Opinion
We must end bottled water use at Hamilton
By Jack Wright ’19
October 6, 2016
Tags opinion
On Sept. 20, Student Assembly members unanimously approved a resolution encouraging Hamilton College to reduce its consumption of single-serving bottles of water from over 40,000 to just 4,000 bottles per year by 2020 (excluding emergency-related purchases). For the past few years, the Hamilton Environmental Action Group (HEAG) has run “Take Back the Tap,” a campaign aiming to reduce bottled water consumption on campus and increase access to tap water. “Take Back the Tap” became HEAG’s primary focus at the beginning of the Spring 2016 semester.
Bottled water represents a perfect storm of environmental issues. Both the production and shipping of bottled water consume an immense amount of fossil fuels, which contributes to climate change by adding even more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Also, many bottled water companies extract groundwater from low-income and minority communities, which depletes local water supplies. This exemplifies environmental injustice, an unfortunate theme of climate change.
Reducing bottled water consumption on campus is an achievable goal, and it provides HEAG a great opportunity to discuss several aspects of climate change through one campaign. Bottled water is completely unnecessary here at Hamilton. The tap water on campus, provided by the Mohawk Valley Water Authority, is perfectly safe and costs significantly less than bottled water. In various taste-tests HEAG held last semester, students could not taste a difference between Poland Springs and tap water.
Now that the resolution has passed, it is important to maintain pressure on Student Assembly and administration to address bottled water use by establishing permanent measures to reduce bottled water on campus. Unfortunately, the resolution is simply a recommendation to Hamilton College administrators to reduce bottled water consumption. Whether or not they accept the recommendation is to be determined. But regardless of the administration’s decision, we can still combat bottled water. By hosting blind taste-tests and educating other students, HEAG hopes to help students make the educated decision to choose tap water instead of bottled water.
Reducing bottled water consumption ultimately comes down to decreasing our demand for it. With catered events, Bon Appétit supplies bottled water only because someone ordered it. We can demonstrate our support of tap water by requesting refillable water containers instead of bottles. Avoiding bottled water altogether will best demonstrate your support for tap water. For example, at the many outdoor events on the Dunham quad, bring your own refillable water bottle rather than wasting a disposable bottle.
Of course, bottled water consumption is just one of many environmental issues Hamilton faces. By signing a pledge committing Hamilton to becoming carbon neutral college by 2050, Joan Hinde Stewart demonstrated Hamilton’s commitment to sustainability, at least in part. Since signing this pledge in 2007, there has been a large push from the top to reduce measurable sources of energy use. For example, Physical Plant has taken steps to make buildings more energy efficient. In 2011, Hamilton started shutting down the majority of campus over Winter break to conserve energy and save money. However, we still have work to do. All of these measures indicate significant improvement, but Hamilton’s sustainable action focuses only on directly measureable environmental issues. This fixation allows other less obvious environmental problems to slip through the cracks.
For example, just think about how much water our campus uses. Thousands of toilet flushes, hours of running water from showers and hundreds of loads of laundry per day add up. Despite this incredible amount of water consumed, there has been almost no push for water-efficient showerheads, toilets and sinks, outside of select buildings. Further examples of other environmental issues at Hamilton include food waste, herbicide/pesticide applications and investments in energy companies that contribute to climate change.
In order to create lasting change, we must maintain the momentum from the resolution’s success by encouraging administration to create a plan that reduces bottled water consumption to 4,000 bottles by 2020. As an organization, HEAG will continue to add to the more than 500 pledges to choose tap water over bottled water. Individually, you can take action by exemplifying sustainable living: minimize your energy consumption and waste (both material and food). If you’re interested in learning more, or would like to get involved with sustainability initiatives on campus, attend HEAG meetings in the Glen House on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.