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Take Back the Tap

This video by Elizabeth Klein of the University of Cincinnati was the recent winner of the I *Heart* Tap Water Student Video Contest.

The contest is a part of Food & Water Watch's Take Back the Tap college campaign which encourages students to organize their campuses and communities to cut contracts with bottled water companies and promote the use of tap water. The case against bottled water is easy: 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.

Peter Rothberg

August 1, 2008

This video by Elizabeth Klein of the University of Cincinnati was the recent winner of the I *Heart* Tap Water Student Video Contest.

The contest is a part of Food & Water Watch’s Take Back the Tap college campaign which encourages students to organize their campuses and communities to cut contracts with bottled water companies and promote the use of tap water. The case against bottled water is easy: 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.

So TakeBacktheTap.org acts as a one-stop resource for people interested in taking action in their local communities. 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 attendant benefits. Last month, San Francisco’s city government joined forces with the group to help kick-off the campaign, and Food & Water Watch is currently working to launch similar campaigns in Santa Cruz, California, St. Louis, Missouri, New York City, and Portland, Maine this summer.

Click here to see how you can help.

Peter RothbergTwitterPeter Rothberg is the The Nation’s associate publisher.


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