Saturday, March 12, 2011

Water Fountains Making a Comeback

The Transition Town Twin Cities meetings I have attended at the Blue Moon CafĂ© have typically begun with introductions and “transition sightings.” These tend to be eyewitness accounts of cultural shifts that might suggest awareness, conscious or unconscious, of the need to seriously reconsider “normal” for energy, the environment, and the economy. The other day Brian came home from a meeting on the U of M campus with a transition sighting of his own. He reported that water fountains were making a comeback. The fountains that were being installed as part of new construction on campus were unique in that 1) in addition to the drinking fountain, there was a tap designed to fill water bottles 2) it kept track of the number of avoided plastic bottles, and 3) a display assured that the water filter was working properly.