S.) buy bottled water "because we believe it is healthier." Those beliefs are based on the fact that "Many consumers are willing to swallow the sales hype" but in reality "there is little evidence that bottled waters are substantially healthier to drink than ordinary tap water."
If one is truly thinking "green" about food and drink, there are more things to consider with regards to drinking water than the decision between tap water and bottled water. For example, in the UK, by the time Fiji water arrives on supermarket shelves it has traveled 10,000 miles. How much fossil fuel was used in the transporting of that water? What was the impact on climate change? And Naya Spring water travels 3,000 miles to arrive in the UK. How much greenhouse gas was released into the atmosphere so that Englanders could drink supposedly pure spring water from Canada?
On the Web site Dream Beverages, where a number of bottled water companies have their product displayed, there is a photo of a very young girl drinking from a liter-sized plastic bottle of Naya Spring Water. Under the photo the copy reads, "Naya water originates in the wilderness." People who live in crowded, noisy, polluted and crime-ridden big cities are likely going to be impressed by something as vital as water - in particular when it is coming from the wilderness. The slick marketing continues, explaining that Naya comes from "...the foot of the Canadian mountains, under layers and layers of natural filters of silt, sand and rock which protect the spring water from harmful bacteria and pollutants." So, if a consumer believes that there can't possibly be any pollutants in Naya water because after all, deep underground in the Canadian wilderness things must be fresh and pure, another customer has been hyped.]
The Ecologist narrative continues with a discussion of "the plastic problem." Some sources say there is not any evidence of the leaching of chemicals into the water from the plastic, but the Ecologist disagrees. There may be some leaching during storage, the article asserts, but there is especially a risk of leaching when the plastic bottle has been refilled. And don't be fooled by the little arrows that assure consumers the plastic bottles are recycled; "...in reality we do not recycle plastic in the developed world," the article states.
Even if plastic bottles were recycled, "most plastics can only be usefully recycled once, after which time they are not good for anything other than landfill or incineration - both of which are environmental disasters," the Ecologist continues. The next subject the article touches on is one of the ramifications of the "bottled water culture." And that is the "insatiable marketplace" that consumers' thirst for bottled water has created. Companies like Coca Cola and Nestle, the article explains, have identified water "as the new oil" and those corporations are "buying up water supplies throughout the world." What this means is that local people - who often are found "in very poor parts of the world" - may lose access to "vital water supplies just so we can feed our frankly stupid addiction to bottled water."
Finally the article runs down the list of why tap water is a good alternative to bottled water. One, it is "extremely cheap." Number two, since the regulations for tap water are far more strict than for bottled water, it is "highly likely" that the tap water from one's faucet at home is cleaner and safer than the water from a plastic bottle purchased at the supermarket. Thirdly, tap water is plentiful, the article explains. Finally, the writer of this piece states that "...there is no such thing as ethical, environmentally friendly bottled water," no matter the marketing hype to the contrary. If the world's citizens continue to obsess over that next bottle of water, the planet may run out of "habitable land, natural resources, and water - sooner than you think."
The article in BMC Infectious Diseases (Daeschlein, et al., 2007) is very technical and at times esoteric to the layperson. But there are portions of the narrative that can be clearly understood and reported. To wit, the article asserts in the beginning "Worldwide, nosocomical waterborne pathogens play an important and underestimated role in infection." The authors use "nosocomical" (an infection that was acquired in a healthcare setting, typically...
A Counterproposal by Goodman A counterproposal to all the above comes from an article by Sara Goodman, in which the author advocates not for a ban, but for more regulations by giving detail of current lack thereof. Goodman begins by reiterating the fact that bottled water manufacturers do not disclose information about their product, but also states that they are not obliged to do so. The problem for this is that the
..After the water has been consumed, the plastic bottle must be disposed of. According to the Container Recycling Institute, 86% of plastic water bottles used in the United States become garbage or litter." Another important point raised by some reports is that tap water is just as clean as bottled water but we let advertisers to make us believe otherwise. According to a blind test results, tap water was found to
While most commercially-bottled water is considered safe for human consumption, "Studies have shown that chemicals called phthalates, which are known to disrupt testosterone and other hormones, can leach into bottled water over time. One study found that water that had been stored for 10 weeks in plastic and in glass bottles contained phthalates, suggesting that the chemicals could be coming from the plastic cap or liner" (Bottled water, 2011,
However, there is the perception that tap water 'tastes funny' and this drives the industry in its marketing of a product that Barnett views a kind of modern form of patent medicine -- it is at best needlessly expensive and harmless to the drinker, at worst destructive to the ecosystem (Barnett 139). In fact, there is a kind of circular irony -- the more bottlers are allowed to exploit
Is Bottled Water Truly as Pure as the Industry Would Like Us to Believe? The NRDC hired three independent laboratories to conduct the testing of more than 1,000 plastic bottles -- 103 different brands -- and found that "about one third" the 103 brands contained "significant contamination," that is, levels of chemical or bacterial contaminants that exceed federal and state standards. After the independent labs completed their research and testing, NRDC
Bottled water presently ranks as the second biggest commercial beverage sold in the U.S. By volume and in greater in utilization than that of tea, apple juice, coffee and milk in Canada (H20, Liquid Profit? The economic impacts of bottled water, n.d). The bottled drinking water industry is an expansion business with tremendous increases and income occasions for the capitalist. The bottled water business increased about ten percent in 2005,
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