Exotic Bottled Water

02008-01-06 | Uncategorized | 7 comments

AskPablo: Exotic Bottled Water (Triple Pundit)
I am interested to know the ‘true-cost’ of a bottle of Fiji water that currently sells for $1.50 in the United States.
(Via treehugger)

Click on the above link to read the in-depth answer.

A World of Reasons to Ditch Bottled Water : TreeHugger
Approximately 1.5 million barrels of oil—enough to run 100,000 cars for a whole year—are used to make plastic water bottles, while transporting these bottles burns even more oil.

The growth in bottled water production has increased water extraction in areas near bottling plants, leading to water shortages that affect nearby consumers and farmers. In addition to the millions of gallons of water used in the plastic-making process, two gallons of water are wasted in the purification process for every gallon that goes into the bottles.

Nearly 90 percent of water bottles are not recycled and wind up in landfills where it takes thousands of years for the plastic to decompose.

So the next time you feel thirsty, forgo the bottle and turn to the tap. Because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s standards for tap water are more stringent than the Food and Drug Administration’s standards for bottled water, you’ll be drinking water that is just as safe as, or safer than, bottled.

If, however, you don’t like the taste of your tap water or are unsure of its quality, you can buy a filter pitcher or install an inexpensive faucet filter to remove trace chemicals and bacteria. If you will be away from home, fill a reusable bottle from your tap and refill it along the way; travel bottles with built-in filters are also available.

I added the color.

7 Comments

  1. Jacqueline(Jackie)

    Now your talking my language!

    Think of all the coffee cups and plastics of things in the scope of re-cycling mounds of hills of garbage….that seeps into water by the way …

    Jackie

    Reply
  2. eric

    i’ve been using brita systems for the last 5 or 6 years and have saved myself hundreds if not thousands of dollars that would have otherwise been spent on bottled water. to me the water tastes better too and wouldn’t require the need for additional manufacturing of natural resources out in wilderness areas for production.

    some points of fact of impurities removed from brita systems-
    — 99.99 percent of Cryptosporidium and Giardia
    — 99.9 percent of sediment
    — 99 percent of lead and chlorine
    — 99 percent trichloroethylene (solvent), lindane (pesticide) and
    asbestos
    — 97 percent of hydrogen sulfide
    — 92 percent atrazine

    did you know that brita was named after founder Heinz Hankammer’s daughter? =)

    Reply
  3. Luz

    Filter pitchers work for me!

    Reply
  4. Linda

    Water filters are indeed the alternative to purchasing bottled water. But, compare filters before you buy. While most filters do an adequate job of removing contaminants, you still want to consider the lifespan of the filter – it can save you a bundle and send less spent filters into the garbage pile.

    Reply
  5. Adam Solomon

    Yeah, the filters are quite nice – I haven’t gotten around to buying one for the dorm this year and I can taste the difference!

    Pretty amazing facts about the oil use. I have yet to hear a compelling reason for our excessive oil use (coupled, of course, with complete apathy for finding viable alternatives), at the expense of hurting the economy, forcing us into unsavory foreign alliances, tempting weaker men into disasterous wars, and of course a bit of environmental damage. I’d imagine a simple pro-con analysis would about do it, no? Well, I guess I’m wrong on that :)

    Reply
  6. Angelika

    Greetings, I believe i wrote in my haiku book that i sent you sent last year that no reply was needed. I just want to know if you did get the wee book from me at all. Simple (yes) (no) (maybe) (returned to sender…lol)

    angelika.bygott@shaw.ca

    Thank you

    Reply
  7. Carol

    But to get on a plane , you have to buy their water in a bottle don’t you?
    I will probably die horribly, but I refill the plastic bottles. Son Greg told me so seriously. “You can do that only if you remove the label that says you’ll probably be poisoned.”
    I’d get your heavy metal one, but I’m a lightweight.

    Reply

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