Back in 1992 I predicted the short life-span of karaoke and bottled water. It takes drinking to support either. I was mistaken about both but to this day I am astonished that people spend $11 Billion yearly on the same commodity that flows freely out of the tap in my house. Producers of these expensive alternatives are experiencing a drop in sales but are fighting for your dollars with juice-like box packaging and vitamin infusions.
I understand the use of bottled beverages, it’s convenient. But stop and think for a second. You can buy your own bottle and fill it at the sink. Municipal water systems are tightly regulated and purity is mandated. However, if you have a concern over that issue, purification filters, (check out the cost per gallon), are available at your local home supply store. “Scientific studies even show that bottled water is no safer than tap water, and can sometimes be less safe, containing elevated levels of arsenic, bacteria and other contaminants”.
Think Outside The Bottle, and CarbonRally, urges us to rethink our addiction to this wasteful and expensive habit, and puts the facts and figures at your fingertips. Spend a few minutes, drink in the data, and TAKE THE PLEDGE !
Plastic water bottles and waste management article discusses the issues.
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“I am sorry, Evian and San Pellegrino and Dasani and all the other bottled waters out there—Aqua Velva, Wells Fargo, Muddy Waters, Joan Rivers, Jerry Springer, whatever—but the current campaign against paying good money for bottled water when tap water is perfectly good (and very likely purer) is so sensible on the face of it that I am now done with you……” (read more)
Garrison Keillor in a Sept. 29, 2007 in the Salt Lake Tribune
3 responses so far ↓
1 Brian // Nov 6, 2008 at 8:36 am
I have never understood the need for bottle water other than as a means of convenience. It honestly makes no sense to me as water is water and I feel I have far more important things to worry about in my life than over paying for a bottle of water with a label on it!
Great article!
2 Brian Coffey // Nov 6, 2008 at 9:59 pm
I live in a town that has some of the best tap water in the state of New Hampshire; actually it is ranked third. So I can appreciate your stand on paying for water. The flip side of the pancake is this- and also one of the reasons bottled water does so well- in many areas the tap water is barely drinkable. I have traveled across this country many many times and I can tell you most of the drinking water stinks. I am also very spoiled. So I have to confess when I am out of town I buy bottled water. Bottled water also helps prevent diarrhea which I get from drinking tap water of poor quality. In an effort to avoid the misery of the Big D I drink bottled water.
3 Mack // Nov 11, 2008 at 10:31 am
Paul,
You’ve touched on a global issue:
Making Good Use Of Plastic Bottles
Published by Kristen Berry on August 28, 2008 in News. 0 Comments
By BRITT YAP |Associated Press Writer
Tanned, dirty and hungry, two men who spent three months crossing the Pacific on a raft made of plastic bottles to raise awareness of ocean debris finally stepped onto dry land.”We made it,” hollered Marcus Eriksen to a crowd of about two dozen gathered at Ala Wai Harbor on Wednesday. “Where’s the food?”
Friends greeted Eriksen and fellow eco-mariner Joel Paschal with lei, fresh food and beer to celebrate the end of their 2,600-mile voyage on what they call the JUNK raft.
“We got used to eating fish and peanut butter,” said Eriksen, who celebrated his 41st birthday at sea. The pair left Long Beach, Calif., on June 1. Their 30-foot vessel had a deck of salvaged sailboat masts, six pontoons filled with 15,000 plastic bottles and a cabin made from the fuselage of a Cessna airplane.
While at sea they realized they were only traveling half a mile per hour and it would take them much longer to reach Hawaii than the previously anticipated six weeks.
“We had to go to half rations for awhile,” said Paschal, 32.
Without a backup plan, the two used a satellite phone to get in touch with Roz Savage, who was crossing the Pacific solo in a rowboat and happened to be in the same area at the time.
Savage, who was heading from San Francisco to Hawaii, was in dire need of water after both her potable water makers broke. When the three met up, Savage got onboard the raft, Paschal speared a mahimahi and the three dined together. Before parting, the men gave Savage a water maker and she gave them some of her extra food.
“We exchanged the necessities of life,” Eriksen said. “And that kept us going.”
Food wasn’t the only problem the men encountered on their trip. The raft, which can only sail down wind, had a hard time leaving the Long Beach area. The raft encountered storms that tore it apart during the first two weeks. Some of the bottles that were supposed to help the raft stay afloat started to sink. Eriksen and Paschal had to anchor the raft 100 miles off shore and rebuild it, before setting sail again.
The voyage was part of Algalita Marine Research Foundation’s project called, “JUNK.” The third person of the group, who didn’t make the 2,600 mile trip, was Anna Cummins, Eriksen’s fiancee. Cummins took care of land support, blogs and fundraising.
She said the goal of the trip was to creatively raise awareness about plastic debris and pollution in the ocean. Ironically, this was the same goal that Savage had in her trek across the Pacific.
The three want “single-use plastics” to be banned, saying they’re wasteful and usually end up in the ocean.
“Recycling is one solution, but it’s just a small part of the puzzle,” Paschal said.
Each day the men posted online videos and blogs of their trip and kept in touch with Cummins. They also spent two to three hours a day maintaining and repairing the raft.
The men said a variety of marine life gathered under the raft throughout the trip.
One day, said Paschal, they caught a fish after watching it grow for five weeks. They were going to eat it, but when they cut it open they found its stomach was full of plastic confetti.
The team hopes to visit schools around Oahu and share their experiences, and is working on a documentary film about the voyage to raise public awareness of the danger of plastics.
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