Resilience : the resurgence of public things

What would it mean to think of resilience as an eruption of public devices that framed precious environmental resources as things in common rather than things we destroy or exploit for private gain? Let me explain using the example of bottled water. Over the last twenty years markets in single serve pet bottles of water have grown phenomenally. In many places in the world this is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the beverage industry. The reasons for this growth are complex, and also particular to the context in which these markets operate. However, what links them is the framing of drinking water as a branded market thing, as something provided by corporations. For many people this mode of delivering water troubles sacrosanct principles about water as an essential and shared resource; as something that is fundamental to the biopolitical support of populations and the realization of social bonds. In response to these concerns a huge variety of activist campaigns have emerged contesting bottled water markets and exposing their damaging effects on the ongoing struggle for water security and safe public supply. These campaigns deploy an enormous variety of strategies and are a testament to the inventive and experimental nature of much environmental politics. One, in particular, captures what resilience means to me.