CLEARLAKE – There seems to be a lack of just about everything these days: credit, money, oil, space, time and peace. So we can all be forgiven if we're not eager to learn about yet another: water.

According to those who know, California will be out of water in about 20 years. Like everything else on this finite planet, fresh, sweet water – so crucial to all life – is finite, too.

Second Sunday Cinema's free film for March 8th is “FLOW,” a well-made documentary that takes an unflinching look at the major water problems humans all over the globe face today: our water is being squandered, taken away, polluted and sold as a commodity when in reality it belongs to us, the people.

What makes this documentary special is that it also looks at places on the globe where ordinary people have successfully taken back control of water that giant corporations seized and were selling back to them at outrageous prices.

What inspired them? Desperation. Many faced the daily decision: does the family eat today or do we buy water? As the New York Times says of this film, “This astonishingly wide-ranging film is less depressing than galvanizing, an informed and heartfelt examination of the tug of war between public health and private interests.”

Want a little rocket fuel or anti-depressant in your morning coffee? No? In some parts of the US they're already there. Want to pay ridiculously high prices for what is often tap water sold in a plastic bottle? You already do.

Some people say of SSC films, “I don't want more doom and gloom, so I won't go.” But consider this: If a forest fire was churning towards your house, would you rather be forewarned, or would you prefer to watch another half-hour of a soap? Without reliable information, no one can act effectively on their own behalf. SSC exists to provide that vital information.

Former Lake County supervisorial candidate and local water expert Robert Stark will speak briefly on local water issues at this screening.

“FLOW” will be screened, for free as always, at the Clearlake United Methodist Church at 14521 Pearl Ave. in Clearlake on March 8. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for socializing and snack and seat-grabbing. The film starts at 6 p.m. We hope to see you there!

For more information call 279-2957.

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