The List
There are so many little things we do, I do, my boyfriend does, my sisters do, that can be considered Water Sins. Little things that create that inner turmoil. Am I doing enough in my water conservation efforts? Have I engaged enough with my community? Am I doing anything helpful at all, or just spinning my wheels in a puddle of filtered tap water?
I’ve taken a look at my own life to (hopefully humorously) find the grey area I can improve on. Are there sins? Are there mistakes? Without further ado my top water sins are:
My undying love for my bathtub. Nothing relaxes me like a bubble bath with my lavender bath soaps.
Beer. Not healthy. Takes a lot of water to produce, and this is perhaps my greatet weakness.
Carwashes. I’ve talked about this. What can I say in my defense other than I like a clean car?
Pedicures. My feet are gross and I like a little pampering. This doesn’t make me feel less guilty about the huge amount of water used to soak my toes.
Homebrewing. Along with drinking beer, I like to brew beer. This is water-intensive to say the least but it is a hobby I deeply enjoy. And it saves me money on my other hobby of drinking beer.
Running my dishwasher when it’s not totally full. I’ve only got so many dishes, so I run my dishwasher perhaps 3 times a week rather than once. I don’t want dozens of dishes and there doesn’t seem to be any other solution.
I was aiming for 10 but luckily it seems I am under the mark. Does this make me a saint? Sadly, rather, it just highlights areas in my daily life that need improvement, areas where my politics do not overlap with daily living, and areas where I have to continue to battle out the most enlightened way to conduct my daily life.
Water Thoughts
Where have we been?
With the weather turning colder and beach season over Water Pressures is busy. The premiere at the Chicago South Asian FIlm Festival was a huge success and it was not only an honor to be featured amongst such talented filmmakers and activists, but it was a thrill to have Water Pressures premiered after years of work! So now we’re out, we’re busy, we’re planning and we’re constantly innovating. In the next few months there will be some exiting media announcements, lectures, and events culminating with John Mclean Media taking the documentary to Cannes. Does it get any better than that?
While we’re gearing up for a release of some exciting footage here on the blog I have been thinking even more about water sins. What are they? How do I interact with water? Are there things I don’t even realize I am doing that are wasteful, nay, sinful? One of the big ones is not only how we think about water but also think about other cultures. There is a certain cultural voyeurism that can sneak into the kind of work we do, a nagging voice that negates the reality of what we see.
“That can’t be real,” my brain tries to tell me when I see a documentary like Water Pressures. “How is this plausible? How does this discrepancy–between having clean tap water and having no water at all–happen? Does not compute!” And then my brain goes into overdrive.I want to solve it all. “If we had clean water everything would be alright! Infant mortality would go down. Education would improve. Women’s rights would be bettered. The world would be a better place. We need clean wells. Water! water! water!”
There are so many solutions that seem so simple. But reality creeps back in. I think it through, I understand the obstacles. Politics. Money. Attitudes. Weather. I want to save people, but I don’t know how. And wanting to save someone is a fairly elitist attitude. No, I want to help people, not save them. I want to close the gap between “us and them.” I want to be a global, water conserving, understanding citizen.
And then my brain backfires on me. “Does not compute.” and I pour a beer and fall into a Law and Order induced trance. Now that the work has been done – the documentary is made, we’re taking it on the road, spreading the Water Pressures message, leaving me more time to think through what exactly a Water Sin is, how I can really relate to this struggle, and what my responsibility is to discuss it. While certain days still end in a water-induced fetal position on the floor clutching my Water Pressures water bottle to my chest, I feel like the more I talk, think, and engage, the less overwhelmed I am by this topic.
Water Sins: A Whole New Perspective
This week I found myself comitting what to me is the ultimate water sin: taking for granted my access to clean water in my home.
You see, this week my building has intermittenly had no water. I’m not sure of the details but I am fairly certain it is linked to the broken fire hydrant spewing thousands of gallons of water down W. Thorndale all day long. While the city has been fairly speedy in resolving this, the first night with no water was a shock.
I got home from work around 10 to see the city outside working on the hydrant. Went upstairs and turned on my faucet.
No water.
What?
No water? I refused to believe it, and ran into my bathroom. No water! the faucet didn’t work and the shower didn’t work. After about 2 minutes I realized this was due to the work outside, and that for the time being, I was without water.
Luckily, I had a gallon of water in my fridge so I could brush my teeth, make some tea, and fill up the dog’s water bowl before going to bed. But that few hours made me realize just how much water I use every day. The next morning I mentally tallied every time I turned on the faucet to:
- Make coffee. I was in a cold sweat imagingin my morning without coffee.
- Rinse my dishes before putting them in my dishwasher, which i run about twice a week.
- Rinse the fruit I eat in the morning.
- Make my oatmeal (a cup of water per 0.25 cups of oats).
- Shower, shave my legs, brush my teeth and wash my face.
- Flush my toilet.
…and the list goes on. Not having water was an inconvenience but I knew at the worst I could run to the grocery store and buy a few more gallons of bottled water, and I’ve been showering at the gym during this work. I honestly can’t imagine not having access at all. And that…not thinking what it would really be like, is the greatest water sin of all.
The Water Pressures Premiere!
- This weekend, October 1-2, we’ll be participating in the First Annual Chicago South Asian Film Festival, sponsored by Colombia College, and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, amongst many others.
- We’ll be premiering the video amongst the viewings of several other stunning films, including 2 other documentaries, several short films and nine longer films which range from Bollywood style movies to commentaries on mental illness and community.
- Ann isn’t the only artist who is expected to be on site to mix, mingle, answer questions and soak in the movies! 10 other artists have RSVPed and are looking forward to joining the festival.
- This whole weekend only costs $11 per program (2-3 movies), or $35 for a weekend pass. If you are a film buff, student of Asian Studies, or are going to find yourself downtown Chicago this weekend, hop over to the website and get your tickets now. They’re expecting this event to sell out!
Water Pressures will be showing on both Saturday and Sunday, and we’re looking forward to seeing you on our very own red carpet! If you have questions about where to find us, email me at waterpressuresproject@gmail.com
Eye Behold
So many people make Water Pressures happen. Their stories and their voices took the idea of this documentary and turned it not only into a piece of art, but a movement. One of those people is, undoubtedly James Ward Ewing, our chief videographer. His aesthetic eye is stunning, and the pictures he took, film he captured and stories he told are in large part what captivated me when I first saw footage from Rajasthan.
James elevates this documentary to a truly stunning piece of art. His photos and videos have an almost fairy-tale like quality to them and when I first watched Water Pressures I felt an almost magical pull. While this all sounds very cheesy, anyone who has ever been overwhelmed by the beauty or vibrancy of a visual image will understand just how profound James Ward Ewing’s artistry has been for us.
Which is why I am excited by his new book “Eye Behold.” It is his first portfolio book and is filled not only with images of Rajasthan, India but of such a breadth of flora, fauna, history and life that I keep flipping through it going “this one is my favorite…no, this one..oh wait, this one is definitely my favorite.” Right now I am sticking to the squirrel as “my favorite.”
Just like water is only part of the story we are telling, the story we tell is only one medium. James Ward Ewing tells the story of Water Pressures along with us, and it is such a pleasure to see his work as a whole. His voice is echoed through every shot of the Water Pressures documentary and we are lucky to have such a talented artist on our team!
You can preview the whole book here, and choose your favorite photo as well as catch a glimpse of some of the photos James took in Rajasthan!
A gentle reminder…in the bathroom
What to buy, what products we use, and how we use them is a constant struggle for me. I enjoy having possessions that reflect my beliefs, and try my darndest to spend my money on ethically made products. Yet anyone who has spent a quarter of their paycheck at Whole Foods buying organic, free range soap knows the sting that can come with such purchases. “Why not just buy suave?” I find myself asking. “Do I really need Aveda facewash when I can just go to Walgreens and buy whatever is on sale?” My boyfriend’s meticulously kept and expensive assortment of organic soaps and shaving creme just makes me feel guilty. I want a product that supports me, not chides me.
“I can’t believe you just put that crap in your hair,” I imagine my lavender/tea tree oil soap shouting at me. “Do you know how wasteful that is? How many toxins there are?’
Actually I do. And I enjoy well made, quality body products much more than their generic counterparts. Which is why I was tickled when I found a body wash and shampoo that really did shout at me. It’s message, however, is one that I think we can all enjoy. 
STOP THE WATER WHILE USING ME products is a company I recently discovered. Since they are based out of the UK and Germany I haven’t had a chance to try their products, but I am tickled by their mission statement and the aesthetic design of their products.
Their shower gel, toothpaste and shampoo all declare in large, funky letters “Stop the water while using me!” because, as the website reminds us, “Why leave the water running when you brush your teeth? Why not think about how to use water when you’re in a hotel?” and other apt questions.
I love the fusion of practicality, politics and beauty. The bottles are snazzy and their message is inspiring. Surrounding yourself with positive statements has to be better than bland supermarket bottles of shampoo.
While price for the STOP THE WATER WHILE USING ME products is reasonable, the international shipping is keeping me away from it for now. In the meantime, I’m thinking a little bit harder about what I bring into my home. Do the products I buy support my lifestyle or undermine it? A little reminder of the choices I have committed to is sure to go a long way.
Community
Trying to change the world often comes at a price and many of us are no stranger to awkward explanations to family and friends about why we’re not eating turkey on Thanksgiving, or the reason there is a brick in our toilet bowl, or perhaps why our house is a bit frigid in the winter but too warm when August rolls around. “I’m conserving water/resources/energy” becomes a mantra we recite, often to blank faces. “Oh,” they respond in their minds. “She’s one of those hippies/vegetarians/liberals.”
And while that may be true (I am a hippie/liberal/sometimes vegetarian conserving energy/water/resources) that certainly is a superficial explanation to a larger problem and a movement as a whole. What we ultimately strive to do is not explain the “why” of our actions and choices, but to engage in a larger community, to use those questions to provoke further change.
When Ann accepted the Friendship Award from the Mosque Foundation I was struck by the power of community to enact change. A group of people all striving to answer questions not with simple explanations but with actions and by modeling the ability to change becomes a movement. It’s not necessarily the choices we make, or even how we make them, but how we engage in a global community, as a citizen of the world.
This project continually shows me how community involvement and a constant engagement with others provokes the most change. The current projects, like the Link TV campaign, or the Asian Film Fest allow us to ask the “why” of those around us, and absorb their answers, incorporating what we learn into our own choices.Now that the Water Pressures documentary is completed, I find myself with more questions that at the beginning. How can we enact lasting change? What is the most powerful way to get our message across? Who/what/when/how will this happen?
What I find is that no matter where I turn there is a vibrant community of people eagerly awaiting these questions. Online bloggers, forums and facebook pages, newspaper articles, non-profit groups, film festivals, interfaith dinners: all these communities provide one continual message. Through constant conversation questioning, and through an awareness of our own place in the world, as a global citizen, an activist, a reader, writer, student, artist, etc– through community real change is enacted.
Water Sins: Rest and Relaxation
Mirror, mirror…is that a water sin I see?
This week’s Water Sin is late because I have been sinning all week. Wednesday was my birthday and I was wrapped up in a day dedicated to relaxation. First, a haircut at my local salon then a long trip to the Nail Bar where I got a much needed (and rare) manicure and pedicure.
About halfway through getting my toenails painted a deep shade of red I realized “shit, this is wasteful. First my hair and now my nails…” And then I got my fingernails painted. We all have our moments of vanity. Again I go back to my own internal argument of how to be professional and “presentable” without being overly wasteful.
Clearly I could have painted my own nails rather than spending an afternoon in a massaging jacuzzi chair, my feet soaking in hot water. Or I could just not paint them at all. But I think I look pretty spiffy.
It’s all about minor choices. Realizing how much water I wasted for something I can accomplish at home without the water consumption made me think that maybe my next trip to the spa will happen in my bathroom. I probably won’t give up my fancy haircuts, but hopefully being a little more sinful will have a positive effect.
(And of course don’t forget to check out Link TV and vote for Water Pressures! )
Vote Now: Water Pressures and Television Without Borders
Besides the return of sweatershirt weather and the day off of work I am also excited beyond belief about Link TV’s View Change Online Film Contest and the beautiful Water Pressures documentary piece that is in the competition. With the slogan “Tell your story. Change the world,” this contest resonates deeply with our own collaborative media project, and the objective of Water Pressures.
Last week I mentioned that the a 5 minute piece entitled Deja Bi. This stunning short film follows the lives of two very different women in the same region. One is a 93 year old women who has never had access to clean water; she suffers from malnutrition and a host of health problems, is in constant pain from having to walk miles every day to reach the dirty well, and has never had access to a chance for education. In contrast is a young woman whose village has a well closer by and a cover to keep the water cleaner. The comparisons between them highlight how the seemingly small changes of water proximity can have a profound change not only on the ease of obtaining fresh drinking water, but also on the quality of life a woman can expect.
I love this piece. It’s simplistic, stunning imagery speaks for itself far better than I could hope to do and the stories these women tell must be heard. Pop over to Link TV and check it out, and don’t forget to vote for us!
The Next Steps…
Please note: Water Sins is taking a week off and will be back next Wednesday!
September. Summer is over. School has started and we’ve said goodbye to beaches and bike rides. The work of shooting and editing the Water Pressures documentary is officially done as well, and to a certain extent it feels like school is about to start for us too!
The heat is on. We’re leaping into a whirlwind of film festivals, competitions, promotional opportunities and events. With the colorful images and amazing narrative of the documentary itself continually reminding us exactly why this all seemed like a good idea, it has begun.
What started out as a trickle of information regarding upcoming events (beginning with Ann’s award from the Mosque Foundation!) has become a full-fledged waterfall of exciting opportunities for us all. (Pardon the water pun!) A quick rundown of what you can expect to be seeing, hearing, and hopefully taking part of the in the next few months:
- Perhaps most exciting (right now!) is the fact that Ann has just submitted a short 5 minute piece “Deja Bi” to a film festival for Link TV. The perimeters of this competition were to: sumit a 5 minute film that tells the story of progress in developing countries and that shows the progress being made towards achieving the United Nations Millenium development goals. The piece Ann chose highlights how a small change – having water closer to a village – can drastically improve women’s lives by allowing greater autonomy and access to education. We’ll be highlighting this more soon but in the meantime, go vote!!
- In late October Ann will be taking the (finished!) Water Pressures documentary on the road and presenting at a Water and Health conference at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. The conference, entitled Water and Health: where Science Meets Policy is facilitated by Engineers Without Borders, and we are all really looking forward not only to being a part of this, but to being surrounded by such a fantastic, innovative and important group of people.
- You’ll also be finding us at the first East Asian Film Festival right here in Chicago. This will be happening in October so stay tuned for more details!
- And then…drumroll…John Mclean Media is taking Water Pressures internationally when we’ll be debuting the Water Pressures documentary in Cannes, France. You can bet there will be many more details to come!
In the meantime summer is winding down. We’re all taking a moment to breathe, relax, and perhaps indulge in a few water sins.
waterpressures
C. Herzog
