Juan Villa / The Collegian

A new club on campus has put its efforts together to bring environmental awareness to Fresno. The slogan of the Student Environmental Awareness Club (SEAC) is simple – “Think Global! Act Local!”

The club is attempting to get the message across that if every person did their part in every community by reusing and recycling something as simple as a water bottle, then it would have a global effect.

In order to get that message across to students, today at 5 p.m., members of the SEAC are handing out reusable water bottles to students coming to work out at the Student Recreation Center.

SEAC was started by students who shared an interest in the environment.

“My friend Kai Safford and I grew up volunteering and working for the San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust,” said SEAC President Thomas Rouse. “From a young age we learned the importance of being with nature and preserving our environment and natural resources.”

According to facts from SEAC, producing the 20 ounce water bottles that consumers use requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil every year. That is enough oil to fuel 100,000 cars. Saving that oil could result in lower gas prices.

However, ultimately, 80 percent of those used water bottles end up in a landfill.

The reusable water bottles SEAC is passing out are being donated by Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI), a wilderness and outdoor sports company that recently opened a store in Riverpark. REI is also considering doing a clean-up project with SEAC.

Alyson Wright, an outreach specialist at REI, thinks the club is promoting a great cause.

“We donated water bottles to the club because we felt that they believed in the same things that our company does in education and preserving the environment,” Wright said.

One misconception that perpetuates the usage of bottled water is that the tap water in Fresno is not up to standards for healthy consumption. Tests results provided by the Fresno Water Division ensure that the city’s water supply is strictly regulated by state and federal government standards.

On the other hand, companies that bottle water are not required to say where or how they bottle their water, and provide no test results for public access.

Despite the safety of tap water in Fresno, the water in the bottles being passed out by SEAC will come from a filtered water resource, such as the ones seen outside a local grocery store. Students can also purchase a home filtration system; a water filter pitcher costs only $10 at Walgreens.

“We want to make students at Fresno State and members of the community aware of reusable products, and how important it is to utilize them into our everyday lives,” Rouse said.