BlogHer - 10 reasons to ditch the bottled water habit - Comments

Responses to Reasons

saveourplanetfromintellectuals — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 11:48:40 -0500

1. Tap water's safer.
Probably most of the time yes, but tap water is also subject to sketchiness like what happened in Milwaukee with cryptosporidium several years back with and what happened in Indian Orchard and Ludlow, MA (the farthest reaches of the system) a few years ago where the water utilitiy told everyone to boil the water because of possible bacteria. When centralized systems go bad large groups of people can suffer.

2. Tap water is way cheaper.
Yes, cuz it's subsidized. Subsidized water means it gets wasted easier too for stupid things (see Colorado River usage, people washing cars chronically, chronically watering lawns, etc). It's cheap so why not use it. I like when "green" people say dumb things like this.

3. Safer bottled water is -- tap water.
It is funny that they just sell tap water, leaves room for some good competition I would imagine.

4. Plastic bottles leach chemicals.
Would it have killed the writer to give some proof here? Chemical names, researchers, test results, etc. Guess its not that important to know, just enough to be scared.

5. Carbon-filtered tap water's safer and cheaper than bottled water.
Carbon filters are great stuff. I wouldn't mind having one (not Nikken).

6. Tap water tastes just as good.
A subjective analysis to say the least.

7. Pollution's not cool.
The sky is blue. Lets attack the real reasons for pollution (enforcing property rights, eliminating common ownership of resources, like water, heh)

8. Oil wars really aren't cool.
The sky is blue again. How about eliminating the subsidies these corporations get that produce fossil fuels to make the market more fair for other materials.

9. Good drinking water should be public and cheap.
That's nice. What if you live in the desert, are you going to make other people pay to make sure you get clean drinking water since that is your magical right, and make sure it is cheap so you can have a nice green lawn.

10. You don't want to be a sucker to advertising.
Agreed, but its also nice to know what is out in the market that you can buy. Last I checked, we need water to live, its nice to see it advertised instead of some lame drug to change my kid's behavior.

I am all for tap water

snigdhasen — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 13:25:15 -0500

Thanks for this! I am all for tap water and carry a bottle/bottles full of water from my home wherever I go.
The problem is, most stadiums and movie theaters in this part of California do NOT allow us to carry our own bottles inside! Meaning, for people like my husband and me, who like to keep sipping from our bottles from time to time, we are left with no option but to buy a bottle once we are inside.

Same goes for the airport --- Now, I know that's for security, but
maybe they can allow us to carry empty water bottles inside so we can fill our bottles at the fountains?
I'd love not to have to buy plastic water bottles all the time.

The how

heivilinj — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 10:26:56 -0500

I found How Bottled Water Works very enlightening.

(I've read articles there about things I know a great deal about and the information is usually surprisingly accurate)

Jim Heivilin

Thanks!

Virginia DeBolt — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 07:30:37 -0500

I'm sending this to everyone I know.

http://www.webteacher.ws/
http://first50.wordpress.com/

Healthy indulgence or marketing ploy?

Nina Smith — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 07:21:21 -0500

“Bottled water is the fastest-growing major beverage category in the U.S.” – Forbes magazine

You offer some excellent reasons to ditch the bottle. And yes, bottled water is a
marketing ploy!

Nina Smith
Queercents
We're here, we're queer, and we're not going shopping without coupons.

10 reasons to ditch the bottled water habit

greenlagirl — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 11:04:39 -0500

If you're buying bottled water for your health, think again. Sure, fresh clean FIJI water SOUNDS nice in the ads -- but what're you really buying -- and really drinking? Here are 10 reasons to ditch the bottle and take back the tap:

1. Tap water's safer. As Food and Water Watch points out, 70% of bottled water produced and sold within states is exempt from FDA regulation, and a good 1/3 "of tested bottled water brands violated, in at least one sample, an enforceable standard or exceeded microbiological-purity guidelines." Tap water, on the other hand, falls under EPA's testing requirements, which're much more stringent.

2. Tap water's way cheaper. As an NY Times editorial points out, "almost all municipal water in America is so good that nobody needs to import a single bottle from Italy or France or the Fiji Islands. Meanwhile, if you choose to get your recommended eight glasses a day from bottled water, you could spend up to $1,400 annually. The same amount of tap water would cost about 49 cents."

3. Safer bottled water is -- tap water. Many bottled water companies just repackage tap water into plastic bottles, then sell 'em back to you at prices higher than gas. Aquifina, for ex, has finally been pressured into changing its labels to let consumers know Aquifina water comes from tap water. Why not just -- drink tap water? (via LAist)

4. Plastic bottles leach chemicals. Wonder why your plastic bottle of water has a lil warning telling you not to reuse it? The longer you have that bottle, the more likely it is to leach gross chemicals into your water.

5. Carbon-filtered tap water's safer and cheaper than bottled water. According to the Environmental Working Group, "carbon filtration of tap water will dramatically lower levels of toxic disinfection byproducts; it is also 10 to 20 times less expensive than bottled water, and does not produce the waste and pollution associated with the packaging and transport of bottled water." Here's a damn good guide to picking out the right filtration for your tap water.

6. Tap water tastes just as good. "Side-by-side taste tests between bottle water and treated municipal tap water have often revealed very few discernible difference in taste or quality," notes WiseGeek.

7. Pollution's not cool. It takes "1.5 million barrels of oil to make the water bottles Americans use each year," a NY Times editorial points out. "Add in the substantial amount of fuel used in transporting water, which is extremely heavy, and the impact on the environment is anything but refreshing." Plus, the recycling rate's only 23% nationwide.

8. Oil wars really aren't cool. Buying bottled water's basically buying plastic, which is made of oil. "When we buy a bottle of water, what we're often buying is the bottle itself, as much as the water," says Fast Company. "One of the main problems with bottled water production is the reliance on fossil fuels," notes WiseGeek. From the packaging to the transportation, bottled water relies on oil.

9. Good drinking water should be public and cheap. "The more the wealthy opt out of drinking tap water, the less political support there will be for investing in maintaining America’s public water supply," notes a NY Times editorial. "That would be a serious loss. Access to cheap, clean water is basic to the nation’s health."

10. You don't want to be a sucker to advertising. "When a whole industry grows up around supplying us with something we don't need--when a whole industry is built on the packaging and the presentation--it's worth asking how that happened, and what the impact is," argues Fast Company.

[top image from transguyjay; "Take Back the Tap" image from Food and Water Watch]

BlogHer Contributing Editor Siel also blogs at greenLAgirl.com.