December 05, 2011 –
40th anniversary celebration of the Clean Water Act kicks off at UCI next April.
In 1948, the U.S. government, for the first time, took steps to manage water pollution by adopting the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. A long list of amendments followed in 1972, and again in 1977, and the policy became known as the Clean Water Act.
These laws aim to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the nation’s waters in order to protect fish, wildlife, drinking water and recreation.
Next year, UC Irvine kicks off the 40th anniversary commemoration of those sweeping changes, an event that will include nearly 100 college campuses nationwide.
Festivities will commence April 5, 2012 at UCI with a musicFest, Green festival and expo, a screening of the film “Tapped,” giveaways and prizes. The two-day event will launch a tour bus (or two, depending on finances), which will crisscross the country carrying the clean-water message.
The “My Clean Water Act American Road Tour” will leave UCI April 6 to visit between 40 and 80 cities. The goal: to engage students, staff and faculty in a national effort to emphasize the importance of clean water, and educate the public in ways to manage and conserve it.
“Our goal is to make this bigger than Earth Day in 1969,” said Bill Cooper, UCI engineering professor, Urban Water Research Center director, CALIT2 academic affiliate and passionate member of the My Clean Water Act event board of directors.
The six-month celebration, which will be detailed in a documentary film, will culminate with a concert in Washington D.C. on Oct. 18.
Cooper said event organizers are working with environmental groups, universities, commerce and government agencies to “deliver a project that will engage vast audiences in a dialogue on one of the most important issues facing us today – water.”
He and two of his students – Josh Gisi and Kevin Schlunegger – hit the airwaves the weekend after Thanksgiving to begin promoting the celebration. On the Radio Green Talk™ podcast, the three talked to host Diana Dehm.
“The Clean Water Act … resulted in cleaning up all the Great Lakes and all the streams so we have fishable, swimmable, drinkable water in the United States,” Cooper said. “We think this is an extremely important act, so our goal is to [create] an event that is of nationwide interest.”
By 2050, there will be 9-10 billion people on the planet, and water will be one of their major issues. “What everybody needs to think about is what kind of world do we want to leave to the next generation[s]?” he asked. “Water is something that each and every one of us can do something about; we can make a difference for the long-term life of the planet.”
Cooper and his students are also in the process of launching a website – www.mycleanwateract.com – to share information, increase excitement about the upcoming commemoration and encourage volunteerism in the clean-water movement.
“We’re all global citizens,” said Schlunegger. “There’s one planet, one earth. At the end of the day we all want the same thing – a nice habitable place to live, that’s peaceful, where we don’t have to fight for scarce resources.”
–Anna Lynn Spitzer
For more information, including My Clean Water Act sponsorship opportunities, email Bill Cooper.
