from a natural disaster.

Among the featured objects in the exhibition:

• The Pot-in-Pot Cooler, a storage container that doubles the amount of crop saved while extending its shelf life
  The Big Boda Load Carrying Bicycle, which can easily carry hundreds of pounds of cargo or two additional passengers at a substantially lower cost than other forms of human-powered utility vehicles
  
• MoneyMaker Pumps, which families can use to irrigate fruits and vegetables during the dry season, allowing greater crop yields year-round; and
  
• Nicholas Negroponte’s One Laptop per Child project, an inexpensive, universal laptop computer to be used as an educational tool for children.

“Design for the Other 90%” focuses on the design world’s response to the devastation caused by natural as well as man made disasters.

The exhibit also features examples of shelters used throughout the world, including Global Village Shelters, which are used as temporary homes and rural clinics; Mad Housers Huts, built by volunteers to house the homeless; Day Labor Station, a mobile worker center; and the Seventh Ward Shade Structure, providing a gathering place for planning reconstruction efforts while the Porch Cultural Center in New Orleans is being rebuilt.

There is also a garden with a low-cost drip irrigation system on display, which reduces water use by 30 to 70 percent while increasing yields by more than 50 percent by extending the growing season.

“Design for the Other 90%” recognizes the growing urgency for designers to develop affordable and sustainable solutions that address basic necessities such as shelter, food, drinking water and sanitation for a majority of the world’s population. “Ninety-five percent of the world’s designers focus all their efforts on developing products and services exclusively for the richest 10 percent of the world’s customers,” said Dr. Paul Polak, president of International Development Enterprises and a member of the exhibition’s advisory council. “Nothing less than a revolution in design is needed to reach the other 90 percent,” he added.

Greener Magazine

New Orleans Now:

Immigrants, Labor Rights and the Human Cost of Rebuilding an American City - Part 2


New Orleans is the largest construction site in the United States. Countless houses, businesses and public facilities are being rebuilt by an immigrant and migrant workforce that is mostly new to the area. Some were invited as part of the U.S. "Guest Worker" program. Some were already here in this country, and others came from hundreds of miles away, betting their futures on the promise of work and fair pay. The work is here, but too often the pay is not.

On this edition, part two of our immigration series, we hear from the people on the ground making a difference in the lives of these workers and from the workers themselves.

This series was made possible in part by the Open Society Institute.

Featuring::

Father Joe Benson, pastor, Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos Church; Eva San Martin, Hispanic Apostolate outreach worker; Francisco, migrant worker, Israel Lopez, Manuel, Lorenzo Alvarado Duran, and Rafael Sanchez, immigrant laborers; Luz Molina, director and founder, Workplace Justice Project, and Loyola Law School professor; Saket Soni, founder and organizer, New Orleans
Worker Center for Racial Justice.

Greener Magazine

Senior Producer/Host: Tena Rubio,Open Society Institute Fellow
Mixing Engineer: Phillip Babich
Interns: Alexis McCrimmon and Samson Reiny
Translation: Frank Rubio, Andrew Reisseger, Christine M. Rodriguez
Voiceover talent: Jose Ramirez, Dr. Joseph Khamsi, Paul Bieber, Samson Reiny, Steve Masar, Christopher Williams, Aaron Shuman, Joshua Grossman
Transcribing: Casting Word

Much appreciation to all the people who contributed their time, energy and support to this show, Eve Troeh, David Kunian, Claire Schoen, all of those listed above and especially to Steve Masar and Emily Polk.

For more information::

Workplace Justice Project
Loyola University New Orleans, College of Law
7214 St. Charles Ave., Box 901
New Orleans, LA 70118
504-861-5550; molina@loyno.edu

New Orleans Worker Center for Racial Justice (NOWJC)
The New Orleans Worker Justice Coalition
504-363-1108; organizer@neworleansworkerjustice.org
www.neworleansworkerjustice.org

Hispanic Apostolate
P.O. Box 640249
Kenner, LA 70064
504-464-5478 ext. 125
hispanicapostolate@archdiocese-no.org
www.archdiocese-no.org/offices/departments1.html

Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans
1000 Howard Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70113
504-523-3755; ccano@archdiocese-no.org

Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos Church
3053 Dauphine St.
New Orleans, LA 70117-6794
504 943-5566

National Day Laborer Organizing Network
www.ndlon.org

Other helpful links::

Common Ground Health Clinic (Latino Health Outreach Project)
1400 Teche Street
PO Box 741801
New Orleans, LA 70174-1801
504-361-9800; healthalgiers@yahoo.com
www.cghc.org

The People's Hurricane Relief Fund (PHRF)
1418 N. Claiborne, Suite 2
New Orleans, LA 70116
504-301-0125; 1-888-310-PHRF; info@peopleshurricane.org
www.peopleshurricane.org

Southern Poverty Law Center
400 Washington Ave.
Montgomery, AL 36104
www.splcenter.org

National Immigration Law Center
3435 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 2850
Los Angeles, CA 90010
213-639-3900; info@nilc.org
www.nilc.org

Hope House
916 Saint Andrew St
New Orleans, LA 70130
504-522-5881

New Orleans now:

Immigrants, labor rights and the human cost of rebuilding an American city - part 1

Since the floodwaters receded, New Orleans has been submerged in a sea of reconstruction issues, and a displaced population with still has no way to return.

Yet, a new population has taken root: an immigrant labor force. Some of them were already in this country, or were invited by the U.S. government, and some have risked all, crossing borders, for the promise of work. But for many, that promise of work has become a fight for survivalOn this edition, we hear from the immigrants themselves and from the people on the ground trying to help them.

On this edition, we hear from the immigrants themselves and from the people on the ground trying to help them.

This series was made possible in part by the Open Society Institute.

Featuring::

Arthur Robinson, business owner; Israel Lopez, Senor Jose Castillo, Lorenzo Alvarado Duran, Rafael Sanchez and Manuel, immigrant laborers; Marco Amador, New Orleans Worker Center for Racial Justice field worker and National Day Laborer Organizing Network member; Jose, Mobil Taco Truck Owner; Saket Soni, founder, New Orleans Worker Center for Racial Justice.

Greener Magazine

Senior Producer/Host: Tena Rubio, Open Society Institute Fellow
Mixing Engineer: Phillip Babich
Interns: Alexis McCrimmon and Samson Reiny
Translation: Frank Rubio, Andrew Reisseger, Christine M. Rodriguez
Voiceover talent: Jose Ramirez, Dr. Joseph Khamsi, Paul Bieber, Samson Reiny, Steve Masar, Christopher Williams, Aaron Shuman, Joshua Grossman
Transcribing: Casting Word

Much appreciation to all the people who contributed their time, energy and support to this show, Eve Troeh, David Kunian, Claire Schoen, all of those listed above and especially to Steve Masar and Emily Polk.

For more information: :

New Orleans Worker Center for Racial Justice (NOWJC)
The New Orleans Worker Justice Coalition
504-363-1108; organizer@neworleansworkerjustice.org
www.neworleansworkerjustice.org

Workplace Justice Project
Loyola University New Orleans, College of Law
7214 St. Charles Ave., Box 901
New Orleans, LA 70118
504-861-5550; molina@loyno.edu

National Day Laborer Organizing Network
www.ndlon.org

Other helpful links::

Common Ground Health Clinic (Latino Health Outreach Project)
1400 Teche Street
PO Box 741801
New Orleans, LA 70174-1801
504-361-9800; healthalgiers@yahoo.com
www.cghc.org

The People's Hurricane Relief Fund (PHRF)
1418 N. Claiborne, Suite 2
New Orleans, LA 70116
504-301-0125; 1-888-310-PHRF; info@peopleshurricane.org
www.peopleshurricane.org

Southern Poverty Law Center
400 Washington Ave.
Montgomery, AL 36104
www.splcenter.org

National Immigration Law Center
3435 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 2850
Los Angeles, CA 90010
213-639-3900; info@nilc.org
www.nilc.org

Hope House
916 Saint Andrew St
New Orleans, LA 70130
504-522-5881


New Orleans Worker Center for Racial Justice (NOWJC)
The New Orleans Worker Justice Coalition
504-363-1108; organizer@neworleansworkerjustice.org
www.neworleansworkerjustice.org

Workplace Justice Project
Loyola University New Orleans, College of Law
7214 St. Charles Ave., Box 901
New Orleans, LA 70118
504-861-5550; molina@loyno.edu

National Day Laborer Organizing Network
www.ndlon.org

Who would Jesus tax?

Taxes are something we all have to deal with, whether we like it or not. They fund basic infrastructure and much needed social programs. The tax cuts of the Bush administration were supposed to create more jobs and redistribute the wealth for average Americans, but have they?

To find out, we talk with a single mom and a tax fairness advocate to debunk some myths about how wealth is created and what people can do to change tax policy. We also look at how an under-reported union between political conservatives and the Christian right preserves the gap between the haves and have-nots.

Bonus audio: Interview with the Urban Institute's Adam Carasso (NOT broadcast-quality)

Featuring::

Harmony Langford, single mom in Flint, Michigan; Anisha Desai, Deputy Director, United for Fair Economy; Tom McClosky, vice president of government affairs and chief lobbyist of the Family Research Council; Rich Meagher, PhD candidate, City University of New York; Max Sawicky, economist at the Economic Policy Institute.

Senior Producer/Host: Tena Rubio
Contributing Producer: Abby Scher
Mixing Engineer: Phillip Babich
Intern: Alexis McCrimmon
Recording assistants: Richie Duchon, Geoff Brady, Doug George and Robert Frazier

Greener Newsroom

For more information::

United for A Fair Economy
29 Winter Street
Boston, MA 02108
617-423-2148; info@faireconomy.org
www.faireconomy.org

UFE's Racial Wealth Divide Project
www.racialwealthdivide.org

Urban Institute
2100 M Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20037
202-833-7200
www.urban.org

The Public Eye magazine
1310 Broadway, #201
Somerville, MA 02144
www.publiceye.org

Citizens for Tax Justice
1616 P Street NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20036
202-299-1066
www.ctj.org

Economic Policy Institute
1333 H Street, NW
Suite 300, East Tower
Washington, DC 20005-4707
202-775-8810;
www.epinet.org

Family Research Council
801 G Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
202-393-2100
www.frc.org

Other helpful links::

Economic Self-Sufficiency Coalition of Western New York
716-887-2717; tkerr@uwbec.org
www.esscwny.com

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
820 First Street, NE, Suite 510
Washington, DC 20002
202-408-1080; center@cbpp.org
www.cbpp.org

Public Eye: "Tax Revolt as a Family Value - How the Christian Right Is Becoming A Free Market Champion"
www.publiceye.org/magazine/v21n1/meagher_tax_revolt.html

Waves of Change, Rivers of Doubt

Global Water Issues and Solutions (hour-long radio special, rebroadcast for Water Week March 23,07)


Water... it's the source of all life. 70 percent of the planet is covered in it, and more than half of your body is made up of it. We use water everyday to refresh, revive, to subsist... yet, water resources are growing increasingly scarce around the world and access to potable water is
alarmingly difficult in some regions.

In this special, hour-long edition, we look at some core water issues affecting people around the world, including privatization, access to clean water, desalination technology, bottled water debates, and non-point source pollution.

A half-hour version of this program is available here

Greener News Room

Support for this program comes in part from the PRX Reversioning Project.

Senior Producer/Host/Writer: Tena Rubio.
Contributing Producers: Robynn Takayama, Lester Graham (GLRC - Great Lakes Radio Consortium), Sarah Olson, Sarah Meehan, Brian Edwards-Tiekert, Shawn Allee.
Senior Mixing Engineer: Stephanie Welch

Featuring::

“Headline News” - Wenonah Hauter, Food and Water Watch; Eric Olson, NY Advocacy Center/Natural Resources Defense Council; Wilma Subra, Subra Company.

“Water Privatization” - Kapua Sproat, Earth Justice; Duke Sevilla, Hui o Na Wai `Eha; Alan M. Arakawa, Mayor of Maui; Avery Chumbley, Wailuku Water Company; Wenonah Hauter, Food and Water Watch; Geoffrey Segal, Reason Foundation.

GLRC’s “Ten Threats: Bottled Water Diversion Debate” - Chuck Swartzle, Besco Water Treatment, Inc.; William E. Lobenherz, Michigan Soft Drink Association; Dave Dempsey, Clean Water Action Great Lakes.

“Bottled Water Debate” - Stephen Kay, International Bottled Water Association; Erik Olson, Natural Resources Defense Council.

“Access to Clean Water (Ghana)” - Pascalina, resident of Maamobi; Patrick Apoya, Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS); Ben Ampomah, Water Resources Commission; Michael Agyeman, Ghana Water Company; Leo Shang-Quartey, The Ghana National Coalition Against the Privatization of Water (NCAP).

“Desalination” - Karl B. Stinson, Alameda County Water District; Dr. Peter Gleick, The Pacific Institute; Richard Stover, Energy Recovery Inc.; Conner Everts, California Statewide De-Sal Response Group.

GLRC’s “Ten Threats: Rethinking Urban Runoff” - Brian Bell, EPA; Grace Troccolo, Chicago Center Green Technology; Dr. Stephen Bocking, Trent University.

For more information::

Alameda County Water District
43885 South Grimmer Blvd.
Fremont, CA 94538
510-668-6501
www.acwd.com

Besco Water Treatment, Inc.
www.bescowater.com

California Statewide De-Sal Response Group
2515 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90403
310-829-1229
www.desalresponsegroup.org

City of Chicago Department of Environment
Chicago Center for Green Technology (Chicago Green Tech)
445 N. Sacramento Blvd.
Chicago, Illinois 60612-1711
312-746-9642; greentech@cityofchicago.org
www.cityofchicago.org/environment

Clean Water Action - National Office
4455 Connecticut Ave. NW Suite A300
Washington, DC 20008
202-895-0420

Clean Water Network
1200 New York Avenue NW, Suite 400
Washington, D.C. 20005
202-289-2421; Fax: 202-289-1060; info@cwn.org
www.cwn.org/cwn/

Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS)
PMB KA 24, Airport
Accra, GHANA
233-21-25 08 16; coniwas@yahoo.com

Earth Justice
223 South King Street, #400
Honolulu, HI 96813-4501
808-599-2436; ksproat@earthjustice.org
www.earthjustice.org

Energy Recovery Inc.
1908 Doolittle Drive
San Leandro, CA 94577
510-483-7370
www.energy-recovery.com

Environmental and Resource Studies Program, Trent University
1600 West Bank Drive
Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7B8 CANADA
705-748-1011 ext.1520 or 705-748-1569; sbocking@trentu.ca

Environmental Working Group
1436 U St. NW, Suite 100
Washington, DC 20009
www.ewg.org

Food and Water Watch
1400 16th Street NW, Suite 225
Washington, DC 20036
202-797-6550; Fax: 202-797-6560; foodandwater@fwwatch.org
www.fwwatch.org

Ghana Water Company
PO Box MB 194
Accra, GHANA
233-21-66 67 81

The Ghana National Coalition Against the Privatization of Water (NCAP)
c/o The Trades Union Congress, Hall of Trade Unions
PO Box 701
Accra, GHANA
233-21- 66 25 68

Hui o Na Wai `Eha
c/o John and Rose Marie Duey
575A Iao Valley
Wailuku, HI 96793-3007
808-242-8565; jduey@maui.net

International Bottled Water Association
1700 Diagonal Road, Suite 650
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-683-5213; Fax: 703-683-4074; Info Hotline: 1-800-WATER-11
ibwainfo@bottledwater.org
www.bottledwater.org

Mayor, County of Maui
200 South High Street
Wailuku, Maui, HI 96793
808-270-7855; Fax: 808-270-8073; mayors.office@mauicounty.gov
www.co.maui.hi.us/mayor/

Michigan Soft Drink Association
517-371-4499; Fax: 517-371-1113

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
40 West 20th Street
New York, NY 10011
212-727-2700; Fax: 212-727-1773
www.nrdc.org

National Response Center
(sole federal point of contact for reporting oil and chemical spills)
Toll-free: 1-800-424-8802
www.nrc.uscg.mil/nrchp.html

The Pacific Institute
654 13th Street,
Preservation Park
Oakland, CA 94612
510-251-1600
www.pacinst.org

The Reason Foundation
3415 S. Sepulveda Blvd, Suite 400
Los Angeles, CA 90034
310-391-2245
www.reason.org

River Network
520 SW 6th Avenue #1130
Portland, OR 97204
503-241-3506; Fax 503-241-9256; info@rivernetwork.org
www.rivernetwork.org

Subra Company
PO Box 9813
New Iberia, LA 70562
337-367-2216

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - region 5
1-800-621-8431
www.epa.gov/region5
www.epa.gov

Wailuku Water Company
255 E Waiko Rd.,
Wailuku HI 96793-9355
808-244-9570; Fax: 808-242-7068

Water Resources Commission
PO Box CT 5630
Accra, GHANA

Other helpful links::

Drinking Water Information - Biological Indicators of Watershed Health
www.epa.gov/bioindicators/

Water Resources in the US - U.S. Geological Survey
(guide to America's water resources)
http://water.usgs.gov

Water Quality Information Center - National Agriculture Library
(list of over 1,000 web sites related to all aspects of water quality)
www.nal.usda.gov/wqic/

EPA’s Clean Water Through Conservation
www.epa.gov/OW/you/intro.html

Public Radio Exchange (PRX)
www.prx.org

Great Lakes Radio Consortium
www.glrc.org

What's the Catch of the Day? Mercury.

It's poisoning our waters, our fish, our bodies and it isn't going away any time soon.

Each year tons of mercury gets into our streams, bays and oceans. How does it get there, what does it do to us and how can we protect ourselves?

On this edition, we go to the San Francisco Bay. Joined by a public health analyst, we'll talk to local fisherman, new moms, restaurant-goers and the E.P.A. about mercury.

This program was made possible in part by a grant from the As You Sow Foundation.

Featuring::

Steve, fisherman; Eli Saddler, Northern California GotMercury.org public health analyst; Sarah and Kim, moms on pier; Linda and Margaret, PF Chang's China Bistro patrons; Allan Hirsch, CA Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment Chief Deputy Director; Lisa Rudman, National Radio Project's Executive Director.

Senior Producer/Host: Tena Rubio
Associate Producer: Emily Polk
Mixing Engineer: Phillip Babich
Intern: Alexis McCrimmon

Greener Magazine

For more information::

GotMercury.org (a project of Turtle Island Restoration Network)
Caryn Mandelbaum
PO Box 400
Forest Knolls, CA 94933
415-488-0370; caryn@gotmercury.org
www.gotmercury.org

Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
Allan Hirsch, Chief Deputy Director
916-324-2831

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
National Headquarters
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460
www.epa.gov/mercury

U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
www.cfsan.fda.gov

WIC Program (Women, Infants and Children Program)
wichq-web@fns.usda.gov
www.fns.usda.gov/wic

Mercury Policy Project
1420 North Street
Montpelier, VT 05602
802-223-9000; mercurypolicy@mercurypolicy.org
www.mercurypolicy.org

Zero Mercury Campaign
mercury@eeb.org
www.zeromercury.org

Mercury in Schools
mercuryk12@uwm.edu
www.mercuryinschools.uwex.edu

Healthcare without Harm
www.noharm.org

Additional links::

Californians for Alternatives to Toxics
www.alternatives2toxics.org

Greenaction
www.greenaction.org

Oceana
www.oceana.org/international-home-nao

Monterey Bay Aquarium - Seafood Watch Program
886 Cannery Row
Monterey, CA 93940
831-648-4800
www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp
The Aquarium updates the wallet sized seafood-watch guide with information provided by Environmental Defense
www.oceansalive.org

Thirst (movie)
Is water part of a shared "commons," a human right for all people? Or is it a commodity to be bought, sold, and traded in a global marketplace? "Thirst" tells the stories of communities in Bolivia, India, and the United States that are asking these fundamental questions.
www.thirstthemovie.org

Thirst: Fighting the Corporate Theft of Our Water (book)
Investigates eight recent high-profile controversies over the corporate takeover of water in the U.S, and illuminates how citizens are fighting back in heartland communities like Stockton, CA, Lexington, KY, Holyoke, MA, and Mecosta County, MI.
www.thirstthemovie.org/book.html

African forests going, going, gone?

Africa lost nine per cent of its trees between 1990 and 2005, according to a UN survey of the world's forests.

This represents 0ne half of the earth's forest loss, this despite the fact that the continent accounts for just 16 per cent of the earth's forests.



In a news release this week (13 March) by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, it was reported that the highest losses occurred in countries with the densest forest cover: Angola, Cameroon, DRC, Nigeria, Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, all in Africa.

Although forests are obtaining greater political support and commitment in Africa, the report says "implementation and law enforcement remains weak in most countries".

In Latin America and the Caribbean, home to a quarter of the world's forest cover, 0.5 per cent of forest was lost each year between 2000 and 2005 ― up from a rate of 0.46 per cent in the 1990s. The conversion of forest to agriculture was the leading cause of deforestation.

Costa Rica, however, reversed its forest decline in the 1990s subsequently realizing a growth of of almost one per cent of forest area expansion per year. But the extent to which this is related to reductions in agricultural land or innovative policies is not clear, warns the report.

The survey highlighted positive action in Latin American countries. This includes a large increase in forest area designated for biodiversity conservation, indicating that countries are taking steps to prevent loss of primary forests ― those undisturbed by human activities.

According to the report, the region is "among the world leaders in innovative approaches to international cooperation on forest issues". Methods used include forming networks to fight fires and improve the management of protected areas.

The Amazon Treaty Cooperation Organization ― whose member countries comprise Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela ― and the Central American Commission on Environment and Development are among those cited in the report.

Forested area increased in Asia between 2000 and 2005 ― largely due to China's investment in tree plantations, which offset high rates of forest clearing in other regions.

Greener News Room

Related links::
State of the World's Forests 2007 report
UN Food and Agriculture Organization
The Amazon Treaty Cooperation Organization

Keywords:: RESOURCES FORESTS AFRICA LOGGING PLANTATIONS CHINA

Clean water for billions by 2015

Worldwide, more than one billion people lack access to an improved water source, such as a rainwater collection or wells. Two billion still need access to basic sanitation facilities.


By 2015, the international community, working through United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals adopted in September, hopes to reduce by half the number of people without safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

In the developed world, the moment a drop of water hits the ground it goes into the water system until it becomes wastewater. Then it’s treated and put it back into the system.

“We have a large-scale infrastructure in the United States to provide clean water,” said Joseph Hughes, chair of the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “Using our current approach will not provide the rapid fix the United Nations is looking for in developing countries. It would take decades.”

Hughes outlined four steps to solving the developing world’s water and sanitation problems. First, researchers must determine how big the problem is, then analyze the water distribution process, understand the complexity of the systems required and, finally, create new approaches to water supply and sanitation through research and development, which might include new methods of storing, treating and disinfecting water and developing sanitation systems that minimize pathogen release.

Urbanization, climate changes, water scarcity and economic development will affect where water will be available in the future and where concentrated amounts of water will be required to meet the needs of large populations, Hughes says. The United Nations projects that two-thirds of the world’s population will live in areas that face water scarcity by 2025.

“Historically we’ve tried to go to groundwater sources, such as a well, to initiate improved water sources, but there’s a very finite capacity in groundwater,” Hughes noted. “We have to work much harder to make ocean or surface waters safe.”

The water must be safe and in reliable quantities

“We need to go beyond providing better water,” Hughes added. “We need to provide water that you and I would drink and consider safe. If a pregnant woman drank it, she wouldn’t be worried about her health or the baby’s health.”

In the United States, the only thing consumers need to know about their water supply is how to pay their bill and call a plumber if there’s a leak, said Cozzens, who organized the AAAS session on water and sanitation in developing countries. But a family in a developing country with a latrine needs to know a tremendous amount – how to build the latrine and how to maintain it.

“If a part breaks, what does that family do? Does the family stay in touch with the organization that came and provided the service or part originally? Is there someone who assumes the role of civil engineer in every town?” asked Cozzens.

Cozzens, in order to answer these questions, plans to investigate how communities in developing countries share their knowledge. She will conduct case studies in urban as well as rural locations in Mozambique, South Africa, Costa Rica and Brazil.
Cozzens’ goal is to provide insight to international and local water authorities helping developing countries set the right conditions for people to learn and solve the problems of unsafe water and sanitation.

Greener News Room

Keywords:: WATER SANITATION POVERTY INTERNATIONAL POLICY ENGINEERING INFRASTRUCTURE

TECHNICAL CONTACTS::
1. Susan Cozzens (404-385-0397); susan.cozzens@pubpolicy@gatech.edu
2. Joseph Hughes (404-894-2201); joseph.hughes@ce.gatech.edu

International council of the 13 indigenous grandmothers

Women are gaining influence as leaders throughout the world fighting for peace, justice, the environment and civil society.


In this program, we visit with three eloquent members of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers.

The Council is a global alliance of elder women healers who represent more than 900 years of collective wisdom and traditions. The women come together to speak in one voice, with one very simple, yet urgent message: we must take care of our Mother, the Earth, for the next seven generations.

This Women's Desk program is a special collaboration with the Women Rising Radio Project, Lynn Feinerman and Crown Sephira Productions.

Featuring::

Rita Pitka Blumenstein of the Yupik nation practices plant and energy medicine. She is on the staff of Anchorage's South Central Foundation Traditional Healing Clinic; Flordemayo is a Mayan curandera, or healer, and serves on the board of the Institute of Natural and Traditional Knowledge in New Mexico; Beatrice Long-Visitor Holy Dance is an elder in the Native American Church, a sundancer and a health worker with the Lakota Oglala people.

Program Producer: Lynn Feinerman
Senior Producer: Tena Rubio
Guest Host: Sandina Robbins
Mixing Engineer: Stephanie Welch

Greener News Room

Keywords:: INDIGENOUS SEVENTH GENERATION GRANDMOTHERS TRADITION EARTH

For more information::

The International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers
The Center for Sacred Studies
P.O. Box 745 Sonora, CA 95370
209-532 9048; info@grandmotherscouncil.com
www.grandmotherscouncil.com
www.forthenext7generations.com

Elemental water treatment could save millions of lives

University of Delaware researchers announced the development of an inexpensive, non-chlorine-based technology that removes 99.999% of microorganisms, including viruses, from drinking water. The process incorporates highly reactive iron to deliver a chemical “knock-out punch” to a host of notorious pathogens including E-coli and rota virus.


The discovery promises to dramatically improve the safety of drinking water around the globe, particularly in developing countries. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over a billion people, one-sixth of the world's population, lack access to safe water.

Four billion cases of diarrheal disease occur worldwide each year, resulting in 1.8 million deaths, primarily infants and children in developing countries. Eighty-eight percent of these deaths are attributable to unsafe water supplies, inadequate sanitation and hygiene.

“What is unique about our technology is its ability to remove viruses, the smallest of the pathogens, from water supplies,” said Pei Chiu, an associate professor in UD's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Chiu collaborated with Yan Jin, professor of environmental soil physics in UD's plant and soil sciences department, to develop the technology. They then sought the expertise of virologist Kali Kniel, an assistant professor in the animal and food sciences department, who has provided critical assistance with the testing phase.

Viruses are difficult to eliminate in drinking water using current methods because they are far smaller than bacteria, highly mobile, and resistant to chlorination, which is the dominant disinfection method used in the United States. By using elemental iron (a byproduct of steel production) in the filtration process, the team was able to remove viral agents from drinking water at very high efficiencies. The elemental iron is inexpensive, costing less than 40 cents a pound. 99.999% of the virus organisms are either chemically inactivated or irreversibly adsorbed to the iron.

The team of researchers has been documenting the technology's effectiveness against human pathogens including E. coli 0157:H7, hepatitis A, norovirus and rotavirus. Rotavirus is the number-one cause of diarrhea in children, according to Kniel.

The treatment also removes organic material, such as humic acid, that naturally occurs in groundwater and other sources of drinking water. During the disinfection process, this natural organic material can react with chlorine to produce a variety of toxic chemicals called disinfection byproducts.

“Our iron-based technology can help ensure drinking-water safety by reducing microbial pathogens and disinfection byproducts simultaneously,” Chiu noted.

Besides helping to safeguard drinking water, the UD technology may have applications in agriculture. Integrated into the wash-water system of a produce-packing house, it could help clean and safeguard fresh and “ready to eat” vegetables, particularly leafy greens like lettuce and spinach, as well as fruit, according to Kniel.

“Sometimes on farms, wash-water is recirculated, so this technology could help prevent plant pathogens from spreading to other plants,” she said.

Greener News Room

Keyword:: VIRUS DRINKING-WATER POTABLE TECHNOLOGY IRON PATHOGENS DISINFECTANT SAFETY BACTERIA MICROORGANISMS E.COLI ROTAVIRUS

Mapping clean water resources in Africa

For the people of Kenya’s semiarid Samburu region, water is a precious commodity. People and livestock compete with wildlife for water, and in the dry season water sources can easily become contaminated. To address these issues, scientists at Earthwatch’s Samburu Field Center have compiled three years of data on the region’s water and other natural resources into a comprehensive Geographic Information Systems (GIS) database.

The new GIS database maps water sources, including information about water quality and seasonal variability, as well as habitat quality for wildlife and livestock. These maps provide the latest information on water resources, and will be shared with local communities to inform management plans for settlement, grazing, and conservation lands. This important outcome is consistent with U.N. Millennium Development Goals, especially Goal 7, which includes ensuring sustainable access to improved water sources.

“Never again will I take water for granted,” said Suzanne Zilvetti of New Jersey, a volunteer at Earthwatch’s Samburu Field Center last year. “I felt so much a part of something bigger than just ‘seeing wildlife.’ It really hit home when, after sitting and counting animals that came to drink from a waterhole (for five hours), we actually saw a touring van taking pictures of us!”

“We can share data in a context that communities will understand,” said Fred Atieno, a GIS expert and co-investigator at the Samburu Field Center. Layers of information can be added to the GIS maps that show the region’s roads, villages, markets, schools, and other features familiar to local communities. Different layers show water source locations and quality, seasonal rivers, and where there is good grazing land or scrubland.




“This database will help in the creation of community conservancies,” said Atieno, referring to local land-based community groups that can “zone” their land to minimize stress on natural resources. “It will relate conservancies to resources on the ground.” Through zoning, conservancies can ensure that people have enough water and livestock have enough grass. They can also help minimize conflicts with elephants and carnivores, and conserve water and habitat for relief during extreme droughts.

The map may also help with public health issues, in a population where 80 percent of the diseases diagnosed are waterborne. “If we know a patient comes from a community where the database shows the water is high in amoebas, we know that the patient has a higher chance for that,” said Philip Leitore, a coordinator at Wamba Mission Hospital, which has a partnership with the Samburu Field Center.

Last year the lab at Wamba Mission Hospital detected cholera in a water sample by Earthwatch-supported scientists, prevented a public epidemic that could have affected many in the Samburu population. The GIS database also shows how wet and dry seasons affect water quality, helping to warn people when and where outbreaks might occur.

Greener News Room

Resources:: http://www.earthwatch.org/expeditions/samburu.html

Photo expedition to Samburu distric; David Hewitt

Keywords:: WATER AFRICA EARTHWATCH RESOURCES ENVIRONMENT