From people drinking water from reusable Nalgenes, to people taking the Tap Water Taste Test, to attending an Organic Wine & Cheese party, to wondering why there are so many water bottles displayed on the Spangler lawns – HBS students took green living consciousness to new heights this past few weeks.
So you got a green job. And you greened your laundry. You even walk around with a double-side printed case assignment in case one of the profs asks you (this really happened!). So you think you can now rest easy. Well no- not till you know how to “Green Your Drinking Water”.
It all started before spring week, when the RC students decided to have their “Reusable Drinking Competition” in all the sections. It ran for three days before spring break. The rules were simple – make sure you drink water from a reusable container, and do the same with your coffee too. So what do you think happened? It was a resounding success – the Grille ran out of reusable glasses and Section NJ led the way and won by a thin margin with Section NA and Section NB coming in close behind. The average score was 112 points on the third day which meant that over two-thirds of the class was drinking out of reusable containers. Way to Go!
We all know how badly we flopped at the Cola Taste Test during the Coca-Cola case. Well guess what – we are miserable at the Water Taste Test too! The Green Living crusaders did the tap water test to show that tap water tastes just the same as any bottled water. There was tap water, Aquafina and Poland Springs to decide from and only 15 out of 79 tasters got the taste test right. Even the Polish students couldn’t identify Poland Springs (ok, that was a bad joke, Poland springs isn’t even made in Poland). What does that prove? Simple: It proves that tap water tastes just the same. So go ahead – start drinking tap water – it’s safe and it tastes the same.
A couple of weeks ago, it might have seemed that someone forgot to clean the notoriously well-manicured lawns of Spangler. Apologies to everyone who felt appalled at all the bottled water littered out there – we were the one who littered the lawns. We’re guilty. But hey, think about it the next time you buy some bottled water – your bottled water is piling up somewhere too. It is said that if we line up all the bottled water drunk in America annually, we could line it up all the way to the moon and back several times over. Now imagine if it all piled up on your lawns. Moral of the story – you don’t need to drink bottled water when you have an alternative with tap water. Second moral of the story – HBS does a great job of keeping its lawns clean.
