Projects
Bottle This!
Water must be public
Water must be free
Water is a human right, not a luxury….
This is my campaign: THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU DRINK!
Water…bottled in plastic and shipped all around the world, burning fossil fuels to transport it, leaching toxic chemicals when you toss the bottle, brand names marketing it like it’s something we should have to pay big bucks for.. Please, people. Plastic bottles of water are a problem. A big problem.
But the beauty of this highly political issue is that YOU take take a very simple, very direct action: stop buying plastic bottles of water sold for ridiculous prices from dubious sources. Instead, buy yourself a nice reusable water container (I recommend SIGG bottles, made of buffered aluminum, rather than plastic), and you can fill it from your tap. Then, while sipping H2O from your fancy new reusable water container…you can play evalyn’s tune BOTTLE THIS! for all your friends.
Access to clean water being a basic human right. Water should and must NOT be privatized.
To read more about it, check out these organizations doing excellent work on the issues involved.
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
and please, contact me with info and stories about other people and groups working on this important issue, I am trying to develop this section of the site. I want your information, experience and testimonials!
TESTIFY! (seriously! send me your stories about drinking water…)
“After hearing “Bottle This” by Evalyn Parry in Health class last week, I was motivated to make some changes in my life. I have not bought a bottle of water since I heard her poem. In addition to this, I bought her song in itunes and burnt cd copies for three other people. I sent one copy to some friends in Ottawa who were doing research over the summer about the bottled water industry. I alsosent a copy to my mother who is also a teacher and I thought perhaps she would pass the message to her students. And lastly, I sent a copy tothe camp director at of the children’s summer camp where I work, urging him to buy less bottled water for our candy shop. I suggested that he buy re-usable Nalgene bottles that we could fill with water and place in the coolers and then have the children return them to the kitchen to be re-washed and re-stocked in the candy shop. I don’t know if the director will go to the effort of initiating this but I feel that it is an appropriate atmosphere to encourage environmentally friendly behaviour.” Karen Terluk, student at University of Western Ontario
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“Hi Evalyn, I have discovered the perfect water bottle for those of us who already carry far too many things in our purses and pockets: the stainless steel hip flask. Sure it gets some looks, but then it starts the conversation. I assure people that this flask is reserved for water while they tease me about drinking on the job, etc. and it is good fun.
People often say it seems too small, which could be a concern on a long hike but I mostly hang out in the city, and I can fill my flask anywhere because I believe tap water is safe and good! This reinforces the message that it is not just about the plastic but about the idea of buying water twice (we already pay for city water). The flask is perfect: it is non-breakable, non-toxic, the lid is attached, and it fits nicely in the side of the purse.
Cheers, Maura
www.mauravolante.ca
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