A HUMMINGBIRDS HUMBLE MESSAGE

On the way to the kitchen sink this morning to fill my very convenient, very affordable, makes all the sense - Back To The Tap Filtered water bottle, I found a beautiful hummingbird, hovering just under the ceiling.  Perhaps he had managed to be lured by the colorful new shoots of the sweetpeas I had planted in my windowboxes - or as I prefer to imagine - he was lured by a powerful mystical instinct. An omen if you will.  
Healing The Planet one Bottle at a Time can sometimes seem like an overwhelming challenge.  I mean, sometimes I think my husband Bo, would much prefer that I were satisfied with a lazy Sunday afternoon spent painting our front porch, while he basks happily on the couch watching a Chargers game.  In his fantasies, I would be dressed in red lingerie, every hair in place,  hovering over him like that hummingbird, while serving up steaming bowls of chili and cornbread.   

But alas, I am a woman with a mission bigger than myself, and in a world where we can get easily discouraged by the enormous amount of planetary work to be done - I'll take an omen and run with it anytime.  
So, in honor of the beautiful, fragile hummingbird that has since found his escape out the kitchen window and back into the green folds of nature - I bestow you with these findings from none other than our Native American Indians.  You know, the FIRST environmentalists, the ones that always had it together with our land, before greed overtook common sense:
 THE HUMMINGBIRD
In many traditional cultures of the western world the hummingbird has powerful religious and spiritual significance. In the high Andes of South America, for example, the hummingbird is taken to be a symbol of resurrection. This is because each hummer becomes lifeless and seems to die on cold nights, but it comes back to life again when the miraculous sunrise brings warmth.

In MEDICINE CARDS: THE DISCOVERY OF POWER THROUGH THE WAYS OF ANIMALS, Jamie Sams and David Carson say that, for many people, the hummingbird is the creature that opens the heart.
When we assume hummingbird consciousness, our life becomes a wonderland of sensuous delights. We live for beauty, delighting in flowers, aromas, fine mist, and delicate tastes.

When it becomes our totem, the hummingbird teaches us to laugh and enjoy the creation, to appreciate the magic of being alive, and the truth of beauty.

Hummingbirds awaken us to the beauty of the present moment. As they dance the four quarters of embodied exisence, they bring us medicine to solve the riddle of duality. They also awaken us to the medicinal properties of plants. 

In ANIMAL SPEAK, Ted Andrews says hummingbirds teach us how to draw the life essence from flowers. "They can teach us how to use flowers to heal and win hearts in love." 

Hummingbirds teach us fierce independence. They teach us to fight in a way where no one really gets hurt. They teach us simple courage. Andrews says the twittering, vibrating sounds of the hummingbirds bring us an internal massage that restores health and balance.

Hummingbirds also inspire us to protect the environment and to preserve old traditions that are in danger of being lost. When Native American ways were being destroyed by the expanding Euro-American culture, the Ghost-Shirt religion was established to try to bring back the animals and old ways through dancing. The leader of the dance was a hummingbird.

Certainly hummingbird magic is available to all who live in the New World. There is something inside the soul of all of us that wants to soar through sunbeams, then dance midair in a delicate mist, then take a simple bath on a leaf. 

There is something in our souls that wants to hover at beautiful moments in our lives, making them freeze in time. There is something in us that wants to fly backwards and savor once more the beautiful past.
My final conclusion?   Hummingbirds may just have more wisdom about what's really go on than we know...

BACK TO THE TAP'S SECRET IS OUT!

Okay, so a while back I hinted at The Big Secret that we have been harboring here at the Back To The Tap Campaign headquarters.....and with that, I have a confession to make:
Growing up, my sister Jean and I were notorious for not keeping a secret. We would pester our father to death for hints regarding our upcoming birthday presents, just so that we could bribe the other siblings with this superior knowledge. Christmas at our house in Midwestern Michigan meant months of climbing into the attic for whatever pre-Christmas sales may have been lurking about; always carefully sealing the gift of whatever child we planned to torment in a quest to obtain the material comforts that guaranteed our survival.

"I know what Santa got you!", we would threaten, which usually resulted in an extra piece of chocolate cake that the curious sibling would timidly offer up, in hopes of discovering what the big hoopla was all about.

So, the fact that I have been harboring this secret for months has made everyone crazy for answers - including the ADPR Global people, our savvy PR firm who has become somewhat demanding in their quest for answers.
Hey, can't a gal keep a secret anymore? Must be that Christmas karma coming back to haunt me.

So, here it is and its absolutely, gushingly delicious. Are you ready?
The Back to the Tap Campaign is pleased to introduce the new ECO bottle within their innovative line of filtered water bottle technologies. The ECO bottle features a very sexy, flip-top straw filter in a long lasting BPA Free, biodegradable translucent container. The safety and convenience of NSF certified drinking water, drawn straight from any commercial or residential tap source, has always made Back To The Tap filtered water bottles the clear winner in both spending a fortune and risking your health over that next Arrowhead bottle.
(Do people still drink those?)

But here's where it gets really good. What makes the ECO bottle unique is that this same carbon device now attaches to a Straw! No more tipping your head back to drink from your reusable container while taking your eyes off the road just to take a swig. Just think, those seconds gained could mean everything in that next bikers marathon. And, with your new savvy Filtered tap water System, you vehicle drivers will have more time to stare in the rearview mirror to yell at your kids. The cool looking straw, (okay so its a platinum based medical tubing which repels bacteria, but call it what you will) tucks ever-so-neatly under its own little round hood to prevent leaking when not in use. Just fill at any water fountain, bathroom sink, or McDonalds, (get an egg mcMuffin to go with it and you won't get a dirty look on your way out)

We gotta warn you however, your ECO bottle will be the envy of every kid in your car pool so you may just command some really interesting new respect, since this safety feature just happens to be encased within a sleek looking sports bottle, that will appeal to every generation. However what is even more promising about this product is the positive impact that can be had on our growing landfills from a plastic container that will biodegrade within a year’s time!

Yeah, thats right, The Back To The Tap Campaign is prepared to make a a dent in that absurd Great Pacific Plastic Garbage Patch that, for some reason, everyone likes to compare to the state of Texas. However, the stunning impact of two times the size of that state is pretty mind boggling for those of us who have traveled wearily through that vast, dusty land - UHaul in tow - eagerly seeking the next new frontier which would lead us straight into the right careers, husbands, and perfect life. That is if the truck did'nt break down in the middle of nowhere and you could successfully find a clean outhouse, while searching for your cat who just came too from the travel tranquilers, and decided to bolt into the nearest oil well.

Might take us a few trillion of these babies to get there, but remember our humble claim: One Bottle at a Time.
And as Obama says: Gotta start somewhere.....(or something like that).

So the question remains: Are you in or are you out? Take the plunge and get your ECO Bottle now. Better yet, invest in one for each of those darling children and you never have to pull over for one of those disposable numbers again. My suggestion is to put the money towards that new racing bike and keep your competition guessing, as you covertly keep your eyes on the road.

See, Secrets can be Good!!!!!

Bottles and filters can be ordered online at www.backtothetap.com. The company donates $1 for every bottle sold to the programs of Earth Share, supporting environmental and conservation organizations and efforts.

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."~ Barack Obama

BACK TO THE TAP JUST GOT MORE AFFORDABLE!

In a concerted effort to reduce the global economic pressure that continues its relentless expansion into our pocketbooks, Back To The Tap has just "decreased" prices for their 16 and 27 oz Filtered Tap System Water Bottles to just 15 and 20 bucks, respectively.

Which means, while we are busy taking cover and peering out from under our proverbial wet blankets of the current marketplace , to witness yet another utility hike or tax increase, we can celebrate the fact that in this country at least, we still have access to an enormous capacity of clean tap water. And that my friends, is one of the few predictable resources that we can expect to arrive, on time and every time~we turn on our faucets.
Can I say the same for every man that ever made me a promise within my forty-something years of being single? Not so much.....

Think about it ~ every time we invest in a Back To The Tap bottle, we are also investing in our country's future, our ability to stop the alarming effects that BPA has conveniently planted in our bloodstreams, and our own dwindling dollars. Okay, I got ya, 15 or 20 bucks seems like a leap from the average 1.50 that you keep slapping on the counter of the 7/11 but a buck fifty times 6 thirsty family members equals 9.00. Do that a couple times a day and you got the picture.

Why not buy each member a Back To The Tap bottle and allow your children to see the benefit of not being a throwaway society? The fact that each filter will last 3 to four months, offers the same advantages of investing in groceries, with the long term reward of saving huge dollars from not eating out. Plus, its awesome not to have to break away from the soccer game to make that disposable water bottle call. Instead, head for the drinking fountain or the bathroom at the park, refill your bottle, and you're good to go! Even your two year old will get it.....
Heck, that generation will probably be looking back at this water bottle craze the way we analyzed the bad hair of the fifties.

Kudos to Project Kaisei and founder Doug Woodring who will set sail this week united with our own beloved Scripps Institution of Oceanography for a month long voyage to study the harmful effects of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This ' invisible to the eye' plastic vortex, two times the size of Texas which is killing our fish, birds, and sea turtles, floats about 1000 miles off the coast of California. The water-borne landfill is made up largely of those throw away plastic water bottles that houses that temporary thirst quencher that somehow never makes it back to your best recycling efforts at home. Trust me, the large bottling companies are banking on the fact that you need to buy a couple of these plastic puppies throughout your day. (You can comfortably blame this selective memory lapse to the subliminal marketing persuasion that has needled your subconscious millions of times throughout your lifespan to insure that you can conveniently forget you're bound to be thirsty when you leave home.)

It works like this: that same 7/11 Dasani bottle, when tossed on one of our beautiful San Diego beaches, drifts away for about 6 years, before getting caught in the gyre of the patch, never degrading completely, thus creating tantalizing faux pellets of food for our unsuspecting marine wildlife.

That two year old deserves to marvel at the pelicans and sea turtles in the coming century.

Send your generous contributions by check to:
"Ocean Voyages Institute" c/o Project Kaisei 1709 Bridgeway Sausalito CA 94965, USA

Thanks for Healing The Planet One Bottle at a Time!

Faith Paulus Founder - Back To The Tap....for a Healthier Planet http://www.backtothetap.com/

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
- Mahatma Gandhi

MEET DENISE LACAYO - BACK TO THE TAP'S REAL GENIUS!

When I was a young girl, I wanted a Pen Pal. Someone who lived in another country and who could share cultural differences, ideas, dreams, and the synergy that comes when two Great Minds think alike. So for a while, I communicated with another little 8 year old girl who lived in Africa ~ determined to make a difference by at least sending a few of my unworn lace dresses to take the place of her tattered one.

Unfortunately, other than a badly damaged photo of my shy, intangible friend, our slow postal services and distance proved to be a serious obstacle to gaining any ground as far as a long term friendship was concerned. So I mentally bid little Luciana farewell ~ but not without a silent pledge to one day know many other Luciana's of the world.

In fact, my fantasy was that if every child in America could have an African child delivered on their doorstep complete with its own instruction booklet for proper feeding and caring ~ we would have no more world hunger. Oh, the simplicity of it all!!!!

Denise Lacayo and I met over 18 months ago, (and 40 years after my last Pen Pal) when I was searching for a Creative Director for Back To The Tap. I knew it was essential to have someone young, trendy, knowledgeable of e-commerce, and most of all - as quirky and creative as I am.
Somewhere, in one of those vast virtual employment networks from India, we stumbled onto each other and were immediately smitten. Denise found the concept of Back To The Tap to be as intriguing as I, and wholeheartedly understood the importance of this movement to minimize global plastic waste through a Sports Bottle System that could Filter as you Drink.

I also have to admit a certain relief that she could answer the inevitable question: Do you like Curry? And quickly found I had hit on a goldmine when Denise admitted she did not live in India ~ but actually had a firm based in Florida. Which meant, normal working hours for the Back To The Tap website development process. Perfect!

From that moment on, the flurry of images, ideas, text, editing, more text, more editing, more photos, more ideas, and more changes began. We phoned each other constantly, and what at first appeared to be a language barrier ~ Denise is from Ecuador originally ~ and I from the United States ~we quickly learned that the unspoken language of creativity ~ and the more ancient art of our own women archetypical inheritances ~ quickly surpassed any perceived obstacles.
We often prayed for the success of Back To The Tap, as well as for our individual families, our loyal, loving and understanding husbands, (who continue to wait patiently for our return from these enlightened paths) and for insight into the world of big business. Sharing our knowledge ~ and always laughing like two schoolgirls, before we hung up the phone.

Denise was a brand new mom with a two month old child when we met. I would hear his quiet coos late into the night, as she would rock the baby on her lap without missing a beat while we discussed the important movement of Back To The Tap. I knew that together, we were making a contribution that was more global than we knew and will someday benefit those babies who deserve to have a green sustainable earth.

Her two beautiful boys: Dega and Dante, have grown quickly into toddlers now - their voices maturing into young little replicas of Denise's raspy quiet tones. The youngest baby has acquired a new vocabulary that includes the words: "Hi Faith!", as some of his first.
The African children I longed to care for our now as real as ever ~ as the Back To The Tap Campaign plans to offer proceeds from its sales to help those without safe drinking water.

Unfortunately , the global efforts that were needed in the sixties seem much closer to home as we discover the children in areas of our own country that are in desperate need of help for both proper drinking water and poverty issues.

The valuable conservation efforts and cost effective solutions of Back To The Tap are becoming apparent as the Campaign continues to be a magnet for the media ~ hungry for the ideas of those of us who have simply envisioned these pressing enviromental issues a little earlier than some.

We environmentalists are only too aware that along with that vision , comes the responsibility of providing tangible solutions that must be left behind for the next generation. Juggling our families, our friends, our spiritual growth, our budgets, along with our own physical and mental health becomes a reluctantly lesser priority, as future thinkers band together and furiously combine our talents to the tune of an oblivious ticking universal clock that does not heed the urgency that we know.

My friend Denise of DL Designs is the best Pen Pal I could ever have hoped for. She is someone who brings knowledge from another country and who can share cultural differences, ideas, dreams, and the synergy that comes when two Great Minds think alike.

Denise is a shining example of how creativity and compassion can be united within a joint passion that is bound to provide a universal need. I am thankful for her presence in my life and with luck this summer, will be joyfully looking forward to officially meeting the face behind the soul.

Whenever two or more of you are gathered in His name....there is love.

BACK TO THE TAP HAS A SECRET!!!

TO ALL YOU COOL, REFORMED, DISPOSABLE WATER BOTTLE PEOPLE:
I am so excited about the prototype that I just received of the new Back To The Tap Eco Sports Bottle! Like our standard Back To The Tap Filtered Sports Bottles, it provides fresh tasting water from the tap through the use of a replaceable carbon filter. Plus, it's got a sleek new look ....and has a groovy Filtered Straw Technology, which tucks underneath the helmet when not in use.   The best part however is that it biodegrades from our landfills in less than a year! Thats like 950 years earlier than the standard plastic bottle (give or take a few)

The press is going to love the new Back To The Tap Eco Sports Bottle as we prepare to announce this great new technology to the world. As for the vast majority of the general public who are in desperate need of this groovy bottle, stay tuned to be the one of the first 1000 orders that are scheduled for production and delivery this summer.

In the meantime, don't miss our Back To The Tap Complete System Sale. Two Back To The Tap Filtered Sports Bottles, One Sports and one Compact Size, plus 2 Replacement Filters - just 49.95. You're looking at almost a year of hydration - for less than 50.00. That's like 13 cents a day. Lets see - for the average water bottle nerd whose drinking (and tossing) 5 bottles on the go a day - that's at least 150.00 in savings a month!

At this price, you can buy a Complete System for the entire family, and still come out thousands of dollars ahead this year on your water bottle budget for '09. Really, couldn't you use an extra 5000.00 per year on something else? Hmmmm - just think, with 5000.00 you could:

1) Remodel that peach bathroom with oak cabinetry that you swore was going to happen before the year 2005 - when home prices were never going to go back down

2) Take a romantic cruise for two to the Polynesian Islands and learn how the natives have always been way ahead of Californians as "Green Trendsetters"

3) Build a deck in the backyard and see the world in a whole different perspective. Heck, you have at least 3 months of safe drinking water should your local Home Preservation team decide you have to stay there for good.

4) Take the kids on an environmental camping trip to Yellowstone and witness the Bears interact without an I-Phone, Computer, or Flatscreen in sight. Your children will stand in awe.

I myself am going to our beautiful Oceanside Harbor for the photo shoot tomorrow to play with Jayne - of famed, "Images By Jayne". Keep an eye on the Back To The Tap site to see the results of the Eco Bottle in all it's nautical glory.....

We appreciate your efforts in Healing The Planet One Bottle at a Time™!

Faith Paulus - Founder
Back To The Tap.....For a Healthier Planet
800-515-7036
www.backtothetap.com
www.earthshare.org

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
- Mahatma Gandhi

NY State Government to Phase Out Water Bottles

The NY Times reports that New York Governor David A. Paterson signed an executive order on Tuesday calling on state agencies to phase out the use and purchase of bottled water in all government workplaces. Citing both economic and environmental reasons, the move seeks to gradually replace both single use bottles and water coolers in favor of tap water fountains and dispensers, setting a strong precedent for local government, businesses and residents to follow suit.

A press release from the governor’s office explains:

Bottled water is wasteful and requires large amounts of energy to bottle and transport. Over 450 million gallons of oil are used to transport water from bottling plants to stores. In the United States, plastic water bottle manufacturing uses 17 million barrels of oil, producing over 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide pollution. Eighty percent of these bottles, which are equal to four billion pounds, end up in garbage incinerators or landfills.

New York has an abundance of tap water for consumption. Three out of four people drink bottled water on a regular basis even though many bottled water products are often just filtered tap water. In addition, for each gallon of water that goes into a plastic bottle, two gallons of water are used to make the plastic bottles and to filter the water.


By Scott Lachut