We've discussed bottled water on this blog before. It is not any safer, privatizes our water sources, causes massive increased plastic creation and use, and leaves a huge carbon footprint. The facts are staggering:
According to the MSN:
"Here are a few facts about bottled water:
*The containers are made of plastic or glass. When full, both become very heavy. It costs a fortune in oil to ship heavy bottles around the country, much less around the world.
*Close to 2 million tons of plastic was used to make bottles for water last year. That manufacturing involves an enormous about of petroleum, since it is a key ingredient in plastic. In the U.S. alone, 30 million bottles a day, billions of bottles a year get tossed out. Recycling them costs another small fortune in gasoline to haul them to plants.
*Bottled water is being promoted all over the world by a host of companies such as PepsiCo, The Coca-Cola Co., Nestle and Cadbury Schweppes. These companies, plus the boutique outfits such as Evian and S. Pellegrino, are staking their future on getting you to drink water from bottles since it is getting harder and harder to persuade you to drink soda and other sugared water from their cans — and it’s working.
*According to Beverage Marketing Corp., a provider of beverage-related data, consumption of bottled water has been growing by a gallon a year per capita in the U.S., and consumption has doubled in the past decade. Americans now drink more water from bottles overall than any other nation. However, we are only tenth among nations of the world in drinking bottled water per capita, trailing Italy, Mexico, Spain, France, Germany and Switzerland."
This list only begins to discuss the problems with bottled water. Here in Vermont, a bottled water company devastated local rivers, caused increased traffic and pollution in a small town, and ultimately shut down, leaving the buildings and factory behind. And we know now that bottled water is LESS regulated than tap water. There is no health benefit to drinking bottled water, and one could say it is riskier to drink it with the limited information on where the water was sourced.
So what does this have to do with Vermont? Our state government spends $47,000 per year, the equivalent of a state employee's salary, on bottled water. This when our public water systems are in such dire need of investment. When the Governor is asking state workers to take a pay cut, but allowing the purchase of an unneeded and environmentally irresponsible product, we have to ask ourselves about the priorities here.
Please join the Take Back the Bottle's efforts to eliminate spending on bottled water and call for federal-level funding for water infrastructure projects. Contact your governor by signing the petition here. Vermonters, Governor Douglas needs to hear from you!
And if you care about this issue in your state, nationally and internationally, sign the pledge at Take Back the Bottle.
Students at Montpelier High School did a taste test as the righteously deemed "Operation Plastic Removal." Read about their results and efforts to show there is no taste difference between bottled and tap water.
