by Erin K. Gray
An organization part of Corporate Accountability International, hosted an event Nov. 28 at Tufts University in an effort to raise awareness about misleading advertising used by bottled water corporations.
“The Think Outside the Bottle Pledge asks: Who are we turning to for our drinking water?These bottled water corporations are changing the way people think about water, and with the pledge we’re changing it back,” said Elizabeth Gary, a representative from CAI and the main organizer of the event. After the discussion, Think Outside the Bottle administered blind taste tests between bottled water and tap water to students.
“I found absolutely no difference in taste,” said Viraj Shrieastra, one of test participants.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone get them all right, but I’ve seen them get them all wrong,”said Matt Horder, the test administrator.
“We have received responses from several bottled water corporations already, which means they are threatened by the movement because they know how important it is,” said Gary.
Gary said the need for college campus involvement is pivotal, as this demographic is one of the major targets of the bottled water industry.“The industry sees campuses as a frontline.”
“In Boston, college campuses are leading the backlash against bottled water,” said Lizzie DeWan, the student leader of the Environmental Consciousness Outreach at Tufts.
At Tufts, more than 15 student groups and departments, including the Young Entrepreneurs and the Tufts Democrats, pledged to eliminate all spending on bottled water for any events they sponsor, DeWan said. Oxfam Café, a nonprofit on campus, has also taken bottled water of their menu.
DeWan said faculty members are also becoming involved. “Just a few faculty members can make a huge difference.”
Faculty members at Tufts will no longer use bottled water at any meetings, and in addition the Student Senate has encouraged the administration to reduce their use of bottled water at University events, she said. “After some faculty members became involved, the response was immediate.”
The city of Boston is also becoming more involved, said James W. Hunt, Boston’s chief of Environment and Energy Services. “Under the mayor’s direction, the city is embarking on an effort to examine the feasibility of restoring public drinking water fountains in municipal buildings.”
“It is exciting to see a new generation of students taking actions on their values,” said Neva Goodwin, a co-founder of the Global Development and Environment Institute, and one of the speakers at the event.
Goodwin said the bottled water industry effects several facets of society, including climate change, health, equity and corporate power.
“There is a disturbing amount of wasted energy in bottling water,” she said.
“Last year, at least four billion pounds of plastic bottles ended up in city waste streams. It can cost more than $70 million in fees each year to dump and incinerate plastic bottles alone,” said Gary.
“What’s more, making bottles to meet Americans’ demand for bottled water required the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of oil and generated more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions last year alone,” she said.
Goodwin said the usage of bottled water is dividing an already divided society. There are poor people who have poor access to water, and when the rich are the only ones who can afford it, they care less and less about paying taxes to help provide for others who can not afford it. “Americans spent $15 million on bottled water last year.”
Raising awareness about the cleanliness of public drinking water is a challenge, said Jeanne E. Richardson, the manager of communications at the Boston Water and Sewer Commission. “I think grassroots efforts and campaigns like this that speak to the people are the most powerful means to spread information in this matter.
The water provided to all of the Boston area comes from Quabbin Reservoir, which is large and pristine, she said.
The commission spends $2 million to keep the system regulated and up to date, she said. “The quality of water is really good.”
“Sometimes people don’t realize that everyone in Boston gets the same water, whether your from Beacon Hill or Dorchester,” said Joshua K. Das, project manager of the MWRA.
“I live in Jamaica Plain, and I see people buying bottled water with food stamps,” he said. “The cost of a gallon of tap water is approximately a penny,” he said.
Another issue that arises are cultural barriers with individuals from other countries who can not drink the tap water in their countries and assume the same is true here, he said.
“Bottled water brands undermine confidence in our public water systems,” said Becky Smith from Clean Water Action.“It’s time people make a stand for the tap, which means backing state and local regulations and water rates that protect the safety of our water.”
Forty percent of bottled water comes from municipal sources, and as consumers we would have more control if the companies we receive our water from were not privatized, she said.
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