Water Justice News
-
ACTION ALERT: Let Ban Ki-moon know you want human rights in the SDGs
The Mining Working Group at the UN and the Blue Planet Project have spearheaded a recent sign-on letter on the need for the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals to include an explicit mention of the need to guarantee the human right to water and sanitation. The letter has garnered more than 300 sign-ons…
-
Will Thessaloniki water utility become a P3?
July 5, 2014 – 8:30am There are concerns that Greece’s privatization agency TAIPED, the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund, will seek to make the publicly-run EYATH, the Thessaloniki Water Supply & Sewage Co., a water utility that serves 1.5 …
-
Barlow raises Detroit water shutoffs on CBC National and in the New York Times
July 4, 2014 – 8:00am Photo: Barlow on CBC National news. CBC National news reports, “Nearly half of Detroit’s water customers are in arrears so the city is disconnecting service at an unprecedented pace. 12,500 in the last 90 days though some have…
-
Letter to All Parties Currently Engaged in Mediations Regarding the Future of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD)
The following letter was sent on July 2, 2014 to mediators in Detroit who are discussing the future of the water and sewerage utility. The Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, the Peoples Water Board, the Blue Planet Project, Food & Water Watch and FLOW (For Love of Water) are calling on mediators to respect the Human…
-
Brazilian court suspends licenses for Belo Sun mine in Brazil!
July 1, 2014 – 9:23am Toronto-based Belo Sun Mining Corp. plans to build Brazil’s largest gold mine, the Volta Grande open-pit gold project. But the Globe and Mail reports, “A Brazilian court has suspended the environmental and provisional licences of …
-
Detroit’s Water Cutoffs: Counterproductive and Coldhearted
Huffington Post, June 26 – by Rep. John Conyers Imagine a week without running water. Imagine not only the physical thirst but also the inability to bathe, to cook, or to clean. Imagine the hardships this scenario would present for a family with children in diapers and the public health risks it would impose on…
-
Council of Canadians to organize water convoy to Detroit
June 27, 2014 – 7:30pm Maureen Taylor of the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization was just on CBC Radio’s As It Happens. She was being interviewed about the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department shutting off water services to city residents who are beh…
-
Bern mayor writes Cambuquira mayor about blue communities
June 27, 2014 – 8:18am The Mayor of Bern, Switzerland has written the Mayor of Cambuquira, Brazil congratulating him on his municipality becoming a blue community. Photo: Mayor Tschäppät, Mayor Xavier Mayor Alexander Tschäppät writes to Ma…
-
Detroit’s Water War: a tap shut-off that could impact 300,000 people
The Guardian, June 25 – by Martin Lukacs. A right-wing state and corporate push to cut off water is economic shock therapy at its most ruthless and racist, but resistance is growing.
-
WIN! Zurich becomes a blue community
June 25, 2014 – 8:45am Zurich, Switzerland is now a blue community! The Swiss news service 20 Minuten reports (in German), “The city of Zurich is to assume more responsibility in terms of water and join the international ‘Blue Community’ initiative. …