AlterNet: When it Comes to Water, Can Corporations and Community Really Coexist?

When it Comes to Water, Can Corporations and Community Really Coexist?

By Peter Asmus, AlterNet. Posted August 19, 2009.

The latest fight between activists and companies such as Coke and Nestle is about who really owns water -- corporations or communities.




When drought brought a critical shortage of water to Kerala, India, anti-globalization activists placed part of the blame on Coca-Cola, which operated a plant there.

Critics contended that Coca-Cola failed to involve the local community in its plans, and the activists began building a substantial global movement against water privatization, employing the tactic of "brand-jacking" of the world's No. 1 brand -- Coke -- to make their point.

Coke's Kerala plant has since ceased operations, making it a casualty of the global pressure placed on the company. But the campaign against privatization of water resources by activist groups has only grown stronger on the campaign front.

Today, the focus is on bottled water, which critics point to as a wasteful, expensive example of water privatization -- companies taking public water, repackaging it and selling it back to us for a profit.

But the water wars have just begun. Bottled water may be today's popular target, but that battle has peaked. Now, activists are beginning to look beyond bottled water, setting their sights on much bigger objectives. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/water/142030/when_it_comes_to_water%2C_can_corporations_and_community_really_coexist/