I read this really interesting article the other day from an online magazine called Fastcompany.com. It's called "Message in a Bottle," and it brought up some incredibly thought-provoking ideas on a topic I had previously given very little thought about . . . bottled water.
I, like probably many others of you, have enjoyed the convenience and accessibility of bottled water over the past few years. Its presence has subversively crept into our culture, moving from an elite drink of the Parisian aristocrats, to the preferred beverage at soccer games and shopping malls. I don't really think much about spending $1.35 for my bottle of Dasani or buying a case of water for my office. What was shocking to me, however, was what kind of market the bottled water industry commands.
This article reveals that the leaders of the bottled water industry last year made $15 billion, more than Americans spent on iPods and going out to the movies combined. What's more, if I filled that $1.35 bottle with tap water (some of which, like San Francisco, is so pure it doesn't even have to be filtered) once a day for the next 10 years, 5 months, and 21 days, I would finally spend $1.35 for that water. If we paid for tap water like we do for bottled water, we'd spend roughly $9.000 a month. Wow!
The real interesting point of the article came in when they raised some ethical questions about the bottled water industry and our consumption of the beverage. The article argues that bottled water is a luxury item, one that we enjoy thoughtlessly, while 1 out of 6 people in the world don't enjoy any kind of safe drinking water. Ironically enough, it's easier for an American to pay to drink a bottle of Figi water than it is for the majority of the people of Figi to drink any kind of safe drinking water. San Francisco has actually banned city departments from buying bottled water trying to set an example in being environmentally responsible, as more than a billion bottles end up in state landfills each year.
I'm not quite sure what to do with this information, whether or not it will significantly alter my bottled water drinking habits. What do you think of some of the ideas? As Christians, what kind of responsibility do we have to take care of the environment and others around the world and should this affect our usage of "luxuries" like bottled water?
3 comments:
And as the french named their water "evian," it shows just how NAIVE we Americans are when it comes to buying bottled water.
I have two words for you: Nalgene bottle;)
I read a similar article in a doctor's office magazine the other day. One of the things that the water bottle people were defending themselves with was that people are making smarter choices by choosing to buy bottle of water over bottles of soda. (Which I thought was a decent point...)
Great blog Leah!
Kim about your comment: Nalgene's have come out with BPA-free bottles, using a #7 polycarbonate called "Tritan" made by the Easman chemical company, which you may have heard of in relation to film, made by "Eastman Kodak." While studies show that Tritan is safe, in the coming years, we may see similar issues where Tritan leaches harmful chemicals into the water, and thus into the blood stream when we drink the contaminated water.
Nalgene is a well known plastics company, with "Nalgene" water bottles being only one of their products. Another within their product mix is a device made to harness rabbits and other animals for laboratory testing.
Take a look at this article and image at the non-profit Rocky Mountain Animal Defense, which is quite sad:
http://www.rmad.org/nalgene.html
I've read that Fast Company article too. But, OK, so I have to admit: My background is as a chemist from Columbia U up in NYC. I now work as a technical columnist for a major (non-corporate) US news source.
Tap water better than bottled water, all are not equal
I agree, generally, although tap water is not always cleaner than bottled (spring) water. It depends on the municipality of the tap water or the source of the spring water. Basic bottled tap water is never a good idea, and by this I refer to brands such as Aquafina, Desani, etc.
Trying to find a good solution
Curious for an answer, I purchased 3 water testing kits. At my friend and colleague's lab at Portland State University and with home test kits, I tested my home's tap water and my store's spring water, which was shipped in from another state. Both came out to be just as pure. There can be differences, such as the quality of pipes from the tap water's source to your home. If you have an older home, pipes may be made of lead, or with newer homes, they may be made of PVC plastic.
There is no perfect source for urbanites, it seems. City water can be tainted with anything from caffeine to jet fuel for urban dwellers, and farm residue for country dwellers.
Be proactive. The best solution seems to be to test your water yourself with an approved test kit, or to call your city and ask for the water to be tested. In the US, this means calling your local
health department. Some cities offer free water testing, as is the case in Portland, Oregon USA.
Test Your Water
What I have chosen to do is have my tap water tested. When this came out clean and absent of detectable (key word here) bad things, I chose to get a good quality filter that fit into my budget. If you choose to go with a filter, know what is first in your water. Otherwise, it's like trying to filter out sand with a filter that has big holes. You need to know what you’re filtering out so you get the correct type of filter. There are many filters, from reverse osmosis (RO) to Ultraviolet, to simple charcoal. Keep in mind, however, that our ability to detect any object is only as good as the technology we employ. In other words, the technology we have today to detect what is bad for us equals what we know to be bad for us. Phrased another way, in the future, we will likely discover more things that are harmful for us in water and elsewhere, because technology, and our ability to use it, has improved.
Reusable Water Bottles
So once my tap filter was in place, I bought a reusable water bottle. These are very popular today, but moreover it's a good way to avoid using and tossing a lot of plastic water bottles each day. In the US, they range in price from about $15-35, depending on brand and store. I bought a 40 oz, or 1.2 liter stainless steel Klean Kanteen brand, for which I paid about $25 from a company selling reusable water bottles called Water Bottle People, online at http://www.waterbottlepeople.com.
Arm yourself with information
I recommend talking to your local health department, as well as reading quality sources of information, such as peer reviewed journals, and books by noted authors. One particular book I like, is by Steve Meyeorwitz, a.k.a the Sproutman, entitled Water: The ultimate Cure.
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