by Craig Lauridsen
Staying hydrated is one of the easiest ways to maintain good health, but how you choose to do this also can impact the health of the environment and your pocket book. If you drink two liters of bottled water everyday for an entire year it can cost you over $1,000, but if you drink the same amount of MMWD tap water for a year, delivered to your house 24/7, you can spend less than $1. That’s right, bottled water can cost 1,000 percent more than tap water! In addition to the cost, you will end up with hundreds of empty plastic bottles at the end of the year as opposed to just one refillable bottle. It also takes a tremendous amount of energy to manufacture plastic bottles—in fact, it can take 4x more water to make the bottle than to fill it!
MMWD presentation at Tamalpais High School
These are just a few of the water facts we shared with over 100 Tamalpais High School students at the school’s Earth Day Festival. MMWD has been offering similar classroom presentations throughout the 2009-10 school year, and teachers and students have responded with enthusiasm.
If you are a teacher and would like to schedule a presentation by one of our water experts before summer vacation, it’s not too late! Just call us at (415) 945-1529. Or, plan ahead for next school year. The classroom visits include topics such as water conservation/supply, everyday water use, our dependence on local rainfall, the water cycle, and more. Presentations also can be tailored to focus on particular topics, or to incorporate take-home water audit kits which students can complete with their families to evaluate their own water use.
So far there have been 11 presentations, reaching eight schools and over 300 students ranging from grades 3-12. MMWD would like to thank the following schools for participating in the program this year:
- Dixie Elementary, San Rafael – Green Team meeting
- Marin Academy High School, San Rafael – “The story of our stuff”
- Marin Catholic High School, Kentfield – “Where does our stuff come from/go?”
- Saint Mark’s School, San Rafael – Eco Fest
- Sir Francis Drake High School, San Anselmo – Career Day
- Star Academy, San Rafael – Water conservation/supply
- Strawberry Point School, Mill Valley – Water conservation/supply
- Tamalpais High School, Mill Valley – Earth Day Festival
