Langston Hughes, American Poet
by Holly Wren Spaulding
As this article goes to print, the United Nations is celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As they do so, an award winning documentary film, FLOW, depicting the global threat to freshwater, is being screened to delegates highlighting the threat to our human right to water—a right so fundamental that without it, our realization of other human rights is moot.
Of interest to Michigan residents may be the fact that FLOW uses, as one of its’ cases, the story
of a group of citizens who for years have been organizing for the protection of the Public Trust in this state. Their argument? They believe that the water in our lakes, streams, and aquifers belongs to all of us and should be protected for the enjoyment and benefit of the public for generations to come. This may seem obvious, or it may seem terribly subtle, but it happens to be a very timely debate with extremely high stakes.There is a growing trend—both locally and globally—which pits the rights of citizens against those of global corporations whose first goal is to make profit on a finite and increasingly scarce resource. It has been said that the wars of the 21st century will be fought over water, and already there is evidence of water conflicts in many other parts of the world.
Along with climate change, population pressures, breakneck development, and pollution, we are also experiencing the explosion of lucrative water industry intent on controlling the source and delivery of water supplies.
With water on the minds of so many people, the Traverse City Water Festival is coming to town this weekend, having ridden the wave of years of organizing by other grassroots groups who have long sought to highlight the seriousness of the challenges before us.
The Water Festival will be a family-friendly celebration, marrying music and performing arts with opportunities for popular education. Those who are interested in deepening their commitment to stewardship and water advocacy can expect to find some direction and tools for taking those critical “next steps.”
“We want to celebrate this precious natural resource,” says Chris Treter, a founding member of the Chiapas Water Project. “But after we celebrate, we must also take action to care for our region’s water supply and to make sure that the 1/6 of the world’s population who do not have access to adequate drinking water will some day soon enjoy the right to water.” To this end he believes we need to dedicate ourselves to solutions and hard work. His organization has for several years garnered local support for the construction of low-tech community wells in impoverished areas of southeastern Mexico where his company, Higher Grounds, also sources some of its Fair Trade coffee beans.
As the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations has stated, “Water is a limited natural resource and a public good fundamental to human life. The human right to water is indispensable for leading a life in human dignity.”
The Water Festival welcomes young and old alike to Traverse City this weekend.
Eco-Building Products, Inc. is a proud underwriter of the 2008 Traverse City Water Festival.
The Traverse City Water Festival, Dec. 12-14. Programming including concerts, films, speakers, workshops, and children’s activities takes place from 6pm Friday until Sunday night. All events will be held at The City Opera House & Higher Grounds Trading Company (at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons). More info: http://www.thewaterfestival.org/
Flow (82 min, dir. Irena Salina, 2008) screens Dec. 21st, 2pm, The Bay Theater in Suttons Bay. Info: www.leelanau.com/thebay
Holly Wren Spaulding is a writer from the Leelanau Peninsula.
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