Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire. Where There’s Water there’s Multinationals

This morning Chris and I woke up bright and early to the birdsong of a meadowlark, only to learn that 14,179 feet of Mount Shasta had completely disappeared in smoke. I found a fire-map of California and saw that our community is flanked on the South and West by fearsome wildfires—all the result of a record-breaking lightning storm this past weekend.

Late Friday evening, we watched a spectacular lightning fest as it spider-veined its way across the sky near the northwest horizon—again and again. We knew enough to be afraid. And as it turned out there were 5000-6000 strikes. Fourth of July ain’t got nothing on Mother Nature!

According to Del Walters of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, all that beauty sparked more than 840 wildfires. Once again, folks, California is burning. Only this time it’s mostly Northern California.

Considering the dry conditions, this is pretty scary. Precipitation for the 2007/2008 season is about 80% of normal. The drought has provided tons of fuel—literally. Bark beetles are having a field day, invading stressed Pines that can’t produce enough sap to fight them off. Everywhere I look there’s fuel, fuel and more fuel. Along I-5 around Weed, California, every pine tree looks to be dead or dying.

Mount Shasta, itself, has almost no snow left on it. Late March surveys show the snow pack below tree line at around 69-78% of normal, and folks in the town of Mount Shasta have received a water conservation notice. Earlier this month, Governor Schwarzenegger finally made it official. There’s a drought in California, he declared. Thanks Arnie. Now how about putting a moratorium on water mining in your state?

Three bottled water companies, with another trying hard to get its hand on the spigot, are still sucking up our most precious resource. Andrew Chang (director of the University of California Center for Water Resources) says, “there could be a concern depending on the quantity taken out.” Thanks, Andy. Could you be a little more noncommittal, please?

The fourth water plant proposal was made by the Swiss-based company, Nestle. They wormed a one-hundred-year contract (with no cost of living increases) out of five board members elected by the small impoverished town of McCloud. This contract allows them to harvest 1,250 gallons per minute at the price of 8.7 cents per 100, 000 gallons of water. Not only do they get the water for half-pennies, but McCloud will be left holding all the legal bags for any environmental boo-boos Nestle makes. Sweet deal! Thanks, five board members.

Concerned citizens took the contract to County Court where they won and it was voided. Nestle won in the Appellate Court, however, and the Supreme Court doesn’t want to be bothered with the case.

Nestle has a long history of sweet-talking rural impoverished folk out of their water, but in the long run the consequences will affect everyone. Brian Stranko of California Trout says, “Water that starts in Shasta could end up in any other part of the state.” The entire Sacramento Valley benefits from the Shasta watershed, not to mention Southern California—they get a healthy share.

In other words, we’re having a “watershed moment”.

Here’s the deal, folks: Corporations want to sell clean, fresh water to the masses, but they have to weasel us out of ours first. The proposed California plant would be the largest ever built in the United States. Promising wonderful jobs that do not pan out, Water Grabbers of all makes and nationalities invade poor communities in Brazil, Alaska, Pennsylvania, California etcetera to make contracts with ‘local board members’. If these jobs were so great, why do we keep seeing Help Wanted adds from the bottling companies every week in the Mount Shasta Herald?

Clean fresh water is well on the way to becoming the property of private corporations. Will the people of California recognize this moment as the opportunity to chart a new course?

Speaking of which, I seem to have charted one myself here. What I really meant to say was email me and I’ll send you a Sendoutcard of Mount Shasta—either the smoky one or the clear one—your choice.