FREEDOM OF WATER:WHAT WE LEARNED

A journey toward understanding and action taken by

Tyvon Smith, Trey Albert, and Sam Ng(All names are fictional; this is a SAMPLE of what a group of students could do for their final presentation)

The Journey Begins . . .

Here is what we USED to think about

bottled water . . .

Trey Survey results:• I drank bottled water twice

a week because bottled water . . .• tastes better.• comes from springs• is healthier.

• I paid $1 – 1.49/bottle (usually).

TyvonSurvey results:• I drank bottled water

more than 1x/day because bottled water . . .• tastes better.• is more convenient• is cleaner.

• I paid more than $2.50/bottle (usually).

Sam Survey results:• I drank bottled water once

a day because bottled water . . .• is more convenient.• smells better.• is healthier.

• I paid $0.50 – 0.99/bottle

What we learned . . .

The bottled water industry thrives because of a

MANUFACTURED NEED.

Who “NEEDS” bottled water?

http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-bottled-water/

YOU need bottled water, says the industry, because . . .

http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-bottled-water/

Tap water isn’t good enough.

Tap water isn’t clean enough.

YOU need bottled water, says the industry, because . . .

http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-bottled-water/

Bottled water comes from clean mountain streams.

YOU need bottled water, says the industry, because . . .

http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-bottled-water/

And one more important thing the bottled water industry wants YOU to believe:

The bottled water industry is “green”

because it recycles!!!

But is all of thisTRUE???

MYTH: Bottled watertastes better.

http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-bottled-water/

Both of us (Trey and Tyvon) used to think bottled water tasted better. We did our own taste test and discovered we couldn’t tell the difference between

tap water and bottled water! We realized others had done similar tests and had come up with similar

results.

Go to http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/communities/atlantic-city_pleasantville_brigantine/atlantic-city-students-pick-tap-water-over-bottled--/article_04f4427e-74e1-11df-8352-001cc4c002e0.html?mode=story for the rest of

the story.

FACT: Tap wateris often as good as

or better than bottled water.

MYTH: Bottled wateris healthier for

you because it is cleaner.

I (Sam) bought into this myth. Then we tested tap water and bottled water. Tap water turned out to be just as clean and safe as bottled water. I must

say, I was shocked.

http://www.ewg.org/reports/BottledWater/Bottled-Water-Quality-Investigation

http://www.allaboutwater.org/regulations.htmlhttp://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/water/

.

FACT: Bottled wateris not cleaner than

tap water.

MYTH: Bottled wateris wonderful

because it comesfrom mountain

Springs.

I admit it – I thought all bottled water came from pure mountain springs. The pictures on the bottles got me! Turns out, I was duped. While some bottled water does come from mountain springs, other bottled water comes from the municipal tap. Many companies won’t even disclose the source of their water!

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/5467759/ns/today-food/t/your-bottled-water-coming-faucet/

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/us/politics/09bottle.html

FACT: Bottled wateris not always from mountain springsand may in fact be

“tap water”!

MYTH: The bottled water industry is“green” becausethe bottles are

recyclable.http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-bottled-water/

http://www.dasani.com/

http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-bottled-water/

Sadly, we were all duped by the claim that water bottles are recycled. Yes, some truly are. But we learned that many empty

bottled water containers simply go to massive piles in places like India. Maybe they will be re-used one day, but we think not.

http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-bottled-water/

FACT: Empty bottles, even when

“recycled,” oftengo nowhere except

to a huge pile Somewhere.

So . . .

NOW WHAT?

First, we made a personal commitment to stop drinking bottled water. All three of us.

Next, after much discussion, we decided to begin a campaign to raise awareness of the issues we learned about (and have shared with you in this presentation). Our campaign has three goals:1.Reduce bottled water consumption in our

school by 75%.2.Educate our community about the downside of

bottled water through public speeches and posters.

3.Lobby national leaders to create legislation to require true recycling of empty water bottles and other plastics.

Timeline:

GOAL 1: Reduce bottled water consumption at our school by 75%

GOAL 2: Educate our community about the downside of bottled water through public speeches and posters

GOAL 3: Lobby national leaders to create legislation to require true recycling of empty water bottles and other plastics.

Proj

ect B

egin

ning

, Feb

ruar

y 20

13

April 2013

June 2013

Ongoing – until the job

is done!

1.Make a personal commitment to stop drinking bottled water.

2. Order a “STAMP OUT BOTTLED WATER” bumper sticker. 3. Visit our BLOG to read our reflections of our personal learning

journey. You will also find our persuasive essays and research papers about bottled water linked to the blog.

4. Read our FEASIBILITY STUDY to see the process we took in deciding our project.

5. View our PHOTOJOURNAL of our journey.6. Add to our list of national leaders to contact regarding legislation

for true recycling; you may find the list on our BLOG, and add a comment with your suggestions.

What Can You Do?

You have theFREEDOM to

MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Thank you fordoing your part!

http://www.dimewater.com/water_coolers

PS:LOOK! Someone is

“getting” it!

http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-bottled-water/