Environmental Impacts and the Psychology of Bottled Water
I’ve never really liked bottled water because most of them have this weird after taste that is very close to drinking plastic water. But I buy them because I dread on the idea of drinking the alternatives — colored sugar water with some kicks. But one day Brian mentioned something to me and sent an article from the International Herald Tribune that made me think hard about paying for bottled water again.
1. People who bitch about how much gasoline cost seem happy to pay for bottled water, which is far more expensive than gasoline if you got your math right;
2. Very very few people can tell the difference between bottled water and tap water in blind testings;
3. Tap water is tested much more frequently and more closely monitored than bottled water for obvious public health reasons; and the fact that soft drink industry in general aren’t as stringently regulated as tap water, what makes people think bottled water is better water?
4. Buying bottled water, depending on the source, can be environmentally damaging (i.e. DO NOT buy Fiji brand water or anything that has to travel thousands of miles to get to you).
5. I often see bottled water being trucked around being exposed directly to the sun for god knows how long. And in each bottle’s journey to its destination, I can only imagine what kind of chemical reactions are happening to the plastic and the water. I mean, if I often taste the “plastic-ness” in the water, doesn’t that mean something is up with the water? Or maybe I am just being paranoid again.
6. For each bottle produced, how much energy was used to manufacture, transport and recycle that bottle and all its raw materials? All that work for something you can easily get cleanly and safely out of your faucets in America? If you lived in countries where there’s no reliable supply of drinking water, however, bottled water is a good idea though.
Sometimes I think the guy who invented the idea of selling bottled water is either a genius or a crook. Or maybe he’s a crooked genius. Of course bottled water has its purpose in situations where sanitary water just isn’t available (natural disasters… etc). Other wise paying for bottled water doesn’t really make too much sense to me… Just my two cents.
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August 26th, 2007 at 7:00 am
It absolutely makes sense to me that water is more expensive than gas. It’s probably as hard to get as gas, but in contrast to gas it’s crucial to our well-being.
I buy bottled water in North America because I don’t like water with chlorine and fluor as it comes out of the tap. In Germany, however, the water comes directly from the Alps and has the same quality as bottled water, without the costs of packaging.
August 26th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
you are totally right – bottled water is a farce that only does harm. They move into areas and divert local water (underground and above ground streams) to their plant which means the local crops aren’t getting the water. Many companies take tap water locally and purify it. Which you can do for much cheaper with a PUR or BRITA filter. Even one of those expensive filters they have at Whole Foods would be cheaper and better for you than bottled water.
Just wait until they sell air for you to breathe.