MEDIA ADVISORY
For Immediate Release
October 8, 2009

Maude Barlow to take part in ‘Moving Stars and Earth for Water’

On October 9 Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow will join David Suzuki, U2, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and others as part of Guy Laliberté’s Poetic Social Mission to space to help raise awareness about important water issues around the world, including the global freshwater crisis. This global artistic event will be broadcast live at 8:00 p.m. EDT on onedrop.org and RDI TV.

The Council of Canadians is calling on the federal government to take this opportunity to introduce a national water policy that bans bulk water exports, establishes enforceable clean water standards, demands the exclusion of water from NAFTA, increases conservation, and recognizes water as a human right.

“My hope is that the Poetic Social Mission moves not just stars and Earth for water, but our elected officials,” says Barlow. “The world urgently needs a UN ‘blue covenant’ that would protect water as a commons, ensure equity of access, and prioritize environmental restoration.”

Maude Barlow is the National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians and chairs the board of Washington-based Food and Water Watch. In 2008/2009, she served as Senior Advisor on Water to the 63rd President of the United Nations General Assembly. She is also the best selling author or co-author of 16 books, including the international best seller Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and The Coming Battle for the Right to Water.

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For More Information:

Dylan Penner, Council of Canadians, dpenner@canadians.org, 613-795-8685