[das_hips]

Did anybody watch this CBC production? For those wondering its a fictional story about the assisination of the Canadian prime-minister that leads into a story of conspiracy, corruption and right-dismissal. I was fairly impressed with the movie, as it was a CBC feature. But my question for you who did watch it: The US can't really do that can they? That, along with the movie, was entirely fictional, right? And the facts about fresh water, its not really that dim-looking is it?

[lord brazle]

I didn't watch this movie but I seem to recall watching something on Discovery or something a couple years back about icebergs and the States fresh-water supply? Um... Northern BC and the purchasing of water or something...

But I did my homework...

This is the movie you're talking about? <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.cbc.ca/h2o/">http://www.cbc.ca/h2o/</a><!-- m -->
At the bottom there is a link...
CBC News Indepth - Water: Selling Canada's Water
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/water/">http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/water/</a><!-- m -->

This, from the link above, is probably what I heard of a couple years ago...
"...The House of Commons intends to hold televised hearings starting in September 2001 on "freshwater security" to examine the pros and cons of selling Canada's water to other countries. Canada sells bottled water to other countries, but shipments of bulk water are not allowed..."
Probably on Daily Planet or something...

So since the topic has come up, anybody agree or disagree?

"Water is a 'vital resource' like the air we breathe"?
"Or a 'commodity' to be sold and traded"?

I'm gonna go with it's a "vital resource" and not a commodity but what would happen if there was almost no water left? What if our planet started drying up? I can guarantee we would be fighting for it like meat in the jungle 2 million years ago... dog eat dog... but I don't think people should cash in on something that everybody requires to live... it'd be like being on another planet with no air and people sold air by the canister... if ya didn't have the money you'd find some way to get the air... anyway you could...

[scottitude]

This is an excellent and highly relevant topic. I'm not sure what the US did in this film, but if you consider all of the dynamics (population growth, industry, pollution, the selfish societies into which we've evolved, etc.), yes, the future is indeed looking that dim.

I wish I saw (or could see) the flick...Paul Gross and Gordon Pinsent are excellent actors and IMO, Canadian TV flicks are often better than US theater releases.

In the United States, 339 billion gallons of fresh water are consumed every day. Think about that for a moment; 339 billion gallons per day. Taking a shower uses up to 2 gallons of water per minute; watering your lawn uses 10 gallons per minute or, consider washing machines: they use an average of 60 gallons of fresh water per load. You can easily see that cooking, washing dishes, dining out, the gallons add up fast, and that's only residential use!

Here in Michigan and in the Great Lakes region in general, commercial enterprises stealing ground-water for profit and western states diverting water from the great lakes is a huge issue. The Ice Mountain bottled water label (a product of the global giant Nestle) takes up to 210 million gallons per year of its water from both shallow springs and deep aquifers in Mecosta County, about 100 miles northwest of Lansing. Beyond the cost of leasing the land above the springs and aquifers, they don't pay a penny for it! It’s been the subject of a fierce court struggle between a grassroots organization, the Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation and Nestle.

Here's a short statistical presentation, and check out the this billboard that's become commonplace on the major Michigan east-west corridors, I-94 and I-96.

I'm not a tree-hugger or envrionmental terrorist, but water conservation is a very important issue to me.

~Scott

[grooveless touque]

You know the biggest non-industrial water consumer is the porcelain wonder that is the flush toilet? Another fifty years, and all those farmers who still have outhouses somewhere on their property are gonna be looking like prodigies.

[vicariousmartyr]

Yep, waters fast becoming the new oil.

And Canada's the worlds largest stakeholder of fresh water....you'd think that'd be reassuring, but its also scary...they'll be coming after us when they're thirsty

[das_hips]

For those who didn't see the movie here is a quick summary of how it ended... it'll be on again soon enough, so if you plan on watching don't read on...







After all hell breaks lose in Canada, riots, demonstrations and the like, following the assassination of the PM, the new PM (the old PMs son, played by Paul Gross, who in fact is involved in the entire conspiracy) asks the US to send in the military. Throughout the whole movie the basis of the conspiracy was to join Canada and the US into a single entity with different governing bodies, much like it is now with the provinces and such. By the end of the movie the country is washed up with media hype, double crossing, lies to the public, removal of rights and everything is being blamed on muslims. It ends when the US walks in and says "sorry Canada, we're taking control"... I guess its possible, really... of course, the repercussion on the US would be extremely substantial, if not completely destructive, so its likely not to happen...

[scottitude]

You know the biggest non-industrial water consumer is the porcelain wonder that is the flush toilet?

I work for a company that recognizes that and is doing something about it. We provide high-efficiency "engines" to every major toilet manufacturer in the world, and we work very closely with several Conservation organizations in Canada.

A residential development in Durham, ON is currently beta-testing our newest offering, a 4-liter system that outperforms every "conventional" flushing system on the market.

Curious?...

[Stephen Dame]

I saw it. Spent a few days on the set during the funeral scene at Notre Dame (No relation) Cathedral here in Ottawa... thanks to movie magic the streets were wet and it looked like it had been raining, it was realy a 32 degree day in July.

I thought the story was too contrived and at times confusing, while the dialogue was ULTRA cheesy: "Get out yer sneakers... we're gunna run."

And that ending? A happy ending would have at least put some glaze on this Turkey.