Doug now works at Cornell in the Computer Science Department. He has recently been tenured. I still paint, but, currently, my first love is homeschooling my son. Over the years, we have explored, grown, and learned a lot together, about each other, and the world we live in.
One thing that has been a constant in our lives has been water. We are all drawn to it. Whether kayaking, hiking, swimming, or fishing, we love to play in it. We love to sit by it. We drink it when we are thirsty. We bathe in it to clean and relax ourselves. We photograph it. We hold it in our memories, and close to our hearts.
Many years ago, Doug worked on a project that simulated the sound of plastic shells interacting with each other. To illustrate this he needed an example. He chose the plastic water bottle. It occurred to him that he could use his work to communicate a message. This work he titled Twenty First Century Waterfall, and it was the beginning of our journey understanding our impact on our environment, and on our water supply.
As time went on, we made many changes in our person lives to reduce our water footprint, but it wasn't until we watched the movie Tapped that we decided we needed to educate ourselves further, and share what we learn along the way with those who are also interested in preserving our environment for our future generations.
Water catches all of our mistakes. Evidence of this can be found in streams, rivers, oceans, our drinking water, and even our own bodies. Our family's hope is that we can work with you to raise our collective awareness of our impact on the environment; to end privatization of water; to ensure clean, safe and accessible water for all; and, ultimately, to pass on to our children a greater awareness of sustainable living, and a cleaner home for their children and children's children.
Looking forward to working with you!
Sincerely,
Karen, Doug and Ethan James.
