Ethan over at SLCSpin thinks that all the hubbub about bottled water is just silly. He and Michael Castner at the Nightside Project had a little tizzy about it on air the other day. I sent over an email to answer their question about “what am I supposed to do when it’s hot outside!?!” and mentioned that I have a few refillable water bottles that I got for a dollar (at All A Dollar) and that I use those throughout the day.
I think that Ethan is just looking for something to bitch about. Anyway, here’s a little information about why Ethan is wrong.
• Bottled water is unnecessary. High quality, safe drinking water is already available at most public locations
• US consumers spend more than $11 billion a year on bottled water
• Bottled water can cost up to 10,000 times more than tap water. At $2.50 a liter ($10 gal) that’s more than premium gasoline .
• More than a 40% of bottled water is sourced from municipal tap water; often the only difference is added minerals that have no marked health benefits1.
• Tap water travels through an energy efficient infrastructure, in contrast, bottled water must travel many miles from the source, this results in the burning of massive amounts of fossil fuels, releasing CO2 (the main contributor to global warming) and other pollution into the atmosphere (1).
• In the U.S. the plastic bottles produced for water require 1.5 million barrels of oil per year, that’s enough to generate electricity for 250,000 homes or fuel some 100,000 cars for a year .
• The manufacture of bottles also can cause the release of chemical toxins, and other byproducts of plastic-making, into water, air, or other parts of the environment.
• Smaller water bottles are made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) which can generate 100 times more toxic emissions than the equivalent amount of glass .
• Disposable plastic water bottles can contain antimony, a potentially toxic trace element with chemical properties similar to arsenic .
• Plastic water bottles are one of the fastest growing sources of municipal waste
• Americans drank 26 billion liters of bottled water in 20041. Nine out of ten bottles used for water fail to make it into the recycling bin, that’s 30 million discarded bottles per day or 20 billion a year (3).
• Bottled water can contribute to water depletion at the source due to the large demand. Pumping ground source aquifers can deplete nearby streams and wells resulting in damage to the ecosystem (4).
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References after the fold.
1. Arnold, Emily & Janet Larsen “Bottled Water: Pouring Resources Down the Drain” The Earth Policy Institute. February, 2nd 2006 www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2006/update51_printable.htm
2. Howard, Brian C. “Message in a Bottle” www.emagazine.com September 2003 http://www.emagazine.com/view/?1125&printview&src=
3. Sierra Club et al. “Bottled Water: Learning the Facts and Taking Action” www.seirraclub.org/cac/water
4. Science News “Bottled Antimony” Environmental Science & Technology Online News March, 22nd 2006 Http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/mar/science/kc_antimony.html
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References:
Fahrenthold, David A. “Bottlers, States and the Public Slug It Out in Water War” The Washington Post sec A3 June 12th 2006 www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/contnet/article/2006/06/11/AR2006061100797
Urban, Kevin “The Health Benefits Of Drinking Water – Is Bottled Drinking Water Healthier Than Filtered Tap Water? July, 2005www.searchwarp.com http://searchwarp.com/swa12369.htm
Various Authors, “Health Benefits and Drawbacks: Water is Life” University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, April 2006 http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz/KLESSILL/
Vangsness, Stephanie “Tap Water or Bottled: Which is Better?” previously published on intelihealth.com, August 2004 http://www.brighamandwomens.org/healtheweightforwomen/special_topics/intelihealth0804.aspx?subID=submenu10
Various Authors, “Health Benefits and Drawbacks: Water is Life” University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, April 2006 http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz/KLESSILL/
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This information available at www.slcgreen.com
Well put.
Aside from the drastic waste of energy to transport from distant locations, you also have the ludicrous fact that a lot of bottled water is from municipal water supplies where it is bottled. “Dasani” sounds nice and exotic, but it is just tap water from where-ever. People won’t drink their local tap water, but are more than happy to guzzle water from who knows where?
The bottled water thing is just the tip of the iceberg, as it were, when it comes to water commodity business. Ultimately in the U.S. I fear our local municipalities will sell-off their water services to for-profit corporations. To be held hostage, as are some communities in the third world, by a company is unacceptable.
Keep an eye out: water is the next big thing for corporations to try to put a lock hold on.
I have to honestly say you have made me think, which I wouldn’t have thought possible in today’s heat. I can’t, in good conscience, continue to purchase bottled water (something I usually do often).
I think I was the one to use the word silly, not Ethan. And, while I respect the facts that you gave, and generally agree with what you’ve said, I have to wonder what kind of statistics you’d find if you did the same sort of research on other disposable items. I don’t think that never again buying a bottle of water is the answer. Instead, I think the answer is to change society’s attitude toward disposable items. Water is a good example of that, and a good place for many people to start. But, we have to do more.
About the only time I ever purchase bottled water is when I’m on a trip and want a cold container of the stuff. Here at home, I just fill up a couple of plastic jugs and shove them in the fridge. The water here tastes great!
Even when I lived in Las Vegas, land of nasty-to-the-max water, I used 5-gallon jugs to buy purified water from dispensers. There really is little excuse for bottled water unless you’re really in situations where the convenience is necessary.
Well, Misty on the blog you were, but, I also included the radio stuff that Ethan does.
My point, if you’ll bear it out, is that unlike soda, Gatorade, maple syrup, shampoo, etc. etc, is that you have water pumped right into your house. Good water.
And if the pipes in your house make it taste funny, you can, again for a fraction of the cost, get a water filter.
The sheer tonnage of plastic wastes from water bottles is a great place to start, in my humble opinion.
It sounds like you’re saying that because we can’t do everything at the same time, we shouldn’t do anything at all. I don’t think that’s what you’re saying, but that is how it reads.
Also, this is just one of many things that need to be done, but, the beloved MSM is paying attention to this particular part right now, so, that’s what we’re talking about.
I promise to something on Bio-Diesel and hybrids sometime in July. 😉
Ever lived in Magna? 🙂
And no, I don’t think we shouldn’t do anything at all, but I am afraid that sheeple will think doing this is enough.
My brother lives in Magna. A few years back, I bought him an Everpure system for his water. It’s far more industrial than a Brita, but, at 45.00 twice a year, it’s still a lot less than he was spending on bottled water.
I, too, worry about the sheeple. But, in Utah, getting people to take baby steps is a major achievement. And, a little is better than none.
Bottled water is great! After I drink it I can refill the bottle in my car on my way from Magna to Salt Lake where I sell it to kids as lemonade.
Now that’s inovative recycling!
And, the chucklehead contingent stops in for a visit.
Jeff,
I recalled this post of yours when I found this article at Salon a week back.
I bought one of the bottles she recommended.
Thanks for saving me from “plastic leached” cancer, and the guilt of all those wasted plastic bottles.
Check out the reusable water bottle recommends: http://www.slate.com/id/2172541/