Stiv Wilson, Story of Stuff	9:37 PM (53 minutes ago)
to Joseph

We just helped pass a groundbreaking ballot initiative in Oregon to protect public water against Nestlé's grab. Help us achieve more victories elsewhere. Contribute today! Dear Joseph, The people of Hood River County, Oregon where Nestlé was trying to open a new water bottling plant have stood up and spoken out.In a landslide victory, voters passed a countywide ordinance that shuts down any hope of Nestlé or any other large commercial bottling company setting up shop in Hood River County. Citizens in Hood River County launched this ballot initiative to protect their water resources after local officials had been egregiously influenced by Nestlé’s false promises of economic growth. With our film, Our Water, Our Future, The Story of Stuff Community shed a big spotlight on this small town battle, elevating it to the international stage. The film serves as a great reminder that no matter how small we might feel, if we take a stand together, we can win. Personally, I am deeply moved by the passion and dedication of the folks on the ground in Cascade Locks who shared their story about standing up and speaking truth to power. Together, we ensured that Nestlé will not be allowed to operate in the shadows exploiting our people and our public resources. Those of us on The Story of Stuff team will continue to tell powerful stories about communities coming together for change and to work alongside them to support their efforts. What’s Next? The big question is: will Nestlé sue? Nestlé has invested over seven years of its time and hundreds of thousands of dollars (if not millions) in attempting to influence local politics in Hood River County. A Nestlé official made a press statement saying, ‘we respect the democratic process,’ but it remains to be seen if Nestlé will attempt to undermine the will of the voters of Hood River County with a lawsuit. We stand united to ensure that they won’t be successful. This victory sets a huge precedent for building solidarity among an ever-growing movement of concerned citizens fighting water privatization and exploitation of public resources around the world. Additionally, this win also prevents roughly 750 million plastic bottles from being wasted annually. That’s an elimination of 6% of the total bottled water consumption in the United States! We Fight On! In June, we’ll have our first hearing on Nestlé’s occupation of federal public lands in the San Bernardino National Forest where the corporation continues to draw water using a permit that expired 27 years ago. There we'll be working to strike the second of a one-two punch aimed at Nestlé’s Arrowhead brand. We are also convening a group of like-minded organizations to further develop strategy and tools that will enable even more citizens all over the world to stand up against Big Water. Today we hope you’ll join us in celebrating this powerful accomplishment in the long fight to unbottle water. Thank you for being a part of this historic victory. Stiv Wilson Campaigns Director The Story of Stuff Project P.S. Your donation can help us achieve more victories like this. Visit our campaign contribution page to learn more!