The Syracuse University community will have another opportunity to peek behind the scenes of the controversial bottled water industry. “Tapped” will be shown on Wednesday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. in Watson Theater in the Menschel Media Center. Admission is free and the event is open to the public. A limited number of free reusable water bottles will be given away to attendees courtesy of SU’s Office of Residence Life.
Bottled water is the fastest-growing beverage category in the United States with sales of more than $10 billion and 8.6 billion gallons consumed annually. But what are the costs to the environment and our wallets?
These issues and more are explored in “Tapped,” which examines the unregulated and unseen big business of bottled water. It raises the question of whether access to clean drinking water is a basic human right or a commodity that should be bought and sold. The film also delves into the environmental effects of the bottled water industry, such as plastic production, the Pacific Garbage Patch and recycling.
“Tapped” premiered on campus Oct. 10 in Goldstein Student Center on South Campus. The screening coincided with 350.org’s 10/10/10 Global Work Party, a day to celebrate climate solutions and urge governments, businesses and individuals to cut their CO2 emissions 10 percent in 2010.
“The first ‘Tapped’ screening went very well and drew around 25 students,” says Keenyn Wald, assistant residence director for South Campus Apartments. “We hope ‘Tapped’ will inspire students to make changes with their own behavior, and to challenge their individual communities to do the same. The screening of this documentary is only one aspect of the ‘Tap into Water’ campaign, which includes many facets of water use. The goals are that people will gain new information and alter their behavior for the betterment of generations to come. We are very much looking forward to the next screening on Nov. 3.”
The documentary’s powerful message struck a chord with many of the students who attended the first screening. “After you watch this well-researched, illuminating and vital documentary about the lengths that corporations go to turn over a profit, you won’t want to drink another bottled water,” says Marc Mason, a junior triple major in communication and rhetorical studies, international relations and Middle Eastern studies.
“Tapped” is from the producers of “Who Killed the Electric Car?” and “I.O.U.S.A.,” and directed by Stephanie Soechtig, a former producer of documentaries for “20/20” and “Primetime Live.”
The “Tapped” screening is sponsored by SU’s Office of Residence Life. For facts about bottled water, visit http://www.onlineeducation.net/bottled_water.
