It’s hard to get a handle on all the issues of clean water– why we’re in our current situation, who is responsible for it, and what we can do about it.   Finding and sorting through all the information to amalgamate into one opinion or action is the first step in really understanding the issue of clean water, both in the United States and around the world.

One of my favorite ways to get information, and one I think is most powerful, is through film.  Luckily for all of us clean water activists out there, there have been several films made about clean water issues.  Tapped is film that aims to inform the public on the truth of the bottled water industry, based on the belief that water is the one resource that should never become a commodity to be bought and sold.

If you’re interested in the battle between public health and private interests, check out FLOW, a documentary on the condition of our water and the people behind the privatization of water.  And yep, it names names:

One film that is currently in production calls attention to the world water crisis by telling one city’s story– New Delhi, India.  The goal of the Groundwater Up Project is to untangle the issues of one city in terms you can relate to, and to share the small scale solutions that are taking place.   By focusing on the local methods of water management, people from all over the world can share ideas about how to take action around the water issues in their area, and find ways to incorporate traditional knowledge in an age of multinational corporations and rapid globalization.  Interested?  You can learn more by checking out their website and donating to the project.

Once you’ve checked out these documentaries, there are plenty of ways to get involved.  If you believe that water is a basic right, sign the petition to add it as article to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, first established in 1948.  Or make the pledge to give up bottled water.  Or, our favorite, add the replyforall signature to drive donations for our clean water partners, Student Movement for Real Change and Partners In Health.  In one month, you can provide a month of clean water for 54 people, just by using the replyforall signature when you send emails.

Fight the Good Fight,

Johanna Hudgens

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	It takes between 250 and 650 gallons of water to grow just one pound of rice. By using this email signature, Johanna provided an hour of clean water for 805 people.