Poseidon Resources’ Carlsbad Desalination Plant Is a Bad Deal for Southern California

2009-10-29

In order to ensure that Southern California is able to meet its future water demand, environmental and economic needs, public funding should prioritize projects that support regional independence, greenhouse gas reduction, job creation and consumer and environmental health protection. While policymakers and other stakeholders are proposing various solutions that include increased conservation and reuse projects, low-impact development and repairing leaking infrastructure, Poseidon Resources, a private company, is seeking public financial support for an expensive, risky and environmentally damaging desalination project in Carlsbad, California.

Desalination – An Ocean of Problems

2009-10-16

Fact Sheet - As local, state and federal policymakers in the United States increasingly fear water shortages, private companies are marketing desalination as a solution. While they offer to take the salt out of seawater for two or more times the cost of other water sources, they fail to advertise the toxic chemicals, marine life damage, carbon emissions and other social and environmental ills that come along with the process.

Why Water Bottlers Are Bad for Your Community

2009-10-16

Companies that want to make billions of dollars selling bottled water are looking for new sources of water and new sites to build their plants — and they may be coming to your town next. Multinational corporations may promise benefits to the area, but they will probably fail to mention the reasons that many communities are fighting to keep water bottlers away from their homes. Here are six reasons why.

Nestlé’s Move to Bottle Community Water

2009-10-16

Nestlé has taken water from numerous U.S. communities for cheap or nothing, bottled and sold it — for billions of dollars in profit — and then dumped the environmental and other costs onto society.

The Top Five Reasons to Keep Wisconsin’s Water in Public Hands

2009-10-15

Water Protection and Reinvestment Act Clean Water Trust Fund

2009-10-15

In July 2009 Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) introduced the Water Protection and Reinvestment Act (H.R. 3202). This legislation would establish a federal Water Protection and Reinvestment Trust Fund for both drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. The Trust Fund would provide between $10 billion and $13 billion each year. It would use the current mechanism for distributing funds to the states, the State Revolving Funds (SRFs), but would provide increased levels of funding. The increased funds provided by the Trust Fund should allow for much-needed repairs and improvements to water and sewer systems and would potentially dissuade localities from pursuing drastic rate increases and privatization schemes. Although the bill provides a dedicated source for this essential funding, it should be strengthened to restrict eligibility for funding to publicly owned and operated utilities.

Triclosan: What the Research Shows

2009-08-20

A growing list of household and personal care products are advertised as “antibacterial” because they contain a chemical called triclosan. While the manufacturers of these products want you to think triclosan protects you from harmful bacteria, it turns out that it may be doing more harm than good.

Protecting America’s Waters: Clean and Safe Water Needs a Trust Fund

2009-07-23

Most Americans get their household water from a public utility. But municipal utilities are struggling to come up with the money needed to meet federal clean water standards and to maintain and modernize our pipes and water systems.

Questions & Answers: A Cost Comparison of Public and Private Water Utility Operation

2009-07-23

Several members of Congress, as well as the Obama administration, have recognized the need to improve our country’s valuable drinking water and wastewater systems. They are pursuing commendable policies, including reauthorization of the Clean Water Act and creation of a Clean Water Trust Fund, which will help improve water quality and protect waterways across the nation.

Protect Our Groundwater: Support Scientific Data Collection

2009-07-22

Most Americans don’t spend much time thinking about the water in the ground beneath our feet, yet this water plays a vital role in our lives. Water pumped from the ground makes up about 40 percent of our national drinking and agricultural supplies and affects the health of all our freshwater.