Would you like that with or without malaria? Watch this creative way some New Yorkers raised money for the UNICEF Tap Project.

Can you imagine swimming in or drinking the water in the photo? Newtown Creek is in the USA—New York to be exact. Riverkeeper is fighting to get the pollution cleaned up and further pollution stopped. They say:

“In 2004, Riverkeeper filed a federal lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Corporation for its failure to stop the pollution of Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Newtown Creek caused by a historic, 17 million gallon oil spill which resulted in a plume of contaminated groundwater under Greenpoint and Newtown Creek.

Residents of the area have some of the highest rates of asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema in the city. Riverkeeper’s efforts have brought the matter not only into the courts, but to the attention of the government, which owes its citizens the basic right of clean air and water.”

If you live near the creek, you can help patrol. If not, you can take other action. Visit their website.

Industrial gas, that is. Riverkeepers is working to keep industrial gas and byproducts out of the New York drinking water supply. How would that gas get in there ? They say:

“Out-of-state oil and gas companies are exploring the possibility of extracting natural gas by drilling into the shale reserves below the NYC Watershed, using a process called “hydraulic fracturing.” Fracturing involves injecting under high pressure a toxic brew of chemicals, sand, and up to a million gallons of water per well, directly into shale formations deep below the earth’s surface. This toxic brew, along with any natural gas, would then be extracted, or leaked to the surface, potentially contaminating New York City’s drinking water supply.”

For more information see Riverkeeper.