skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, November 30, 2023

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

As climate change conference opens, one CA city takes action; More hostages released as Israel-Hamas truce deadline approaches; WV could lose hundreds of millions in Medicaid funding.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

An expulsion vote looms for Rep. George Santos, the Ohio Supreme Court dismisses lawsuits against district maps and the Supreme Court hears a case which could cut the power of federal agencies.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Congress has iced the Farm Bill, but farmer advocates argue some portions are urgent, the Hoosier State is reaping big rewards from wind and solar, and opponents react to a road through Alaska's Brooks Range, long a dream destination for hunters and anglers.

Think Before You Drink: MI Water Rights Groups Join Nestlé Boycott

play audio
Play

Monday, October 2, 2017   

FLINT, Mich. – Michiganders have spoken out with petitions and emails about bottled water giant Nestlé's plan to more than double the amount of water it pumps out of northern Michigan, and activists say now, it's time to fight back with purchasing power.

Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation has joined a larger movement to boycott Nestlé products.

The group's president, Peggy Case, says the company's legal battle with Osceola Township over denial of a zoning permit was the last straw.

She says Nestlé's actions have saddled the tiny community with legal fees and are part of a much bigger problem – the privatization of water.

"It's a fallacy that bottled water is safer and better water,” she states. “It's a marketing ploy that has been used very effectively to build up a huge market for bottled water in places where it's completely unnecessary."

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has faced significant public pressure to deny Nestlé's request to increase its well output near Evart from 150 to 400 gallons per minute.

The Council of Canadians started the boycott last year after Nestlé outbid a small Ontario town for a well that had been intended as water for local residents.

Nestlé insists its plan is simply a response to consumer demand.

While the DEQ says it is looking into concerns that the proposal would harm local wetlands, Case says damage being done by the current pumping rate is already visible.

"These used to be cold water trout streams, they're not cold water any more,” she explains. “You can't find the trout. There's places where streams have changed their course, there's alien grasses growing there, there's changes in the patterns of the currents. And the headwaters of both of these creeks are dry."

Case adds that her group does believe there is a place for bulk water, noting the important role it has played in the Flint water crisis.

Last year, bottled water sales in the U.S. rose 9 percent, surpassing soft drink sales for the first time.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
The Economic Policy Institute found the number of child labor law violations increased from 1,012 in 2015 to 3,876 in 2022. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A bill in Congress with a Connecticut House sponsor aims to reduce child labor in the United States. Called the "Children Harmed in Life-Threatening …


Social Issues

play sound

As the opioid crisis continues, more New Hampshire grandparents are seeking financial help to raise their grandchildren. Already struggling with the …

Social Issues

play sound

As of Jan. 1, insulin will become a lot more affordable for many Nebraskans, and those who have come to rely on telehealth visits are more likely to …


Extremes of hot and cold weather have taken their toll on a concrete barrier along Binghamton's Riverwalk. Concrete crumbles between the stones of the wall in upstate New York. (Chet Wiker/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Some state and local lawmakers are on a long list calling on New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to require big oil companies to help offset the costs of …

Environment

play sound

Utilities and government agencies in the U.S. are carrying out plans to transition to cleaner electricity sources. To avoid being left behind…

More than 45,000 Washingtonians are diagnosed with diabetes each year, according to estimates. (Chinnapong/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

November has been Diabetes Awareness Month - but heading into the holidays, people who are diabetic know they can't lose their focus on keeping it in …

Environment

play sound

Conservation groups are celebrating a long-fought battle to protect the dwindling population of wolverine in the Northwest and northern Rockies…

Environment

play sound

As world leaders gather in Dubai for the international conference on climate change, the City of Long Beach is acting on multiple fronts to help the …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021