How do you give your friends from London a proper tour of San Diego while they’re here on holiday? Make sure they hit all the best beach spots, check. Show ’em a good time downtown, check. Don’t allow them to fly back across the pond without catching a Coastkeeper screening of the film Tapped, also check.
One night during their stay last year, Sunny, Anoop and I took the ride up to La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas to check out Tapped. It was the first time any of the three of us saw the documentary which depicts the vast array of negative impacts the bottled water industry has on our environment, as well as our wallets. To boot, the flick has a pretty decent soundtrack.
Sunny and Anoop returned recently for another stay in America’s Finest City. As we’re catching up, Anoop told me about the profound impact Tapped had made on him. “The movie incensed me. I had no idea about the unethical practices about taking free water from the ground and selling it back. Every one has a basic right to water, no one should pay for it, especially when millions are dying from dehydration around the world”. You said it man.
Anoop goes on “When we got home from our SD trip, we immediately bought metal containers for ourselves and all our immediate family. When people inevitably ask me about mine, I immediately tell them everything about plastic, the water industry and the Pacific Garbage Patch. In addition, I wrote to my local council asking them to stop buying bottled water, and start using filtered water, if anything for financial reasons.”
Sunny’s family just recently opened a boutique hotel in London. The place is chock full of reusable water bottles on the house, making it so simple for guests to abstain from plastic. They’re also registered members of an interactive UK database that directs all folks, not just hotel patrons, for a free water refill.
Dang, talk about San Diego Coastkeeper making a global impact!
How should this effect us living here in San Diego? Simple, our backyard is the Pacific Ocean. It’s got enough plastic already swimming in it. Let’s do our part to not perpetuate this awful trend. Continue to use your aluminum water bottles. If you don’t have one become a Coastkeeper member. We’ll gladly hook you up as a thank you.
Furthermore, we each have a voice. Let’s use it! Tell your friends, family and local politicians. Shout it out loud I BOTTLE MY OWN.
