Calling all TV watchers, photo diarists, and photoshoppers! I'm starting a campaign to ask President Obama to put down his ubiquitous plastic water bottles -- but I can't do it without your help!
Why should Obama stop using his plastic water bottles? Below....
The manufacture of water bottles squanders oil, carbon, and water itself. The 26 billion bottles of water consumed by North Americans take 17 thousand barrels of oil to manufacture, or enough to power 100,000 cars for a year. Manufacturing those bottles also emitted 2,550,000 tons of carbon into the atmosphere, and each 1 liter bottle takes nearly 7 liters of water to manufacture. Although many of us protest that we recycle the bottles, 86% of them end up in landfills; more importantly, manufacturing the bottles in the first place expends water, oil, and carbon needlessly. (All these statistics came from the diary by Asinus Asinum Fricat yesterday on the insanity of bottled water; if you missed it, check it out, as its spot on the rec list was well deserved.)
Barack and Michelle Obama are well aware of their ability to influence ordinary Americans. Michelle Obama's organic kitchen garden is an inspiration to many of us -- except, as Jill Richardson has noted, Monsanto. The Obama administration's drinking of Diet Coke has garnered media attention, and Honest T reported a bump in sales after Barack was seen drinking it on the campaign trail.
If President Obama were to renounce drinking water from plastic disposable bottles, it would send a wonderful message to all of us. There's plenty of alternatives, from SIGG/Kleen Kanteen steel water bottles to Brita type filtered pitchers to good old fashioned tap water in a glass. This is not a commercial for a product, and I'm not advocating for one replacement over another.
First, I'm asking for help with photos and/or video of the President with a plastic water bottle in his hand. I don't watch TV and don't see what I'm told is an ubiquitous plastic water bottle, but do you see those picture? Can you post them here?
Second, anyone want to take a stab at developing a logo? Perhaps one or more of those pictures with a closeup of his hand and the universal red slash and circle?
And last, a message. "President Obama Has A Drinking Problem"? "Step Away From That Bottle, Mr. President!" ? Any other ideas?
You can email me at azureblueskies at sbcglobal dot net, but I'll see it faster at DK Greenroots. If you haven't already joined,
and you are interested in environmental issues, please join DK GreenRoots, a new environmental advocacy group created by Meteor Blades. DK GreenRoots is comprised of bloggers at Daily Kos and eco-advocates from other sites. We focus on a broad range of issues. We alert each other to important eco-stories in the mainstream media and on the Internet, promote bloggers at one site to readers at other sites and discuss crucial eco-issues. We are in exciting times now because for the first time in years, significant environmental legislation will be passed by Congress. DK GreenRoots can also be used to apprise members of discussions and strategy sessions happening in Meteor Blade’s Green Diary Rescue thread, which is also our workroom. |
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