I read this, from the Chicago Sun Times. To recap:
Americans spent nearly $11 billion last year on bottled water, making it the nation's second-favorite beverage, after soft drinks. (me:YIKES!)
That's a lot of water -- and a lot of waste, environmental advocates say.
It takes 1.5 million barrels of oil -- enough to fuel 100,000 cars for a year -- to make the plastic bottles to meet Americans' demand for bottled water, according to the Earth Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., environmental think tank. (me:OMG!)
The NRDC tested more than 100 types of bottled water and found "spotty" quality, with a third of the brands containing contaminants such as arsenic in at least some samples, said Adrianna Quintero, an attorney for the group. (me: Arsenic??)
"The problem with bottled water is we really have no way of knowing what we're getting," Quintero said.
There's an alternative, experts say, and it's cheaper: Buy a reusable bottle, and fill it with tap water, which is stringently regulated. (me:But what if the tap water tastes bad?)
But if you still want to buy bottled water (me:OK, I do), they suggest picking a domestic brand over one that was shipped halfway across the globe, giving the environment a break by using less fuel to ship it -- and then recycle the bottle. (me: Looking with suspicion at the bottle of S.Pellegrino)
I was just discussing this with my neighbor (the buying water stuff; we both recycle like maniacs). Is it hype or does municipal water really taste bad? I'm so used to buying bottled water that it's more by rote than by choice that I pick up 2 gallons of it for $1 at Market Basket.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
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2 comments:
I can't remember the number of years I've kept a Brita water filter in my fridge. Water tastes fine to me. Water quality is heavily regulated, keep in mind.
Ari,
I used to use Brita filters when I lived in Boston - and bottled water weighed too much for me to lug home (never owned a car in 20 yrs. living there). The water in Boston stank! Literally. But it might have been the old pipes.
As I said, it might be the power of suggestion, but I'm afraid to try my new/improved city water. I give it to my cat (he got sick on the brackish well water) and he seems fine.
On the other hand, I gulp down water in local restaurants, which I assume is municipal water.
p.s. You trust regulations???? We've got one out here that says you can't build a house unless you have 2 lots. Funny thing, a big old house was just completed at the end of Old Point Rd. - on one lot! Even the mayor questioned its existence on visit out a few months ago. (Not the same, I know.)
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