Blue Gold: World Water Wars (2008)

Wars of the future will be fought over water as they are over oil today, as the source of human survival enters the global marketplace and political arena. Corporate giants, private ... See full summary »

Director:

Samuel Vartek (as Sam Bozzo)

Writers:

Maude Barlow (book), Tony Clarke (book)

Stars:

Jim Olson, Tony Clarke, Maude Barlow

4 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jim Olson	...	Himself - Environmental Attorney
Tony Clarke	...	Himself - Author
Maude Barlow	...	Herself - Author
Octavio Rosas Lando	...	Himself - CASIFOP
Eduardo Hernando Halez	...	Himself - Mexico City Water Works Union
Robert Glennon	...	Himself - Author
Ryan Schwebach	...	Himself - New Mexico Farmer
Michael Kravcik	...	Himself
Vandana Shiva	...	Herself - Author
Peter Warshall	...	Himself (as Dr. Peter Warshall)
Helen Sarakinos	...	Herself
Wenonah Hauter	...	Herself
Kyang Hae Lee	...	Himself (archive footage)
Clair Muller	...	Herself - Atlanta City Council
Oliver Hoedmann	...	Himself

Storyline

Wars of the future will be fought over water as they are over oil today, as the source of human survival enters the global marketplace and political arena. Corporate giants, private investors, and corrupt governments vie for control of our dwindling supply, prompting protests, lawsuits, and revolutions from citizens fighting for the right to survive. Past civilizations have collapsed from poor water management. Can the human race survive?

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Plot Keywords:

color in title | 

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Taglines:

You cannot make peace with thirsty people.

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 January 2010 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Blue Gold: Life for Sale

Filming Locations:

Brazil

Company Credits

Production Co:

Purple Turtle Films

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Samuel Vartek won the camera he used to shoot this film when his short film Holiday on the Moon (1994) won the TriggerStreet.com Film Festival. Kevin Spacey presented Sam the camera at the Toronto Film Festival and said "Go make another film". 'Blue Gold' is the result.

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Quotes

Wenonah Hauter: In the U.S., the largest amount of groundwater is being used for agriculture. And you really have to deal with agriculture to solve our water problems.

User Reviews

To the last gasp

This documentary and another made the following year on another aspect of the same subject by different people, TAPPED (2009, see my review), are both highly pertinent to the question of whether the human species will continue to exist or not. Public ignorance of the most crucial matters affecting our future as a species is truly remarkable. Nowadays people can no longer agree about carbon emissions, but one thing which should be agreed by everyone with any argument at all is that the future of the fresh water supply for the world is greatly endangered, and if we don't begin to focus on that problem without further delay, future generations will all die, and humanity will become extinct, along with most animal and plant species as well. Are we really so lazy that we do not care? Sometimes it seems that way. Otherwise, why are films like this not better known? The two films should be shown in all schools, they should be shown by all parents to their children, they should be on television, and above all, they should be shoved down the throats of all the idiot politicians who are doing nothing to save the human species, being too busy with stuffing their pockets with cash from corrupt sources in return for selling off public water to corporate buyers. This film attacks the 'sale' of the water (including even sometimes the rainwater!!) of some cities, counties, and even entire countries to corporate interests. Just imagine the bribes which have been paid to pull off such scams! And meanwhile the world's drinking water is running out. Although 75% of the earth's surface is covered with water, this film says only 3% of it is drinkable (and TAPPED says that only 1% of it is drinkable). And much of that is now heavily polluted. Large areas of the planet are going dry at an alarming rate, and 'water wars' are looming, while water riots have already begun in earnest. We are in a crisis of survival, but none of the governments in the world are taking robust action, whereas the international agencies are often the entities which are the most dangerous and corrupt, as they are entirely unaccountable to anyone, so they can take as many bribes as they like and no one will do anything about it, whereas at least some of the world's governments have to answer to their voters (assuming the voters are not kept in ignorance, which films like this are trying to prevent). This film begins with a harrowing description of what it is like to die of thirst, something we may before long all be able to experience for ourselves. This film is written, narrated and directed by an enthusiastic idealist named Sam Bozzo, who has done a very good job on a small budget. (TAPPED had a much bigger budget and higher production values.) It is based on a book by two other idealistic activists, Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke, who both also appear in the film. These people are all to be enthusiastically congratulated for their tireless work in attempting to alert the public to the dangers of human extinction due to the failure of our worldwide fresh water supplies. As Ford Madox Ford said in the February, 1924, issue of The Transatlantic Review, of which he was editor: 'That one should stand by and observe without a note of warning the sure shadow of doom engulfing a civilisation would be to display an equanimity passing the power of most men.'