as a young girl I spent much of my
summers in and along the shores of a
springfed pond I’ll never forget these
experiences and I’ll not forget the
first time that a drank from a spring
coming up from the ground for the first
time it was a cool temperatures that
earthy mineral content that brought a
sense of refreshness and renewal that
had previously been unknown to me I
remember discovering my favorites
pampering in 100-mile wilderness as a
young teen on one of my first
backpacking trips I disclosed a little
bit more about this but as people tend
to covet their favorite fishing holes
I’ll leave that up to your own discovery
and in the years following after having
backpacked more than seven thousand
miles across the mountain ranges of the
United States
I came to depend on similar sources not
only for my survival but also as a
relative reminder of how precious
Maine’s groundwater is and that few
other places compared I had a vision I
had a vision that my son and following
generations would grow up and enjoy the
same Mane that I grew to love I now hike
with my son I work with my son and I
enjoy water with my son and we do about
everything together but this vision was
challenged my ideas of what water
security meant to me came into sharp
focus in 2012 when Nestle the most
powerful food and beverage corporation
on the planet came forth negotiating a
u.s. precedent-setting contract with our
private
municipal water supplier that would give
them an upper hand of control over local
citizens for decades to come
a citizens had little voice in the
matter so we managed to get a public
hearing in our town so our voices could
be heard we set out and put a message in
a bottle on every residence doorstep in
town to educate them and encourage them
to come out of their homes and testify
we managed to overflow the hearing sight
on that day and here is one of the
testimonies that was given hello
I live in Freiburg and I trained well
actually I apologize there’s a little
bit of noise in the room but speak as
loud as you can
my name is I live in Freiburg and I
drink my water from the Freiburg Water
Company I do not feel that the 45 year
contract is a good idea for several
reasons one’s a nestle multinational
corporation has caused read in many
other countries and I am afraid they
have already caused everything our
community to Nestle’s water brand Poland
Springs claims to be a good neighbor but
I think when they sued the town and its
people for saying no to them that is not
a good neighbor in school we learn a lot
about not bullying and this seems like
bully behavior to me we do not want to
be bullied for the next 45 years I think
we could have a reward system and have
them as neighbors for the five years at
a time to help them with a good neighbor
behavior and to make sure our aquifer
stays agreeably healthy 3 first of all I
must say thank you for letting me speak
on this matter now because I may not be
allowed to speak again until I’m 54
years of old about this
[Applause]
I spoke an important truth to power in
this video though I didn’t fully realize
its significance at the time I was a
nine year old kid who is trying to find
my own voice and confidence in it though
I was intimidated by speaking into a
microphone for the first time and
hesitant after being interrupted I
anxiously continued and though I was the
only child to speak at that hearing I
realize it is us youth that are the
biggest stakeholders of our futures as
my older generation engages in either
the risky business
of gambling away our water legacy or
protecting it
since the commissioners I testified
before on that day all had ties to
Nestle I helped create an online
petition and delivered over a hundred
thirty-five thousand signatures to our
Statehouse which were rebuffed fire
I remember feeling frustrated and angry
that he wouldn’t even engage with me
about my concerns nor did he ever
respond to the personal letter I left
him I now wonder what if we had the
governor’s support especially after
having taken the case all the way to the
Maine State Supreme Court where after a
three year long battle we lost to
private interests we lost because our
current ground water protection laws are
not strong enough for the legal and
financial pursuits of Nestle or for Wall
Street banks that are selling water
futures to wealthy investors our
groundwater if not protected will be
sold to the highest bidder so if you’re
unaware of what’s going on with our
groundwater you may be responsible for
the selling of our Commons our life
legacy out from underneath us I ask that
you please not ignore my generation
think of us include us the way my mom
does invest in us and the environment
we’ll be living in and if Nestle markets
Maine in a bottle few of its consumers
question about its freshness its purity
its content nor do they often question
how it is sourced or the environmental
and social impact so that has water
privatizes would have us believe that
water is an infinite resource and that
it will always be replenished and
available to us so as to prove what they
might take or control is inconsequential
in 2016 Nestle topped all Opel inspring
brand bottle
topped all sales combined of coca-cola
in New York City metropolitan area by
more than 113 million dollars
they’re fierce marketing campaigns try
to convince us that what comes from
their bottle is superior to our tap
water which moves us away from drinking
from our own homes and it has catapulted
them to be the number one selling spring
water in the United States and the
number one selling scanned item in New
York City that said 15% of Poland spring
sales happened right here in our own
state of Maine which informs us how
willing we are to buy back our own
groundwater from them at more than a two
thousand percent markup
ouch and with each passing tanker truck
that goes by our home on Main Street we
have a steady stream of reminders 24
hours a day and seven days a week that
one of the fastest growing industries
and most profitable ones are going by
our home every day Maine will soon
surpass the 1 billion gallon per year
mark which roughly equates to 770
gallons per person per year in the state
of Maine with no dignified return our
state lacks a long-term vision that will
ensure our water security for the long
term and this is why I now organize with
my son because what we choose to do we
choose to do it together Maine is one of
only three states with an antiquated
absolute dominion groundwater law which
makes us vulnerable to exploitation our
surface waters lakes rivers streams
I’ll have protection under a public
trust in doing the same for our
groundwater could preserve it for the
benefit of all the original stewards of
the land we occupy the Wabanaki still
have it right water is life and when we
disrespect our water sources we break an
important social contract with each
other in a direct affront to our lives
and all life that depends upon it
these are deep-rooted truths that we
recognize and understand whether
consciously or subconsciously there is a
way forward even more so if adults give
the children in their lives an
opportunity to find their voice in
important public matters early on as we
discover truths that are bigger than
ourselves together we really can’t
afford to not involve our youth
especially if we are to carry on a
compassionate legacy of justice forward
for the next generation and in each
other as in water we trust what are your
families common values or passions it’s
not enough to say that you value the
children in your lives so include us in
solving the root problems that we are
confronted with and by doing it together
we will build our compassionate way
forward and renew our social contracts
with each other thank you
you
summers in and along the shores of a
springfed pond I’ll never forget these
experiences and I’ll not forget the
first time that a drank from a spring
coming up from the ground for the first
time it was a cool temperatures that
earthy mineral content that brought a
sense of refreshness and renewal that
had previously been unknown to me I
remember discovering my favorites
pampering in 100-mile wilderness as a
young teen on one of my first
backpacking trips I disclosed a little
bit more about this but as people tend
to covet their favorite fishing holes
I’ll leave that up to your own discovery
and in the years following after having
backpacked more than seven thousand
miles across the mountain ranges of the
United States
I came to depend on similar sources not
only for my survival but also as a
relative reminder of how precious
Maine’s groundwater is and that few
other places compared I had a vision I
had a vision that my son and following
generations would grow up and enjoy the
same Mane that I grew to love I now hike
with my son I work with my son and I
enjoy water with my son and we do about
everything together but this vision was
challenged my ideas of what water
security meant to me came into sharp
focus in 2012 when Nestle the most
powerful food and beverage corporation
on the planet came forth negotiating a
u.s. precedent-setting contract with our
private
municipal water supplier that would give
them an upper hand of control over local
citizens for decades to come
a citizens had little voice in the
matter so we managed to get a public
hearing in our town so our voices could
be heard we set out and put a message in
a bottle on every residence doorstep in
town to educate them and encourage them
to come out of their homes and testify
we managed to overflow the hearing sight
on that day and here is one of the
testimonies that was given hello
I live in Freiburg and I trained well
actually I apologize there’s a little
bit of noise in the room but speak as
loud as you can
my name is I live in Freiburg and I
drink my water from the Freiburg Water
Company I do not feel that the 45 year
contract is a good idea for several
reasons one’s a nestle multinational
corporation has caused read in many
other countries and I am afraid they
have already caused everything our
community to Nestle’s water brand Poland
Springs claims to be a good neighbor but
I think when they sued the town and its
people for saying no to them that is not
a good neighbor in school we learn a lot
about not bullying and this seems like
bully behavior to me we do not want to
be bullied for the next 45 years I think
we could have a reward system and have
them as neighbors for the five years at
a time to help them with a good neighbor
behavior and to make sure our aquifer
stays agreeably healthy 3 first of all I
must say thank you for letting me speak
on this matter now because I may not be
allowed to speak again until I’m 54
years of old about this
[Applause]
I spoke an important truth to power in
this video though I didn’t fully realize
its significance at the time I was a
nine year old kid who is trying to find
my own voice and confidence in it though
I was intimidated by speaking into a
microphone for the first time and
hesitant after being interrupted I
anxiously continued and though I was the
only child to speak at that hearing I
realize it is us youth that are the
biggest stakeholders of our futures as
my older generation engages in either
the risky business
of gambling away our water legacy or
protecting it
since the commissioners I testified
before on that day all had ties to
Nestle I helped create an online
petition and delivered over a hundred
thirty-five thousand signatures to our
Statehouse which were rebuffed fire
I remember feeling frustrated and angry
that he wouldn’t even engage with me
about my concerns nor did he ever
respond to the personal letter I left
him I now wonder what if we had the
governor’s support especially after
having taken the case all the way to the
Maine State Supreme Court where after a
three year long battle we lost to
private interests we lost because our
current ground water protection laws are
not strong enough for the legal and
financial pursuits of Nestle or for Wall
Street banks that are selling water
futures to wealthy investors our
groundwater if not protected will be
sold to the highest bidder so if you’re
unaware of what’s going on with our
groundwater you may be responsible for
the selling of our Commons our life
legacy out from underneath us I ask that
you please not ignore my generation
think of us include us the way my mom
does invest in us and the environment
we’ll be living in and if Nestle markets
Maine in a bottle few of its consumers
question about its freshness its purity
its content nor do they often question
how it is sourced or the environmental
and social impact so that has water
privatizes would have us believe that
water is an infinite resource and that
it will always be replenished and
available to us so as to prove what they
might take or control is inconsequential
in 2016 Nestle topped all Opel inspring
brand bottle
topped all sales combined of coca-cola
in New York City metropolitan area by
more than 113 million dollars
they’re fierce marketing campaigns try
to convince us that what comes from
their bottle is superior to our tap
water which moves us away from drinking
from our own homes and it has catapulted
them to be the number one selling spring
water in the United States and the
number one selling scanned item in New
York City that said 15% of Poland spring
sales happened right here in our own
state of Maine which informs us how
willing we are to buy back our own
groundwater from them at more than a two
thousand percent markup
ouch and with each passing tanker truck
that goes by our home on Main Street we
have a steady stream of reminders 24
hours a day and seven days a week that
one of the fastest growing industries
and most profitable ones are going by
our home every day Maine will soon
surpass the 1 billion gallon per year
mark which roughly equates to 770
gallons per person per year in the state
of Maine with no dignified return our
state lacks a long-term vision that will
ensure our water security for the long
term and this is why I now organize with
my son because what we choose to do we
choose to do it together Maine is one of
only three states with an antiquated
absolute dominion groundwater law which
makes us vulnerable to exploitation our
surface waters lakes rivers streams
I’ll have protection under a public
trust in doing the same for our
groundwater could preserve it for the
benefit of all the original stewards of
the land we occupy the Wabanaki still
have it right water is life and when we
disrespect our water sources we break an
important social contract with each
other in a direct affront to our lives
and all life that depends upon it
these are deep-rooted truths that we
recognize and understand whether
consciously or subconsciously there is a
way forward even more so if adults give
the children in their lives an
opportunity to find their voice in
important public matters early on as we
discover truths that are bigger than
ourselves together we really can’t
afford to not involve our youth
especially if we are to carry on a
compassionate legacy of justice forward
for the next generation and in each
other as in water we trust what are your
families common values or passions it’s
not enough to say that you value the
children in your lives so include us in
solving the root problems that we are
confronted with and by doing it together
we will build our compassionate way
forward and renew our social contracts
with each other thank you
you
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