This is fascinating. I recently heard Charlie Rose interview Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Here’s a snippet from the Village Voice about the book:
In The Shock Doctrine, journalist Klein trains her sharp
investigator’s eye upon the flaws of neoliberal economics. This
meticulously researched alternative history, ranging from economist
Milton Friedman’s "University of Chicago Boys" to George W. Bush,
brings Klein’s argument into the present. Using stirring reportage, she
shows the ways that disasters— unnatural ones like the war in Iraq, and
natural ones like the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina—allow
governments and multinationals to take advantage of citizen shock and
implement corporate-friendly policies: Where once was a Sri Lankan
fishing village now stands a luxury resort. The Shock Doctrine
aims its 10-foot-long
middle finger at the Bush administration and the
generations of neocons who’ve chosen profits over people in war and
disaster; the effect is to provide intellectual armor for the
now-mainstream anticorporatist crowd.
But what’s relevant to our discussion of rain barrels is her mention of what happened in Bolivia. They privatized their water resources, with U.S. company Bechtel winning the contract, and subsequently outlawed collection of rainwater because it threatened Bechtel’s profits. Here’s more on the story. And here’s a little video about it.
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much rainwater collection is already illegal or at least highly regulated in WA state. and in most areas with agriculture I would bet there are similar laws or some sort of legal protection for farmers to buy access to water for irrigation. but our state gov’t has said they will not prosecute home owners who are simply installing rain barrels for personal use. they are more interested in regulating commercial use…
here’s the first link i could find that talks about 1 specific county: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/nwro/sjc_rwc.html
I wonder what the beavers who set up shop in my backyard would think about that? Not sure they’d take down their dams.
Klein has been making the rounds of the progressive radio shows in recent weeks. Sounds like a riveting book.
This is frightening! It alarms me even more because we in Canada have so much fresh water, and greedy corporations would LOVE to get their hands on it, especially some from the US (sorry, my American friends, but it’s been a concern for a few years now. Not your fault, but the fault of greedy SOBS like those in this story.)
I wonder how we are to push back against things like this, preferably BEFORE such regulations come to us?
Here too in Colorado it is illegal to collect rainwater, as the city resells it, probably for the same reasons as WA state does.
Illegal to collect rainwater? Unbelievable! What would the citizens of Bermuda do without rainwater! I like their system of cisterns under the houses and roof collection. It makes sense in water deprived areas. Brings to mind that old nursery rhyme, “Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink!” Unbelievable!
Ah ha! Susan, remember that story idea I told that I accidentally blurted out on a crowded hayride at GWA in OKC with much reaction and inquiry by my fellow garden writers within hearing distance – well, THIS was it – specifically, the increasing laws in the western US states that make home rain collection illegal and my hopes that this trend does NOT spread and gets challenged in court real soon!
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