college

It's not easy to carol gaily on dark and rainy days… except when it’s for something meaningful: a demonstration to ban bottled water and the waste it creates.  Yes, the biting sting of that cold December day at Penn State University subsided long enough to allow us to sing until the school's administration heard us!

In a matter of weeks and with the generous cooperation of members of Penn State 3E-COE (Ecology, Environment and Education in the College of Education), Penn State Eco-Action, and the help of professors and Penn State staff, we were able to organize dozens of people who all had the same hope: a campus that would generate less needless waste.

Volunteers preparing for this demonstration strung together hundreds of plastic water bottles like a holiday garland.  We arranged them to form the word “NO” so that everyone passing through Old Main – the beautiful administration building that houses not only the university president’s office but also the dreams of students and administrators from the past – had the opportunity to appreciate our work of art.  

After reading a letter we wrote to Penn State President Graham Spanier asking him to cut the sale of bottled water, we sung three environmental songs written to the tune of holiday carols. One administrator joined us in singing:

“I'm dreaming of a White Christmas,

But global warming melts the snow.

And science is finding

The temperature’s climbing.

December's hotter than J. Lo!”

He joked that the president should ban water bottles, if only to keep us from singing outside.  Soon, we were welcomed into President Spanier’s office, where we left a letter urging him to ban the sale of water bottles. In case he wanted to recreate our cheer, we left a sheet with song lyrics behind as well.

It was amazing that so many people were willing to take a break during the last week of classes to support a cause larger than themselves. The energy has lasted beyond that day, however.  We are planning to meet with administrators next semester to discuss strategies to make Penn State more environmentally friendly.  Some seeds of hope have been planted, and we look forward to seeing the beautiful blossoms that hope can yield.

Alex D’Urso is a grad student in Education at Penn State University.  She is one of the co-founders of Penn State 3E-COE.

I couldn't imagine DePauw University's first Water Week and H2O Conference having gone any better. 

The concept of this week was to introduce the campus and the surrounding Greencastle community to the world's water crisis, show how this issue relates to other issues that people are concerned about, and offer opportunities for individuals to take action.  DePauw Environmental Club took this to new heights when they arranged to have a ban placed on the sale of bottled water during Water Week! The ban elicited great debate around campus and sparked many questions from students who only thought of water from a consumer point of view.  

The set-up of the week was simple: each day, a different organization or group of people would set themselves up in the Student Union Building and promote awareness about a particular water-related issue.  For example, one team of students presented on water contamination and purification in Costa Rica, while another team pushed the Take Back the Tap campaign.  In addition to the daily tabling efforts, two films were shown during the week, Thirst and FLOW: For Love Of Water.  Both movies look at the dangers of privatizing water.  Several trivia questions could also be found chalked on the sidewalks across campus to get people thinking about their water: "Where does bottled water come from?" "Name 3 waterborne illnesses." "How much money does Coca Cola spend to pump water for its Dasani brand?"  By the second day of water week, the dialogue about water had spilled over from comment sheets left where the bottled water used to be and into the classrooms.

All of these efforts built up to the H2O Conference, which took place on the final day.  All of those who had participated in tabling during the week set up in a conference room with booths and activities.  In addition, two out-of-state speakers, Jorge Aguilar of Food & Water Watch and Kurtis Daniels of EDGE Outreach, offered insight to the water crisis at the national and international level.  Needless to say, we were prepared to inform.

And inform we did!  All who were present were impacted by their newly acquired knowledge.  Some made the personal commitment to discontinue the purchase of bottled water.  Others were excited about the possibility of installing water purifiers.  One young woman in particular was so excited about the Take Back the Tap campaign that she took plenty of information packets and began hassling her family and friends about the links between bottled water and our water availability.

Overall, the week was a success. How do I know?  Because at the end of the week, people felt inspired and empowered to take action.  And it is when people are empowered that some of the greatest changes occur.  I'm excited to see what changes these new participants in the global water movement will bring.

Cora Lyn Newman Lowe is a Field Coordinator for the Take Back the Tap Campaign at Depauw University in Greencastle, IN.  She is a senior who is working on reducing the sale of bottled water on her campus.

Campuses across the country compete for placement on the cutting edge
of climate action. Washington University of St. Louis' recent switch away from bottled water consumption demonstrates an easy green initiative propelling the institution toward a more sustainable learning environment.

Kicking the bottle, the Washington Bears united with the city of St. Louis in
celebrating award-winning tap water.  Just this August, Food & Water Watch joined St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay in providing 5,000 reusable drinking water bottles to city employees, banning the purchase of bottled water by city departments, and issuing a call for a federal trust fund for water infrastructure.

While most campus campaigns kicking the bottled water habit start with
students, Washington University channeled the “Tap It” campaign through its Office of Sustainability. “Tap It” has conducted outreach this fall to win the hearts, minds, and drinking glasses of the campus community, emphasizing the importance of environmentally-conscious consumer choices that reduce carbon emissions.

At the start of next semester, Student Union Academic Affairs Chair Kady McFadden plans to apply for a $10,000 grant from Brita Water Filtration Systems to increase campus accessibility to drinking water. The campaign currently plans to install new sources for drinking water around campus.

"Tap It" efforts counter the bottled water industry's deceptive marketing, which has eroded consumer confidence in public water systems.  With the deluge of advertising over the last decade "bottle-washing" America's youth, up to fifty percent of consumers drink bottled water, believing that it is safer even though the US has some of the finest public water in the world and tap is more highly regulated than bottled water.

Sip by sip, turning on the tap and filling up at the fountain, thirsty Bears fans support a functioning and publicly-accountable water system, working towards ensuring everyone clean, affordable water at one-one thousandth the cost of a plastic bottle.

– Amy Dowley