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Students Demonstrate That Anyone Can Take Back the Tap on Earth Day

Alec Baldwin and Celebrity Judges Declare Winner for Food & Water Watch Student Video Contest

Washington, DC – After two months and over one hundred and forty entries from young activists and filmmakers across the country, the celebrity-judged I “Heart” Tap Water national video contest has a final winner just in time for Earth Day. Using a variety of media including claymation and animation, students creatively declared their love for tap water on film and pledged to rid their campuses of bottled water. 30 Rock actor Alec Baldwin was one of many judges representing the environment, film, students, and non-profit organizations to choose the first-place winner of the contest who will receive $1,500.

“It’s inspiring to see so many talented students using their creativity to dispel the myth behind bottled water,” stated Alec Baldwin. "Developing a concise and effective PSA is an art form and these students did just that on behalf of an important issue."

Wenonah Hauter, Food & Water Watch Executive Director and one of the contest judges agrees with Baldwin. “College students have proven that they are both creative and technologically sophisticated in designing compelling educational videos about bottled water. With this video contest students are building support among tomorrow’s leaders to value tap water and to make the public investments necessary to continue having clean and affordable water.”

Elizabeth Klein from University of Cincinnati was announced as the winner of the contest with her stop-motion animation video. Klein’s video and other finalist videos fulfilled the following requirements:  a declaration of love for tap water, some discussion about bottled water consumption, and why the student’s college or university should break the bottled water habit.  Zachary Eagles from Fresno City College and Matthew Williams from SUNY College at Potsdam were also among the top three finalists of the competition.

The contest is a part of Food & Water Watch’s Take Back the Tap college campaign that encourages students and entire campuses to cut existing contracts with bottled water corporations and promote the use of tap water. According to the group’s report Take Back the Tap, tap water is better for consumers’ health, their pocketbooks, and the environment. Millions of barrels of oil are used to produce and transport plastic bottles annually, and in the end, 86 percent of the bottles end up in landfills. The report is one of many useful materials available at Food & Water Watch’s new website at www.takebackthetap.org.

“TakeBacktheTap.org is a one-stop resource for individuals interested in taking action in their local communities either at their college campuses or favorite restaurants,” stated Hauter. “Individuals can download any of these materials and equip themselves with the tools needed to raise awareness in their cities about the deception behind bottled water.”

The site provides petitions, how-to guides, educational fliers, and other resources for not just colleges and students, but also restaurants and restaurant-goers interested in taking back the tap.

Food & Water Watch is working with cities across the country to urge local restaurants and chefs to switch to serving only municipal tap water and help educate customers about the benefits of tap over bottled water. Last month, San Francisco joined forces with Food & Water Watch and the city government to help kick-off the campaign, and Food & Water Watch is working to launch similar campaigns with Santa Cruz, California, St. Louis, Missouri, New York City, and Portland, Maine this spring and summer.

“Serving clean and affordable water from the tap is a healthy and sensible decision for businesses and their customers,” stated Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. “Citizens can make the healthy choice for the planet and their future by asking restaurants to kick the bottled water habit.”

To view the I “Heart” Tap Water video contest finalists and winner, and for more information on the Take Back the Tap Campaign, please visit www.takebackthetap.org

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Food & Water Watch is a nonprofit consumer rights organization that challenges the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources.