Growing collection of videos about Maine water issues from “mainewaterstuff”
Monthly Archives: February 2009
Spending cuts won’t affect Nestle Waters
[As households pull in their belts in the face of this economic downturn, Nestle still thinks people will pay an exorbitant price for bottled water instead of turning on the tap. – ed.]
By Michael C. Juliano, Stamford Advocate, 02/24/2009
Nestle Waters North America [head office in Greenwich, CT] does not plan to reduce capital spending this year despite its Swiss parent’s plan to cut capital expenditures and reduce its products portfolio for its global waters business.
Matt Bors cartoon: Bottled News
click image to view cartoon
Drought Adds to Hardships in California
By JESSE McKINLEY, New York Times February 22, 2009
MENDOTA, Calif. — The country’s biggest agricultural engine, California’s sprawling Central Valley, is being battered by the recession like farmland most everywhere. But in an unlucky strike of nature, the downturn is being deepened by a severe drought that threatens to drive up joblessness, increase food prices and cripple farms and towns.
Source Water Protection workshop, April 15-16 (Wells, ME)
Southern Maine Source Water Protection and Collaboration Workshop
April 15 and 16, 2009 in Wells, ME
Are you interested in learning more about how to monitor and protect your town’s drinking water supplies?
Nestlé wins 2008 Scrooge Award from International Labor Rights Forum
Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Washington DC-based International Labor Rights Forum identified what it branded as “five worst companies for the right to associate,” namely Nestlé (with alleged violations in the Philippines, Colombia, Peru, Russia and Pakistan) . . . Details of why Nestlé was chosen for the 2008 Scrooge Award (PDF file). The Poland Spring company is one of several water bottlers in the U.S. owned by Nestlé.
Rights Declaration to be submitted to Corporate-led Water Gathering
Following is a draft of the counter-declaration being prepared by representatives from Uruguay to be presented at the corporate-led 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul, March 16-22, 2009. Several years ago Uruguayan citizens passed a referendum on the fundamental right to water.
COMPLEMENTARY DECLARATION (Draft)
We, the Ministers or our representatives herein signing, declare the allowing before the participants of this Forum, the international community and the peoples of the world:
Maine towns justified in skepticism about Poland Spring (letter)
Portland Press Herald, February 16, 2009
After the citizens of Shapleigh overwhelmingly voted to deny Nestle the right to “test” for water on town-owned property, this newspaper weighed in with an editorial implicitly chiding citizens for their decision (“Poland Spring deserves its warm welcome,” Feb. 4).
Bottled Water Sales Eliminated for 2009 Common Ground Fair
Not long ago, packing a canteen or water bottle was standard practice when planning an outing for a day. In recent years, as bottled water became ubiquitous at events, including the Common Ground Country Fair, habits changed and people commonly purchased bottled water instead of bringing their own. The staff and volunteers leading the Fair Steering Committee have long been concerned about the increased use of bottled water at the Fair and its impact on the environment, natural resources and our own waste stream.
Last year the committee decided to work toward eliminating bottled water sales at the Fair. The first step, for the 2008 Fair, was installing water bottle filling stations, which enabled fairgoers to refill their own water bottles easily with clean, fresh, free water from our well. These filling stations were a hit and substantially reduced the sale of bottled water over previous years.
Encouraged by that progress and confident that we have adequate infrastructure at our education center to meet Fairgoers’ needs for fresh, clean drinking water, the Fair Steering Committee has decided to eliminate the sale of bottled water at the 2009 Fair. We will increase the number of drinking water stations, take additional steps to ensure appropriate access, and educate fairgoers about our decision and the resources we’re making available.
If you have questions about our decision or would like to help promote this initiative, please contact Jim Ahearne, Fair Director, at MOFGA (568-4142 or jahearne@mofga.org).
Keeping our aquifer to ourselves (letter)
By Barbara Britten in the Waterboro Reporter, February 12, 2009; also submitted to the Register and Biddeford Journal.
Read letter to the Editor here.