The swell of criticism for bottled water is reaching new heights in Ohio as Corporate Accountability International’s “Think Outside the Bottle” campaign calls on Governor Strickland to cut state spending on bottled water and ask for federal monies to fund water infrastructure projects.

The World Bank predicts that the wars of tomorrow may be fought over access to clean water. The number of people without safe and affordable drinking water is an estimated 1.3 billion and rising. The United Nations estimates that within two decades two-thirds of the world’s population, now at about 6.7 billion people, could be without enough clean water to meet daily needs.

Traditionally, water has been regarded by many as a common good for all to share. But in the face of a growing global water crisis, some of the world’s most powerful corporations are privatizing our public water systems, transforming access to an essential resource into simply another opportunity to profit. Two global economic institutions—the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund—often require poor nations to privatize their water systems as a condition for receiving loans.

There is much evidence that private-sector involvement in water services delivery leads to cut-offs, loss of local jobs, contract renegotiations and broken promises for service delivery and network expansion.

Here in the U.S., corporations are also privatizing our water, bottling it and selling it back to us at prices hundreds, even thousands of times what tap water costs. Coke, Pepsi, Nestlé and other corporations are poised to capitalize on concerns about water safety and water scarcity.

The bottled water industry’s environmental footprint is no less significant. Between the water extraction, manufacturing the plastic bottles, and shipping the water across county, state, and even continental divides, the industry consumes the equivalent of well over 17 million barrels of oil each year—enough fuel to run more than 1 million cars for the same time period. The process also generates more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide per year. To visualize these energy costs of the lifecycle of a plastic bottle of water, imagine filling up a quarter of each bottle with oil. What’s more, our oceans and cities are overflowing with discarded plastic waste.

Bottled water corporations have spent decades convincing cities and individuals that the only place to get clean, safe water is from a bottle. The mountains and streams plastered on Aquafina and Dasani bottles imply the water is somehow better for our health. However, up to 40% of bottled water comes straight from the tap! This is not to mention its social and environmental impacts: It’s bad for taxpayers, it’s bad for our public water systems and it’s bad for the environment.

Over a century ago, the creation of municipal water systems in the U.S. boosted people’s health and standard of living dramatically, in turn spurring a period of rapid economic growth in the U.S. Now, addressing Ohio’s water infrastructure needs could create more than 35,000 jobs. However, Ohio faces a funding gap of more than $750 million to keep our water systems strong.

People all across the world, including the U.S., are confronted daily with the fact that access to water is scarce. We might be able to survive without energy, but we can’t survive without good old H20. That is why Corporate Accountability International and our allies across the state are working to defend the human right to water.

Already tens of thousands of people have pledged to “Think Outside the Bottle,” making a commitment to opt for tap water over bottled and to support our public water systems.

For the past three years, the Think Outside the Bottle campaign has catalyzed mayors, the public officials most responsible for our access to water, to reduce their bottled water consumption. In 2008, the U.S. Conference of Mayors passed a resolution encouraging cities across the country to phase out taxpayer spending on bottled water and promote the importance of strong public water systems. More than 60 major cities have responded to this resolution by taking action to protect the environment, save money and restore confidence in our public water supplies.

As cities and states across the U.S. save hundreds of thousands of dollars through this common sense move, resources are freed up for more beneficial uses, including re-investment in public water systems.

Here in Ohio, the mayors of Columbus, Youngstown, Dayton, and Cleveland have begun investigating ways to go bottled-water free. Mayor O’Grady of North Olmsted decided to go with the flow and sign the Think Outside the Bottle pledge to cut all spending on bottled water in his municipality. Now the Sierra Club, the Ohio Environmental Council and hundreds of people across the state are joining Corporate Accountability International in calling on Governor Strickland to eliminate the state’s spending on bottled water and calling for federal investment in public water infrastructure.

Our public water systems have long been the backbone of this country’s public health and economic prosperity—it’s time we start nurturing them.

Think Outside the Bottle.

Take Action!

Ask Governor Strickland to prioritize our public water systems! You can send a letter at www.tinyurl.com/totbgovernor asking the governor to end state contracts with bottled water suppliers, promote public water systems across the state, and advocate for a renewed national commitment to water infrastructure funding.

The Think Outside the Bottle pledge is a pledge to opt for public tap water over bottled water and to support the efforts of local officials who prioritize strong public water systems over bottled water profits. Visit www.thinkoutsidethebottle.org and take the Think Outside the Bottle pledge today! The website has loads of information on water privatization.

The Sierra Club’s Water Privatization Task Force is one of 3 arms of the Club’s Corporate Accountability Committee. The website has loads of information on water as a human right and the worldwide struggle against its privatization. You can read the Club’s letter to Nestlé asking them to respect the right of local communities to exercise democratic control over the use of their water, and you can also sign the Think Outside the Bottle pledge on the home page.

Join the Think Outside the Bottle campaign! Contact .