Water,water, everywhere...

Island Press E-News
July 1

Greetings, rosaria!

Americans now consume an average of 30 gallons of bottled water every year. In the United States, a thousand people buy a plastic bottle of water every second of every day. And most of those bottles are not recycled but end up in landfills. Marketers of bottled water have persuaded millions of consumers that tap water is bad.

These are just a few of the unsettling facts that water expert Peter Gleick conveys in his new book, Bottled and Sold. In addition to an interview with Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air, he appeared this morning on Good Morning America to discuss the continued pervasiveness of bottled water and its impacts: plastic waste, vanishing water fountains, and a consumer culture in which bottled water is a fashion statement. On top of that, Gleick takes bottled water companies to task for having spread fear about drinking tap water. You can watch his interview here.

As Peter Gleick says, water has become a battleground for the hearts and minds of consumers, and one which corporate interests have come to dominate. We hope you will learn the truth about water from Bottled and Sold, and toast to the planet's health with a glass from the tap.

Sincerely,

Chuck Savitt

President

This email was sent by: Island Press, 1718 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20009-1148

Upcoming Events:
7/3-7: 24th International Congress for Conservation Biology, Edmonton CA



ON THE BLOG

Rob Young: "After the oil spill, is there a premature rush for solutions?"

Peter Gleick on "The integrity of science".

This email was sent by islandpress@islandpress.org.
Island Press
1718 Connecticut Ave NW
Suite 300
Washington
DC
20009

Public Input: Where is the public?

Our school board had a public meeting last Monday, to gather input on our yearly goals.  We met at the local library, in a big, comfortable room. The library is new and attractive, warm and airy. It sits in the middle of town, with plenty of parking and accessible to most people simply by walking. Meeting notices had been emailed, posted and publicized.

We anticipated a good crowd.  Our district had just completed a consolidation, closing one school and moving students to another, and  major renovations putting Stimulus Moneys to work in our town.  Also, just a few weeks previously, there was an incident over a weekend  involving arson and theft at the high school that had the whole community buzzing.  Over $ 4,000 dollars were raised overnight by students and community to catch the perpetrators of such acts.  Our board of directors had been busy maintaining open communication on many fronts and felt that a public meeting would allow many people to ask questions, receive answers, and feel reassured about the future of our schools.  Our goal setting protocol had not been this elaborate in the past, I might add.

Working on goals with our community would have allowed us all to clear the air, concentrate on children's future, and face our challenges together.  The specialist from Oregon School Board Association that was invited to guide us, had been briefed on what our situation was and what we might expect. We had set aside a good four hours for this task.

The day was rainy. Nothing unusual about that. I walked to the event, a mere 1/2 mile from my house.

At meeting time, we counted two community members: a parent, and a volunteer.  The rest of the group was associated with the district in some capacity or other. We explored our strenghts and challenges, identified areas of need, outlined priorities. The group worked hard and left satisfied and united in their resolve to build strong schools.



Everyone leaves politics for the politicians.  That's not how democracy works. If we don't get into the conversations, how will anyone know what's on our minds, what our needs are?

You see, politics is about the good of the many.

The call of the wild...

Roadless Rules: The Struggle for The Last Wild Forests,

Out here in Oregon, with big swaths of forests and unspoiled beaches, the biggest controversy on our politicians' table is how to balance the need for economic growth with responsible maintenance of our environmental resources.

The link above is brought to you courtesy of Island Press, an environmental group that keeps a pulse on these issues. Enjoy.

As for me, I'm playing in the dirt.