There is an interesting controversy brewing over the continued removal of water by Nestle from California’s water supply during the record drought in that state. Nestle continued to remove millions of gallons of water from the San Bernardino National Forest to sell as part of its Arrowhead bottled water brand. While the rest of the state is facing stringent water reductions, Nestles has been criticized for removing 27 million gallons of water from 12 springs in Strawberry Canyon under a permit that expired in 1988. The expired permit’s fee for the water, according to critics? $524.
The expired permit only adds to the controversy over not just the removal of water by the waste associated with bottled water. The company head Tim Brown however said that this is like complaining about the weather: “If I stop bottling water tomorrow, people would buy another brand of bottled water. It’s driven by consumer demand, it’s driven by an on-the-go society that needs to hydrate.”
Starbucks recently stopped bottling water in the state. However, there are a 110 bottlers in the state. Critics charge that it amounts to theft will companies point out that it remains a small percentage of water use in the state.
Nestle has launched a counteroffensive to answer questions and critics. The company says that it has tried to renew its permit with the federal government and has been told it can continue to draw water. It notes that its product is still a lot better than those “sugary drinks.” It adds:
How much water do you withdraw in California?
Less than 0.008% of the total. Nearly 50 billion cubic metres (13 trillion gallons) of water is used in California each year. Nestlé uses less than 4 million cubic metres (1 billion gallons) in all its operations. We operate five bottled water plants (out of 108 in the state) and four food plants. Our bottled water plants use around 2.66 million cubic metres (705 million gallons) of water a year.
Two questions remain (1) why a company should make billions on public water without greater revenue sharing for the public and (2) whether such draws should continue during drought periods. It is also clear that the permitting system run by the US Forest Service (USFS) is in shambles. Either the USFS should cut off these draws or permit them under a workable and mutually beneficial system. It is bizarre to leave companies for decades operating off of expired permits.
What do you think?
I don’t believe we will see very much action on Nestlé’s behalf. Back in the late 1970’s there was a great row over Nestlé going in to developing countries and hocking baby formula to the poor, which met with protests from NGOs and others citing how nutritionally deficient their product was. And with cost to the poor and having mothers move away from breast feeding–a healthier choice for babies–vulnerable people suffered. There was a boycott effort ever since and now over thirty-five years later Nestlé continues its practices.
I suppose if this CEO gets let go by Nestlé he might find kindred spirits at Monsanto.
Good catch Nick. It is a well-established fact that Rand’s “hero” John Galt was based on a child-killing sociopath named William Edward Hickman. Hickman murdered and dismembered a 12-year-old girl in 1927, and later confessed to other murders. He was Rand’s idea of the perfect man. A good choice when referencing the CEO of Nestle. Thanks for reminding me.
phillyT – could you give us a cite to John Galt being based on a child-killer. It is not ‘well-known’ to me.
The key words are “sociopath” from the 6:08pm comment and then the Ayn Rand reference in the 8:56pm comment.
Karen,
When Silicon Valley comes back down to earth and the gravy train goes off the rails, it will be a race between Illinois and Cali to see who goes bankrupt first. Puerto Rico is bankrupt, So they are setting the tone. All Dem controlled, just taxing and spending. Dems wanted to make PR the 51st state, but they just screwed the pooch.
Oh forgotwhoiam,
Same old tired BS about corporations and wealth. You sound like a 14-year-old who just fell in love with Ayn Rand or maybe stumbled across an intro economics book from the 1950’s and thinks he knows something.
Corporations do not create jobs and they never have. Consumers create jobs you fool. No consumer, no sales. No sales, no production. No production, no jobs.
And in spite of those freaking idiots Scalia and Alito, corporations do not have morals, and the shield provided to corporate ownership is one of the great moral failings of human existence. Nestle is out to capture as much of the global water supply as it can get its filthy hands on. And the CEO has said “people have no right to clean water.” A true sociopath and a perfect example of the perfect failure of capitalism.
Go take an edvance econ class and try again. Thanks for wasting my time.
phillyT – the CEO of Nestles is correct. We do NOT have a right to clean water. I PAY for my clean water.
phillyT wrote: “Oh forgotwhoiam,
Same old tired BS about corporations and wealth. You sound like a 14-year-old who just fell in love with Ayn Rand or maybe stumbled across an intro economics book from the 1950’s and thinks he knows something.
Corporations do not create jobs and they never have. Consumers create jobs you fool. No consumer, no sales. No sales, no production. No production, no jobs.
And in spite of those freaking idiots Scalia and Alito, corporations do not have morals, and the shield provided to corporate ownership is one of the great moral failings of human existence. Nestle is out to capture as much of the global water supply as it can get its filthy hands on. And the CEO has said “people have no right to clean water.” A true sociopath and a perfect example of the perfect failure of capitalism.
Go take an edvance econ class and try again. Thanks for wasting my time.”
Hear. Hear!
phillyT: Great point. There are water main breaks and leaks all the time because the system is aging.
Our government has forgotten what it’s priorities are. It keeps spending money on “fun stuff” rather than sticking to its core responsibilities.
Nick:
Housing prices in San Francisco are now $8,000/square foot. I know, because one of my family members is trying to buy a house in Marin county. There are ugly bidding wars over houses, with applicants giving $70,000 over asking price just to get a 1950’s bungalow with asbestos, lead paint, and faulty plumbing. People are lucky if they can get something move in ready.
I frankly don’t know how long they can maintain this before there’s some sort of crash.
Max:
2015 is predicted to be a below-average hurricane season.
http://www.aol.com/article/2015/04/22/the-weather-channel-issues-the-2015-atlantic-hurricane-season-fo/21175066/
PT,
One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor.
Most Americans own the stock of Nestle in the international component of their diversified mutual fund portfolios.
Nestle has been more than adequately accretive to net worth values for about 150 years.
It would appear that your “evil” Nestle has not destroyed the world in 150 years of trying and that Nestle has, in fact, benefited common stockholders (i.e. common people) and chocolate lovers alike.
———-
dutchjim
I would correct you regarding your complete idiocy but something tells me you are incorrigible; as are most rabid iconoclastic communists.
Corporations don’t steal countries blind, they MAKE countries.
Countries would not exist without corporations.
Corporations are the national muscle groups. Collectivist com-unionist parasites are the fat.
Countries weakened by a dearth of corporations would be invaded, conquered and subjugated by countries with strong corporations.
Corporations create wealth.
Corporate owners, managers and workers distribute that wealth.
Corporations don’t pay taxes, their customers do. It is absolutely impossible for corporations to pay taxes. Corporations don’t have any money. Corporations get money from customers. If corporations are taxed, the money to pay taxes comes from the customers.
Countries don’t create jobs, corporations do.
Corporate “bailouts” are unconstitutional as are regulation of corporations and all forms of redistribution of wealth, including welfare, food stamps, affirmative action, social services, Medicaid, Obamacare, etc., etc.
It is true. No one has ever obtained a job from a “poor” person.
Parasites attach themselves to rich hosts. Parasites reject poor hosts.
Government workers are parasites that serve parasites.
“If a human was flaunting the law as NESTLE has been doing for 25 years or more that human would be in prison.”
And yes, “Corporations are stealing our country blind.”
Thank you Justice Holmes
forgot, Governor Moonbeam is only 77 years old and whiter than Wonder Bread. That is the demographic for Dem Prez candidates. Maybe he’ll throw his hat in the ring.
While I will attest to the fact that Nestle is a slimy corporation with a sociopath for a CEO, many cities in California have crumbling water infrastructure resulting in millions of gallons of water being wasted daily in multiple cities.
This reluctance to rebuild America because it costs money is destroying our country and its future.
🙂
Speaking of water…
The People were intended to have the power in America.
California ended up with Gov. Moonbeam, the head of the “dictatorship of the proletariat.”
Gov. Moonbeam doesn’t work for the People, the People do as they are ordered by Dictator Moonbeam.
Gov. Moonbeam has promoted and accomplished the complete, illegal invasion and overpopulation of California.
Gov. Moonbeam has usurped power, abused the power of government against the people and unconstitutionally declared California a “sanctuary state” for the benefit of illegal foreign citizens with no standing in America.
Gov. Moonbeam perceives himself the King and ordered people to follow his orders restricting water use.
Gov. Moonbeam does not understand that the People are the Sovereign and he is the Subject.
Gov. Moonbeam does not serve the People, the People serve King Moonbeam.
Gov. Moonbeam should have stopped overpopulation and overuse of water.
Gov. Moonbeam should have obtained new supplemental sources of water.
Gov. Moonbeam should have served the People.
Gov. Moonbeam has failed to serve the People by obtaining water and restricting population growth.
Last Winter, 10 Trillion gallons of water fell as rain on California. Most of the 10 trillion gallons of rain ran off into the ocean. Gov. Moonbeam had in place NO methods of capturing and retaining 10 trillion gallons of water delivered as rain to California during a severe drought.
The one-party communist state of California requires obedience by the people.
The American Founders established a restricted-vote republic that was to facilitate the freedom and free enterprise of the people as they conduct their “pursuit of happiness.”
What’s wrong with this picture?
Democracy.
———-
Alexander Fraser Tytler –
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the people discover they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that democracy always collapses over a loose fiscal policy–to be followed by a dictatorship.”
Steve, You are urbane enough to know the reason you have a surplus budget is because of high taxes on the tech industry. We are looking @ another tech bubble. When that bursts, you good folks will be bankrupt. So, I would put that cockiness in your back pocket.
California Academy of Sciences
https://www.calacademy.org/executive-director-thoughts-on-divestment
Paul C.
If legends are made in your mind, have at it!
From 2013… keep in mind, we’ve been told here by other posters that these studies haven’t been available to review. I guess that would be true if you aren’t looking for them. Paul C. you’ll especially be pleased with the earliest studies done in the year 2000 where, well… history is written.
Three dozen examples of ‘other’ scientist’s work.
All producing a ‘hockey stick’ result.
Enough hockey sticks for a team
http://environmentalforest.blogspot.com/2013/10/enough-hockey-sticks-for-team.html
It’s a CONSPIRACY…
Scientific consensus: Earth’s climate is warming
http://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/
Like Obama’s birth certificate… a CONSPIRACY, they tell’s ya.
Like the moon landings… a CONSPIRACY.
Like Kennedy’s assassination… a CONSPIRACY.
Like gun violence… a CONSPIRACY.
Like Sandy Hook… a CONSPIRACY.
But, that’s all they got. Rhetoric. Conspiratorial rhetoric.
Max-1 – you need to watch Conversation with an Assassin.
http://i0.wp.com/www.politicususa.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/image13.jpg?zoom=1.5&resize=485%2C283