Campuses across the country compete for placement on the cutting edge
of climate action. Washington University of St. Louis' recent switch away from bottled water consumption demonstrates an easy green initiative propelling the institution toward a more sustainable learning environment.

Kicking the bottle, the Washington Bears united with the city of St. Louis in
celebrating award-winning tap water.  Just this August, Food & Water Watch joined St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay in providing 5,000 reusable drinking water bottles to city employees, banning the purchase of bottled water by city departments, and issuing a call for a federal trust fund for water infrastructure.

While most campus campaigns kicking the bottled water habit start with
students, Washington University channeled the “Tap It” campaign through its Office of Sustainability. “Tap It” has conducted outreach this fall to win the hearts, minds, and drinking glasses of the campus community, emphasizing the importance of environmentally-conscious consumer choices that reduce carbon emissions.

At the start of next semester, Student Union Academic Affairs Chair Kady McFadden plans to apply for a $10,000 grant from Brita Water Filtration Systems to increase campus accessibility to drinking water. The campaign currently plans to install new sources for drinking water around campus.

"Tap It" efforts counter the bottled water industry's deceptive marketing, which has eroded consumer confidence in public water systems.  With the deluge of advertising over the last decade "bottle-washing" America's youth, up to fifty percent of consumers drink bottled water, believing that it is safer even though the US has some of the finest public water in the world and tap is more highly regulated than bottled water.

Sip by sip, turning on the tap and filling up at the fountain, thirsty Bears fans support a functioning and publicly-accountable water system, working towards ensuring everyone clean, affordable water at one-one thousandth the cost of a plastic bottle.

– Amy Dowley