Send a letter to your mayor!

Wall of water
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If you live in a place big enough to have a mayor, send them a note asking them to support this resolution, encouraging all cities to phase out bottled water in city hall and promote safe tap water as the best source of drinking water.

The letter's already written for you, and there's a link on the page giving contact info for your mayor...does it get any easier?

The website is here, but here's the text in full:

Contact your Mayor
Ask him/her to support Resolution 70
The bottled water industry is up to no good, once again. For months, you have helped us turn the spotlight on the impacts of bottled water – from extraction to transportation to the way we all think about water – and you have encouraged your cities to take action.

Now, the industry wants to stop our mayors from protecting the environment, saving taxpayer dollars and promoting strong public water systems. This month mayors from across the country joined together to spearhead a resolution calling for a phase out of bottled water in city hall. The American Beverage Association, the trade group representing Coke, Nestlé and Pepsi, hired a team of lobbyists to oppose the resolution, concerned that it might further tarnish the industry’s image.

Ask your mayor to support city water and vote for Resolution No. 70 - here is the letter to send to your mayor - copy this into an email or mail it to him/her:

Click here to find contact information for your mayor: http://usmayors.org/uscm/meet_mayors/cities_online/

Dear Mayor:

I am writing to ask you to please support Resolution 70 at the upcoming US Conference of Mayors’ meeting. This resolution encourages cities to phase out, where feasible, government use of bottled water and to promote the importance of municipal water.

Bottled water has an impact: from extraction to transportation to the way we all think about water. I truly believe that this resolution is good for taxpayers, for the environment and for our public water.

I hope that you will join me in thinking outside the bottle. Please vote yes on resolution 70.

Thank you for your attention.


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Resolution 70
Submitted by:

The Honorable Gavin Newsom
Mayor of San Francisco

The Honorable Michael Bloomberg
Mayor of New York City

The Honorable Thomas Menino
Mayor of Boston

The Honorable Laurel Lunt Prussing
Mayor of Urbana

The Honorable Martin Chavez
Mayor of Albuquerque

The Honorable Dan Coody
Mayor of Fayetteville

The Honorable Will Wynn
Mayor of Austin

The Honorable R.T. Rybak
Mayor of Minneapolis

The Honorable David Cicilline
Mayor of Providence

The Honorable Joseph A. Curtatone
Mayor of Somerville

The Honorable Richard M. Daley
Mayor of Chicago

The Honorable Marty Blum
Mayor of Santa Barbara

The Honorable Michael Nutter
Mayor of Philadelphia

The Honorable Manuel Diaz
Mayor of Miami

SUPPORTING MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEMS

WHEREAS, the United States' municipal water systems are among the finest in the world; and

WHEREAS, high quality, safe drinking water is already available at most public locations; and

WHEREAS, mayors are responsible for delivering safe and affordable water to our citizens; and

WHEREAS, bottled water is regulated by the FDA and municipal tap water is regulated by the EPA and has more stringent requirements for testing; and

WHEREAS, local governments invest approximately $82 billion a year to provide water and sewer services; and

WHEREAS, bottled water often costs more than an equivalent volume of gasoline, equivalent to 1,000 to 10,000 times more than tap water; and

WHEREAS, up to 40% of bottled water on the market comes from municipal water systems and the bottled water industry generated $15 billion in revenues in 2006 from U.S. consumers; and

WHEREAS, bottled water often travels many miles from the source, resulting in the burning of massive amounts of fossil fuels, releasing CO2 and other pollution into the atmosphere; and

WHEREAS, plastic water bottles are one of the fastest growing sources of municipal waste; and

WHEREAS, in the U.S. the production of plastic bottles for bottled water currently requires the energy equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of oil per year – enough to generate fuel for over a million cars for a year – and generates more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide; and

WHEREAS, we applaud the US Conference of Mayors for its National City Water Taste Test, which recognizes all of the great work municipal water systems do for its residents on a daily basis, year after year; and

WHEREAS, the US Conference of Mayors, per Resolution #90 adopted in June 2007, has compiled much information regarding the importance of municipal water and the impact of bottled water on municipal waste.

WHEREAS, the evidence suggests that banning bottled water from government use highlights the importance of municipal water and decreases the impact of bottled water on municipal waste.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the US Conference of Mayors encourages cities to phase out, where feasible, government use of bottled water and promote the importance of municipal water.