Crowell Public Library Celebrates Water Week

Is access to clean drinking water a basic human right, or a commodity that should be bought and sold like any other article of commerce? Director Stephanie Soechtig’s feature documentary is an unflinching examination of the big business of bottled water. From the producers of Who Killed the Electric Car? and I.O.U.S.A., Tapped is a film that examines the role of the bottled water industry and its effects on health, climate change, pollution and reliance on oil. It is a behind-the-scenes look into the unregulated and unseen world of an industry that aims to privatize and sell back the one resource that ought never to become a commodity, our water.

As Tapped puts forth, any time you drink bottled water, you may be putting your health at risk, as well as contributing to one of the most massive environmental waste nightmares of all time. There is a simple, safe, green solution to this dilemma. According to Charles Fishman, author of The Big Thirst: the Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water “…your tap water is as safe as or safer than your bottled water.” Nonetheless, Americans buy 29 billion single-serve bottles of water every year. And only around a quarter of those bottles get recycled.

After the screening, there will be a panel of representatives from our local water districts to discuss issues raised in the film and answer questions from the audience.

There will be light refreshments and a raffle, so wear your lucky socks!