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WATER CRISIS

WATER CRISIS


FLOW

By Irena Salina

Irena Salina's award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st century: The World Water Crisis. Salina builds a case against the growing privatization of the world's dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel. Interviews with scientists and activists intelligently reveal the rapidly building crisis, at both the global and human scale, and the film introduces many of the governmental and corporate culprits behind the water grab, while begging the question, CAN ANYONE REALLY OWN WATER?

Beyond identifying the problem, FLOW also gives viewers a look at the people and institutions providing practical solutions to the water crisis and those developing new technologies, which are fast becoming blueprints for a successful global and economic turnaround.

Review
  • "An astonishingly wide-ranging film. An informed and heartfelt examination of the tug of war between public health and private interests." - New York Times

    Item no.: WU10600137
    Format: DVD
    Copyright: 2009
    Price: USD 350.00

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    AUSTRALIA'S WATER CRISIS: CLIMATE CHANGE, SALINISATION

    1. THE BIG DRY
    Parts of Australia are suffering their worst drought in living memory. Is this down to global warming? Opinions are divided. This film follows the experiences of farmers in the Mallee district of Victoria in south-east Australia.

    The farmers and townsfolk of Birchip, Victoria, have seen little of the rains that have flooded other parts of Australia. It's likely to stay that way. For Birchip is bang in the middle of the swathe of southern Australia that is forecast to dry out as temperatures rise, cutting farm production by as much as 10 per cent in the next 20 years.

    Some farms in productive areas may become marginal; small farms on marginal lands could become unviable, eventually being swallowed up by bigger operators or abandoned to nature.

    Farmers go to their bank managers, digging deeper into debt, hoping that the next hand deals them a good season. "You just get sick of borrowing, borrowing, borrowing," says one.

    It's a question of adapt or go bust. But are the farmers' problems a result of natural climate variation - or of catastrophic climate change?

    2. THE SALT PROBLEM
    "We're trying to run a first world economy in what you might call a third world environment."

    Australians are among the world's biggest consumers of water - but they live in the driest continent on earth at a time of global warming. And if this wasn't enough, they face another major environmental problem: salt

    White settlers tried to tame Australia and turn the land into something green like Europe. But when they irrigated, they lifted buried salt - instead of greening the interior, they turned it white. Previous government policies, and giant river diversion projects like the Snowy Mountains Scheme, have all made matters worse, encouraging an attitude that water is a free resource to be used or lost to the sea.

    Now attitudes are changing and many communities are facing difficult choices. Some farmers are tackling the water crisis by embracing radical change, adopting new methods unthinkable in the past. But will Australians learn by past mistakes? A great challenge lies ahead.

    Item no.: RA00110151
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 69 minutes
    Copyright: 2009
    Price: GBP 125.00

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    WATER CRISIS I: THREE CASE STUDIES

    Water is becoming increasingly scarce. Scientists believe 50% of nations will be hit by water shortages by 2025. Many people think wars will result. The following films look at water problems across the world.

    INDIA: Sewage and pollution have made the river Ganges one of the most dangerous rivers in the world. Since the 1980s campaigners have been lobbying to stop the flow of filth into the river. Electric-powered treatment plants have been brought in to purify the sewage - but these work only intermittently.

    Meanwhile India's capital Delhi is having its own water crisis. Some parts of the city enjoy water in abundance, in others people are dependent on tankers bringing water to their area. Children are being killed in the daily scrabble for clean water.

    AFRICA: The delta of the Okavango river is a miracle of nature - a vast oasis bringing life to the desert sands of the Kalahari.

    It's also a precious source of water in drought-hit southern Africa - but Namibia and Botswana are in conflict over who can use it.

    The indigenous inhabitants of the delta believe their livelihoods are under threat as Namibia draw up plans for a pipeline to draw water from the river. Tourism, too, is threatened by the water shortage. All hopes are pinned on a special commission formed by the countries in the region.

    MIDDLE EAST: The much-revered river Jordan meanders through the cradle of civilisation to the lowest place on earth. But now agricultural development has turned parts of the once pristine river into a putrid trickle.

    Only ten per cent of the river makes it to the Dead Sea which is itself disappearing at a frightening rate. The economy of the region depends on these waters. Only co-operation between Palestine, Israel, Syria and Jordan can save the river.

    Item no.: GZ00110162
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 54 minutes
    Copyright: 2008
    Price: GBP 125.00

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    WATER CRISIS II: CYPRUS, CHINA, SPAIN

    Water shortages are a global problem, affecting both the developed and developing world. These three films highlight what's happening in China, Spain and Cyprus.

    FILM 1 CHINA
    Inner Mongolia is one of China's largest and driest regions. It's never had much water, but global warming is now pushing the land and its people over the edge.

    Villagers living near the town of Qingshuihe say that their communal waterhole started drying up around 10 years ago. Since then getting enough water to live has been a constant struggle and conflict over the fast diminishing supplies.

    Over-farming is also playing a part. The land is becoming increasingly fragile. People are now being forced to abandon the countryside altogether.

    The film highlights one village which has been deserted completely. The government built a new village closer to town and offered subsidised housing to those who agree to move down there.

    This move from remote villages into town is being made by hundreds of thousands of people as part of a massive government programme. It's called "ecological migration".

    The government-built village provides people with running water for the first time. But, without land, many of these former farmers are struggling for a livelihood.

    FILM 2: SPAIN
    2008 brought the city of Barcelona the worst drought in a century. Reservoir levels are at dangerous record lows.

    In a desperate attempt to fix the water crisis the government has come up with a plan to pipe water from the mighty Ebro river to supply Barcelona.

    It's also a precious source of water in drought-hit southern Africa - but Namibia and Botswana are in conflict over who can use it.

    But environmental activists believe the Ebro, Spain's most important river, is already stretched to breaking point and taking any more of its water will be the death knell for the river.

    At the heart of the water problem, many argue, is simple over-consumption. The answer is a new global approach to water management and to get people to rethink how they use water.

    Meanwhile Spain is looking to technology for help. Just south of Barcelona one of Europe's largest desalination plants is being built. It will produce 20% of Barcelona's water needs. But does it really hold a long-term answer to Spain's water problems?

    FILM 3: CYPRUS
    After four dry winters Cyprus's largest reservoir contains just 2.5% of its capacity. Things are so bad that the government has had to ship in water from Greece and ordered the construction of desalination plants.

    The island's farmers were the first to be hit by the drought. Many complain of falling yields as the rains fail and the groundwater reserves diminish.

    But it's not only farmers who're suffering. The town of Famagusta has long suffered from water shortages. But now, as its population grows and the groundwater reserves dry up, the situation is reaching crisis point. Families are struggling, as the authorities cut water supplies to reduce consumption.

    Tourism is vital to the economy of the island, so the authorities are trying hard to protect this industry from the drought. The government gives priority to supplying water to hotels, but rising costs mean that many hoteliers are taking their own measures to cut consumption.

    The island's politicians are at odds over how to solve the island's water problems. Some criticise government plans for desalination and attack plans to promote and expand golf tourism.

    With Cyprus sweltering under the summer sun, people are asking what the future holds. Will the days ever return when water could be used without a second thought?

    Item no.: YN00110163
    Format: DVD
    Duration: Approx. 41 minutes
    Copyright: 2009
    Price: GBP 125.00

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    BETTER WORLD, A: YOUR BODY'S MANY CRIES FOR WATER

    With Dr. Batmanghelidy

    Dr Batmanghelidj Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj's extensive clinical and scientific research shows how the body naturally generates different thirst signals, but that these can be mistaken for symptoms and signs of illness. Recognising them for what they are, he says, means that we can enjoy better health and avoid costly mistakes. In his book, The Body's Many Cries for Water, he shares with its readers the results of his vast research on water metabolism of the body. He wishes to show how simply the health care systems can become scientifically transformed to a more patient-friendly system, instead of continuing to be an extension of the commercial aims within the health care and pharmaceutical industry.

    Item no.: VY01540207
    Format: DVD (Color)
    Duration: 30 minutes
    Copyright: 2008
    Price: USD 38.00

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    FUTURE OF WATER, THE - PART 1: THE WATERLORDS

    Management of the world's fresh water supply will determine global political stability and economic development. Many countries will experience internal conflicts over rights to water. There is enough water for everyone in the world, however, the question is who should pay for it, how much it should cost, and who should receive it. For the first time in history, the majority of the world's population lives in cities, and supplying these cities with sufficient water will be a difficult task that has the potential to cause many social conflicts. This struggle for control of water has led to riots in many areas of the world including South Africa and Spain where water-rich regions hold power over water deficient regions. Disputes over water are also disputes between countries. This is taking place between the ten countries that share the Nile River Basin in Africa. In Asia, the fight over control of its large rivers is a struggle of life and death and will have enormous consequences for billions of people.

    Item no.: LC00161002
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 52 minutes
    Audience: Sr. High-College
    Copyright: 2008
    Price: USD 195.00

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    FUTURE OF WATER, THE - PART 2: THE NEW UNCERTAINTY

    Climate change will greatly affect the world's water supply and societies in the future. We live in an age of climatic uncertainty and the future of the world's water supply will dominate political life and have enormous consequences for economies and cultures. Travel to Mali where lakes form and dry up each year and see how they confront the ever changing climactic conditions. Droughts or floods can be fatal to millions of people around in the world in poor countries. Uncertainty with water conditions will also pose new challenges to the world's most advanced societies. These challenges will affect international relations, migration patterns, and democratic systems all over the world. World renowned glaciologists speak about the drastic changes that are occurring in Asia and Europe due to glacier melting. Learn about the global consequences if Greenland's icecaps melt.

    Item no.: HF00161003
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 52 minutes
    Audience: Sr. High-College
    Copyright: 2008
    Price: USD 195.00

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    FUTURE OF WATER, THE - PART 3: THE WATER AGE

    The uncertainty of climate change and the increasing need for water is bringing a renaissance of large new water transfer methods. Throughout history, transferring water has been vital to building civilizations. Travel to the Sahara desert and learn how Egypt's leaders envision creating huge towns and large areas of cultivated land by pumping in water from an artificial Nile lake to irrigate the desert. Examine Russia's plan to build canals for water transport to several countries in central Asia, which lack water. Travel to South America and see a complex hydrological system that guarantees Brazil and Argentina a sure source of water for the future. Scientists are studying ways to locate underground water deposits and transport this water to populated areas that lack water. Travel to Iceland and learn how they are using buses that are fueled by water.

    Item no.: TY00161004
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 52 minutes
    Audience: Sr. High-College
    Copyright: 2008
    Price: USD 195.00

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    HUMAN IMPACT ON OUR ECOSYSTEMS: SURFACE & SUBSURFACE WATERS

    Gripping and enlightening, this program shows the interconnection of surface and subsurface waters. Two expert diver/scientists enter a Florida spring, floating crystal-clear waters over a heart-stopping tunnel drop into the black depths, and then follow an underground river for several miles. The water begins to turn turbid, revealing amazing detritus: tires, oil barrels and other debris. At the same time, another team humorously tracks them through houses, golf courses, and busy traffic from above, revealing how we unsuspectingly pollute the very water we drink, and what we can do about it.

    Item no.: BE06150167
    Format: DVD (Closed Captioned, With Teacher's Guide)
    Duration: 30 minutes
    Audience: Grades 7-12
    Copyright: 2008
    StdBkNo: 1595226451
    Price: USD 74.00

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    PLANET H2O: CLEANING POLLUTED WATER - PUMPED UP FOR PEACE

    Drinking polluted water can cause many deadly diseases, especially in children of poor countries around the world. We see the crystal-clear water in a flowing Peruvian rainforest river but are amazed to learn that it is unsafe, due to runoff entering the great connected network of tributaries that flow into the Amazon, the world's largest source of fresh water. We learn how student fundraisers and field scientists from the U.S. have helped indigenous peoples develop water treatment systems, using their own technologies.

    Item no.: HN06150197
    Format: DVD (Closed Captioned, With Teacher's Guide)
    Duration: 9 minutes
    Audience: Grades 5-8
    Copyright: 2008
    StdBkNo: 1595226869
    Price: USD 74.00

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    PLANET H2O: DRINKING WATER - BOTTLE OR TAP?

    A huge bottled-water industry has recently emerged, with the U.S. its largest consumer. But is bottled water actually healthier, safer, or tastier than tap water? A water expert explains that bottled water does not meet the same strict standards in the U.S. as water from the tap, though tap-water quality can vary among communities. A blind taste test by young students suggests that most people cannot tell the difference between tap and bottled water. And throwaway bottles create pollution.

    Item no.: GM06210198
    Format: DVD (Closed Captioned, With Teacher's Guide)
    Duration: 9 minutes
    Audience: Grades 5-8
    Copyright: 2008
    StdBkNo: 1595226842
    Price: USD 74.00

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    PLANET H2O: SURFACE WATER - A DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE RIO GRANDE

    The Rio Grande is one of our longest rivers, its Texas section forming the border between the U.S and Mexico. Competing human claims for it are viewed through the eyes of two young women: a whitewater rafting guide in upstream New Mexico and a teenager downstream near El Paso. We learn that communities' demands on the Rio Grande take away so much of its water that southern Texas and Mexico often see only a dry, sandy riverbed.

    Item no.: FY06150200
    Format: DVD (Closed Captioned, With Teacher's Guide)
    Duration: 9 minutes
    Audience: Grades 5-8
    Copyright: 2008
    StdBkNo: 159522680X
    Price: USD 74.00

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    PLANET H2O: THE GREAT LAKES - WHO OWNS THE WATER?

    The fair distribution of water has long been a worldwide problem, and it is one that the United States may increasingly experience in the future. The Great Lakes contain 20% of the world's fresh surface water, but that water is currently available to only a small portion of the U.S population. Should water-scarce regions of the country have access to this water, and, if so, should they have to pay for it? What effect would the piping of Great Lakes water to other areas have on the lakes and Midwestern environments? These questions are debated by students and adult experts, giving viewers perspectives for further thought and research on their own.

    Item no.: MM06210201
    Format: DVD (Closed Captioned, With Teacher's Guide)
    Duration: 9 minutes
    Audience: Grades 5-8
    Copyright: 2008
    StdBkNo: 1595226907
    Price: USD 74.00

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    PLANET H2O: UNDERGROUND AQUIFER WATER - PRECISION FARMING

    Despite its wonders, Earth's water cycle does not spread water evenly around the planet. The Ogallala Aquifer's huge underground reservoir of water gives the relatively dry Central Plains states such as Nebraska a large but limited irrigation source. But the aquifer's water is being used up faster than it is beng replenished. We see how one progressive farm family uses technology to conserve water while producing higher food yields.

    Item no.: BZ06090202
    Format: DVD (Closed Captioned, With Teacher's Guide)
    Duration: 9 minutes
    Audience: Grades 5-8
    Copyright: 2008
    StdBkNo: 1595226826
    Price: USD 74.00

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    WATER FIRST: REACHING THE MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

    An inspiring story from Malawi shows that clean water is essential for the achievement of the UN's Millennium Development Goals.

    Directed by Amy Hart
    Cinematography by Steve Nealey & Amy Hart
    Composer: Samite
    Additional Music: Habib Koite, Todd Nolan

    Through the inspiring story of Charles Banda, a humble Malawian fireman turned waterman, we see how water is a solution to many of the problems in his impoverished, sub- Saharan country. From hunger and poverty to women's equality and population control, HIV/AIDS to environmental sustainability, Banda makes it clear that the best way to assist and empower people in developing nations, and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), is by putting water first.

    Water First draws a clear correlation between clean water and all of the other Millennium Development Goals. The goals are a set of 8 targets set by the UN in the year 2000 and endorsed by 187 nations. Sadly, at the halfway mark, we are less than halfway there. Charles Banda believes that if more people knew about the MDGs we would have a much better chance of achieving them. And, if clean water was the top priority, achieving the goals would be much more feasible. "30% of the goals would automatically be achieved if everyone had clean water," says John Oldfield of Water Advocates.

    Reviews
  • "The perfect primer on the global challenge of providing universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation." - Sandra Postel, Director, Global Water Policy Project

  • "Eye-opening and inspiring. It is almost impossible for us to imagine living even one day without the clean water we take for granted, but the film compels us to do so. Just as importantly, Water First shows us that it is possible to mend the global water crisis." Elizabeth Arkell, Student Movement for Real Change

  • "A moving and well-done film, featuring African countries, especially Malawi, which would well benefit by access to clean, readily available water and its separation from human waste and wastewater to reduce waterborne diseases and related deaths, childhood stunting, labor and economic deprivations, and poverty. I am not easily impressed, after working in developing countries in water and sanitation for the past 30+ years, but I am impressed by [Amy Hart's] work." - Barney P. Popkin, Environmental Advisor, U.S. Agency for International Development/Bureau for Asia and the Near East

  • "I love the film. Water First is a powerful look at the problem of failing to meet basic human needs for water, and the fantastic efforts underway by dedicated heroes trying to solve that problem. We need more awareness of water issues and more such dedicated heroes. This film offers the first and I hope it will help produce the second." - Peter Gleick, President and Co-founder, Pacific Institute, Author, The World's Water

  • "Deftly demonstrates that small change can make a huge impact. I look forward to adding this title to our collection, and I feel it will be used well in a variety of teaching disciplines." - Patricia O'Donnell, Instructional Media Collections & Services, University of California, Los Angeles

    Awards
  • International Jury Award, International Water and Film Festival, World Water Forum
  • Fulbright Cultural Exchange Award, EcoFilm Festival, Rodos, Greece
  • Environmental Film Festival In The Nation's Capital
  • Maryland Film Festival
  • Global Peace Film Festival
  • Colorado Environmental Film Festival
  • Pan African Film Festival, Los Angeles
  • Starz Pan African Film Festival, Denver
  • Bergen International Film Festival
  • Cinespot Environmental Film Festival, Montpelier, France
  • Cortopotere Film Festival, Bergamo, Italy
  • UN Environmental Programme Award Film Festival, Istanbul
  • Voices from the Waters Film Festival, Bangalore
  • Ulisphotofest, Istanbul
  • Africala Film Festival, Mexico City
  • Verviers au Film de l'Eau , Verviers, Belgium
  • Food and Water- Global Hunger Conference, Chicago IL

    Item no.: FD02560578
    Format: DVD (Color, Closed Captioned)
    Duration: 46 minutes
    Audience: Grades 10-12, College, Adult
    Copyright: 2008
    StdBkNo: 1594587906
    Price: USD 250.00

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    PLANET EARTH: FRESH WATER

    Follow rivers as they course from mountain to the sea, nourishing unique and dramatic wildlife and shaping the land. Recognizing that all life on land depends on fresh water, the presentation emphasizes the importance of rain in the water cycle and how animals from grizzly bears in British Columbia to cichlids in Africa's river valley use fresh water to protect, nurture, and teach their young. A look at South America's Pantanal wetlands and such key animals in the food chain as the red-bellied piranha reveals predator-prey relationships essential to completing the circle of life. Focusing on many of the world's most spectacular lakes, waterfalls, streams, and wetlands, the program uncovers exceptional animal species and adaptations including the crab-eating macaque's amphibious lifestyle, developed while living in the Sunderbans, the world's largest delta in West Bengal, India.

    Item no.: WN07981276
    Format: DVD
    Duration: 42 minutes
    Audience: Grades 6-12
    Copyright: 2007
    Price: USD 69.00

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