With Earth Day coming up on Monday, we have a guest post about an event to challenge your bottled vs. tap water knowledge. Elizabeth Kobert is a local coordinator for Think Outside the Bottle. She is a junior at the University of Pennsylvania.

What do water and national parks have in common? They’re both priceless public assets that should be free and accessible to all!

We are challenging national parks to Think Outside the Bottle and adopt a water bottle-free policy. After the Grand Canyon phased out the sale of bottled water, their waste stream decreased by over 20%, and over a dozen other parks have made the same commitment.

To celebrate Earth Day and National Park Week, we will be sponsoring a Tap Water Challenge outside of Independence National Historic Park to educate the public about the misleading marketing practices of the bottled water industry and to showcase Philly’s awesome tap water.

The Think Outside the Bottle campaign urges national parks to assess the environmental and social impacts of bottled water.  In addition to the waste created by plastic bottles themselves, the process involved in producing water bottles is highly energy- and water-intensive. Water is an essential human right, and not a good to be sold at high prices by large corporations. These companies undermine public water systems by persuading consumers that they are selling a superior product, when in fact bottled water is less regulated than tap water, and some even IS tap water.

Our national parks exist to preserve and protect the environment, and we want them to take a stand against this eco-unfriendly product.

Please join us this Monday, April 22, from 3-5 PM at the Visitors Center of Independence National Historical Park (6th & Market St.) to take the Tap Water Challenge and learn more about the campaign!

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Julie Hancher is Editor-in-Chief of Green Philly, sharing her expertise of all things sustainable in the city of brotherly love. She enjoys long walks in the park with local beer and greening her travels, cooking & cat, Sir Floofus Drake. View all posts by Julie Hancher