Is Bottled Water Good For the Environment or Not?
The Truth About Tap Vs. Bottled Water. Facts and Information To Consider Before You Make The Switch.
Beverly Hills, CA (PRWEB) November 2, 2006 - There has been much recent press about the ban on bottled water by some Bay Area restaurants in the name of conservation and environmental protection. A small but growing number of businesses have recently expelled bottled water from their establishments, and in lieu of it, filtered and carbonated tap water is to take the place fine H2o. The very idea gives me the chills, but not because I have an interested in bottled water, but because this new concept doesn't really address the issues about real conservation and environmental protection. Additionally, I cringe at the fact that my meal has to be ruined by municipal tap, that isn't always so safe for you to drink given the recent outbreaks of E-coli and contaminated water across the nation.
Hot spots like Chez Panisse, Incanto and Nopa are all starting the trend (in treehugger land of course), but is this a valid and worthwhile trend or a scare tactic that has been escalated by officials and corporations with special interests and environmental agendas? Is this going to become the next political pastime while the true issues drown in what is surely to be the most talk about thing for 2007…WATER!
"World Water Day" started by one of the biggest polluters….Starbucks Coffee / Ethos Water…who have been in my eyesight, less than magnanimous in their recent business dealings, but you don't see any huge outrage over the shipment of coffee. Also coming soon to a charity near you…www.dot! "Save The Poor People and Give Them Clean Water" dot! org. I don't mean to make light of what is yet another serious and growing issue which brings me to tears, but shipping millions of bottles of plastic water bottles to regions that are underdeveloped and are not yet capable of properly disposing of these empty water bottles is probably not the best idea for the environment. Again, it appears we are trading one "source" and simply switching to another instead of tackling the real issues. The truth of the matter is, tap or bottled, water cost money! If you want safe, clean drinking water, then you will have to pay for it! It doesn't matter if your prefer tap or if you're a bottled water snob. In fact, tap water costs more per gallon than bottled water due to the fact it costs money to build an infrastructure of millions of miles of piping, transport, management, safety, filtrations and all the other numerous things a municipality has to do to manage our water supply and pipe it to our homes and offices. Just because it comes out of the facet doesn't make it free!
You want to drink clean water, start getting used to shoveling out some dollars at the store, to your nearest municipality or even worse, water barons. Wait until these water barons start buying up the rest of the water utilities and sources in North America and around the world. These conglomerates have been identified in a recent multinational collaborative journalistic investigation as the blame for those poor people in Africa and elsewhere dying due to lack of clean and safe drinking water. Water is the new wine folks…the next liquid gold and things are looking like they are going to get much worse unless we take serious steps to conserve our natural resources, fight pollution and the privatization of resources that should be a God given right. At least fine bottled water doesn't harm anyone or trigger a global panic for water. Most 'fine" H2o is bottled at the source and some are from protected sources within national park systems. Fine bottled water is packaged, marketed and sold to those who can afford it and presents no major environmental or economic threat greater than any other product that we purchase at stores or restaurants. In fact, the shipment of bottled water contributes very little to the impact on the environment. The large containers that come in and out of our ports, cities, states and the countries contain more than water rest assured. If not water, something else would take up the empty space.
"People need to come to grasp with the true power and influence water has over us all. This, I believe, is one of the primary issues when it comes to conservation and environmental protection. Using more of any natural resource like water, filtered or not, does not contribute to it's conservation or the protection of the environment. It simply is transferring one source to another and people will consume just as much, if not more, since they already think "tap" water is free. The focus shouldn't be directed at what is only a small portion of the water industry, but on water education and awareness".
If you would lie to make an impact and conserve water and help protect the environment then here are some helpful tips:
1. Drinking and storing bottled water (instead of running the tap) can save as much as 300 gallons of water a month.
2. When rinsing vegetables and other food items, use a filled clean pan instead of running water and you'll save more than 200 gallons a month. You can save another 100 gallons by not running water to defrost frozen food.
3. Using low-flow shower heads or flow restrictors in regular shower heads can save between 500 and 800 gallons of water a month. Also, how about cutting back on shower time from the average shower of 30 minutes to only 10 minutes. You'll save up to 1000 or more gallons of water per shower.
4. Yes, bottled water comes in a bottle (plastic or glass), but so does every other consumable and non-consumable "packaged" product. They all go on trucks, planes, trains, and boats to the nearest store or mall, which is in everyone of our neighborhoods or community. Buy products that have minimum packaging or that are recyclable, like glass and plastic bottles. Also, supporting local business isn't a bad idea. Local business mean that the product is closer and it helps your community out too through taxes.
5. If you let water run waiting for hot water to come down the pipes, try catching the flow in a watering can to use later for plants or gardens and save 100 to 300 gallons of water a month!
6. Save 300 gallons of water a month by watering your lawn in the early morning or early evening when there is less evaporation! Save another 300 gallons by adjusting the sprinkler to only water the grass-- not the sidewalk, driveway and street! Ooh, also perhaps (if you can afford to) add sensors too!
7. If you do not already have a recycling program in your area, then contact your local official and request they start one or start on your own.
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