Dehydration Sucks

"Access to safe water is a fundamental human need and, therefore, a basic human right. Contaminated water jeopardizes both the physical and social health of all people. It is an affront to human dignity.” 

If you know me at all, you know I would choose travel over almost any other pastime in the world. It is something that brings me to life. Travel brings me joy, and it continues to shape the person I am and the person I am becoming. I consider it an extraordinary privilege to have been born and raised in a country where I have the freedom and means to move, a basic right which the majority of the world's population cannot enjoy. To travel is a blessing, one that is not to be taken for granted. I realize that when I buy a ticket and board a plane, it's an experience that the majority of people around the world will never be able to have. It is, above all, a privilege.

That said, whenever I board an airplane lately, I feel like a lot of the privileges that I enjoy are taken away from me. Like water. Thus commences my frustrating story: 

So, I try to avoid using plastic water bottles whenever possible, and I always carry around a nice Thermos BPA free water bottle. I take it with me wherever I go, including to airports and on planes. Since I'm not allowed to bring water onto planes - something I'll get into later - I always have to bring it empty and refill it at airport sinks or bubblers, when they're available. But ... then I drink it! By the time I'm 20 minutes into the flight, my water bottle is empty and I'm looking for a refill. I wait patiently until the drink cart comes around, and then I always ask - with as much politeness and charm that I have - "Could I just get this filled with some water please?" 

A simple question. You'd think they'd even be happy to do it ... if they fill me up now, I won't ring the bell later. They have many, many large bottles of water with them in their cart. Most other people are getting their cans of coke or cups of coffee. The water is not going fast. But by the responses I get about 95% of the time, you'd think I'd just asked them to bring me the $7 on-flight meal for free ... Often they are visibly annoyed, but comply. Sometimes they respond politely saying, "I'm sorry. We can only give you a little bit," and proceed to fill me up with about 12 oz. of water for a 4 hr flight. Some have actually refused to acknowledge my question at all, moving on to the person next to me. It's a rare, rare flight attendant indeed who fills me up with a smile, and it's rare that I try my luck for a second refill. 

This is on my mind because last night, when I asked a flight attendant this very question, she was highly annoyed, saying that there was, "no way" that they would do that. I responded, "It's just that I'm going to finish the cup of water you're going to give me in one sip, so I'd really like a little bit more. This flight is a couple hours long and I'm not feeling that well and am very thirsty." She shot back, oozing with sass, "If you want to have water, you can BUY water!'

This incenses me. 

For one thing, health experts will tell you that you dehydrated faster on a plane because of the low-humidity environment. (Normal air has about 35-60% humidity, whereas a plane has only 10-15%.) This not only causes increased fatigue and discomfort (do you really want crabby passengers on your flight?), but it also increases the risk of catching air-bourn viruses (Aren't they trying to stop the spread of these things?). At its worst, dehydration can be life-threatening for those with pre-existing respiratory conditions. 

So how do you avoid becoming dehydrated on a flight? By drinking at least 8 oz. of water per hour of airtime. But how am I supposed to do that when you're only giving me 4 oz. of water?! This would be half as much water as needed for a flight that's only an hour long. But what about on a 15 hr international flight? If I'm following health guidelines, I should be drinking at least 120 oz of water (just under a gallon) in that amount of time. According to Google, in the US, a gallon of water costs about one penny. Thus, the second reason this pisses me off is because the cost to the airline would be so marginal, and the cost to my own well-being is so great. 

But no, my only option is to buy a 12 oz. water bottle for $3. All because they won't fill up my bottle, and I'm not allowed to bring my own - because apparently that would be a threat to national security. I simply can't see any other reason for some of these absurd "security" regulations to exist aside from the fact that they help the airlines' bottom line, which definitely makes me question the integrity of the system. I don't care how much money your company is losing, your customers - who have already paid a LOT of money to fly on your airline - deserve basic service, and they have a right to clean, free or fairly priced water. 

After sitting in my seat absolutely seething for about 10 minutes, I decided I needed to let it go, give up my anger, and channel it into something productive. I decided that if I was going to be upset about not being able to bring my own water onto a two and a half hour flight, I should be a lot more upset that there are people in the world who have much bigger problems to worry about, such as their source of water infecting their family with water-bourn diseases. People have the right to basic necessities in life. Water is one of these things. The very least I can do is help to provide clean water to those who can't access it at all, even if they don't happen to be on a plane. 

If you will join me in this task, we could make some good stuff happen. There's a great organization called charity:water helping make clean water accessible to a billion people who don't have it. 

I am starting a campaign called "Dehydration Sucks" with a goal of raising $500. 

I am pledging to match the first $250 in donations in order to finish us off! 

Thanks for joining me in this. I hope you'll forgive my rant; it is something that is a constant struggle for me whenever I travel, and the other night was kind of a tipping point for me. If you have any suggestions on how to better handle this in the future, I would welcome them! 

PS - You can learn more about water as a human right here. Interesting stuff.