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Maude Barlow in the foreward to her important new book ‘Blue Covenant’ says: “To all the water warriors, you amaze me”. After hearing her speak last week I am certain that comment was plucked from her heart. She is truly a humble giant, a steady voice you will benefit from hearing live, or until then by reading her intelligent novel.

Water , water everywhere and not a drop -that’s not in a plastic bottle plumbed from small communities throughout Maine and sold worldwide including back to Mainers for a premium. And it has only just begun…

In the summer I spend a considerable amount of time in my college hometown; Castine, a hysterical, historical coastal community.  The combination of  maritime academy students, New York summer folks and local tradesmen make it ideal for gossip and hearsay. No big fan of either I spend time here because of it’s spectacular natural beauty, and because it is a place that informed my earliest direction-to seaward, as they say.

My modest property abuts a 155 acre wilderness preserve that sits high atop a westward looking 100foot bluff.  It is the home of owls, osprey, deer and fox- to name but a few. It also provides cover for the skunk that my dogs can’t seem to get enough of… Castine is virtually an island, if not for the narrow strip of land that rises over the ‘British Canal’ it would be an island. And as any islander anywhere will tell you: water is scarce, please conserve.

This past year due a number of details only locals care to share over a cup of joe the price of water/ sewer in this lovely hamlet went up by 30%. In my case that means one quarter’s bill amounted to nearly $800dollars!!! Granted I had five ‘twentysomething’ midshipman renting the home but who ever imagined a water/sewer bill would exceed property taxes, almost double. Not me that’s for sure, but after hearing Maude Barlow speak recently in York, Maine I am certain she knew! or at least suspected.

Maude Barlow, as the jacket of her thought provoking new book: ‘Blue Covennant’ states: “is the head of the Council of Canadians, Canada’s largest public advocacy organization. Maude is also the founder of the Blue Planet Project and a recipient of Sweden’s prestigous alternative Nobel prize the ‘Right Livelihood Award’ for her work in the water justice movement”. In other words she is an international superstar, a forecaster, detailing with extraordinary clarity the grand design that certain multinational corporations have regarding  groundwater and their ambitious pursuit of water leases wherever there lies beneath the surface fresh water in abundance.

Maude, considered the ‘Al Gore of fresh water’, was asked to attend KINDLE but had to decline for this year due prior commitments. She is considering Kindle’09. (Keep your fingers crossed). Maude is a Bioneer’s favorite and let me tell you why, beyond her credentials. Maude is that librarian teenage boys daydream about: her hair tidy, her clothes neat and smart, she is both stern and thoughtful but get out of line and she’ll grab a ruler quicker than you can say Huey Decimal.

Maude was in Maine -joined by an equally passionate water rights activist Emily Posner- to speak to a room full of area townspeople deeply concerned about the ramifications a large water extractor, distributor (spelled Nestle) would have on their sleepy hollows. Towns with names like, ironically Wells, and Fryebrg, Shapleigh and Kennebunk have all begun to question the validity of a town selling the rights to their natural resources. Much has been written about all this already, including their success on July 18 at getting the Water District to indefinitely table a proposed agreement to sell water rights to the aforementioned corporation! (see http://www.defendingwaterinmaine.org/KKWvotes.html) But instead of rewriting that which you can easily google what I would like to cover instead is the energy I felt in a room with complete strangers united around a common cause. And I would like to share some thoughts on Maude’s beautiful, facilitative handling of her audience.

Let’s start with the audience- largely it was made up of people who were old enough to possibly be retired but active enough that you suspected otherwise. In the aggregate they seemed well educated, some were perhaps affluent, they -much like Maude- were comfortably dressed, arrived in pairs, and smiled knowingly at each other- giving a newbie such as myself the sense they had said hello somewhere else, at an earlier fight perhaps. But they were not exclusive, nor clandestine. Although I knew few people in attendance everyone smiled the good smile, the fraternal smile, a wink, a raised eyebrow. They were present and spoke with authenticity. The story I made up in my head was that they knew they were fighting a war that had only just begun- Bullrun, Virginia 1861, maybe. And that the repurcussions of their efforts would inform others throughout the country, perhaps the world.

In fact, we learned later that evening that the ripple effect of the water war in Nottingham, New Hampshire this year (see http://www.celdf.org/Default.aspx?tabid=489) known affectionately as the ‘Nottingham Tea Party’ was instrumental in empowering people in Ecuador to change their Constitution restoring water rights to their people!

The mood was both anxious and excited; there had been some successes, and they were now truly organized. If the suits came back they would be prepared.

Maude’s ‘people skills’ seemed at all times, although she exchanged a fair amount of info, seemingly unrehearsed, as if it was the first time she had spoke on this subject of water rights. Her passion was right at the surface but not firey, nor tired simply balanced and affixed firmly in that place of right. Maude answered countless questions, I truly don’t believe a question was not answered. And stopped and started multiple times mid-speech to allow a perspective forward. It was captivating and I left feeling full but not exhausted. Many public speakers could benefit from some coaching from Maude, myself included.

Now finally some observations about her book ‘Blue Covenant’. Paul Hawkens, author of ‘Blessed Unrest’ states: “Water remains the unseen crisis of our time. Blue Covenant chronicles how ordinary individuals are fighting to restore  the right to pure water and return some semblance of grace and justice to the people of the world.” The underlying theme is hopeful. She details the efforts to capture water rights by corporations certain it will be sooner than later prove more valuable than fuel but also balances this with the activities of “ordinary people from around the world who have banded together to create a grassroots global water justice movement”.

It is not light reading but it does illuminate an important issue that most have no idea lie ahead. Here in Castine her arguments are difficult to deny, elsewhere even in cities where the tap water is clean and safe it is considered de riguer to order bottled. Maude would have us delist this ‘too cool for school’ idea and offers a spigot full of reasons to join her in that effort. Her book is worth reading- and sharing. Bring your own container for water to KINDLE- we will have tap water in abundance, but no bottled!

Maude signed my book: “To Ted, In Friendship- Maude Barlow”.