To the Editor:
In his column ("David Bowie loves Brown," Sept. 9), Mike Johnson '11 wrote about Beyond the Bottle, calling the initiative "insidious." I call his column "uninformed."
Johnson's university teems with "lazy college students" who drink only fluids found in plastic bottles. But hundreds of water fountains, sinks, and hydration stations dot our campus, and each member of the class of 2014 received a free stainless-steel canteen from Brown Dining Services, complete with washing instructions.
Johnson fears a staph outbreak brewing in unwashed canteens. If his bottle smells funny, he can clean it with warm, soapy water or distilled vinegar. If he's too "lazy" to wash it, he can donate it — along with his washable, reusable clothes — to the Salvation Army and start dressing in single-use plastic sheets.
Johnson calls Brown "an island of ‘Hydration Stations' in a sea of bottled water culture," despite recent campaigns in cities and campuses from Massachusetts to Australia to ensure universal access to clean, affordable tap water. In 2008, for the first time in a decade, Americans bought less bottled water — 8.7 billion gallons, versus 8.8 billion in 2007. Were we too lazy to buy another 100 million gallons, or did we realize that the tap is better-regulated and thousands of times cheaper than the bottle? Brown students bought 30 percent less bottled water last year; decreased demand encouraged Dining Services to stop stocking bottled water at retail units.
During Commencement, Johnson observes, we consume thousands of plastic water bottles. We appreciate Johnson's concern and are delighted to announce that Beyond the Bottle and Dining Services are working toward bottle-free commencements. As for his worries about "siege or nuclear fallout," Brown retains its emergency supply of bottled water — 51,000 bottles, each with a shelf life of two years. If the idea of water having a shelf life doesn't turn Johnson off the bottle, and its unavailability on campus doesn't deter him, he can keep walking to CVS to lug back a case of plastic bottles. Maybe Brown students aren't so lazy, after all.
Jonathan Leibovic '12
Sept. 23
