Do You Buy Bottled Water?
One of the best comments on bottled water to date is the reflection on the name of one of the first bottled water companies in the U.S. - Evian - spelled backwards = NAIVE!
The American Museum of Natural History in New York had an exhibit on water and life, and posted some "fast facts" titled, "Bottled Water Everywhere, but is it Good to Drink?"
Among their points:
Bottled water costs as much as $10 per gallon compared to less than a penny per gallon for tap water.
Worldwide, 2.7 million tons of plastic are used each year to make water bottles, but in the U.S., less than 20 percent of these bottles are recycled.
The total estimated energy needed to make, transport, and dispose of one bottle of water is equivalent to filling the same bottle one-quarter full of oil.
An estimated 40 percent of bottled water sold in the U.S. is just filtered tap water.
Doonesbury by Gary Trudeau
The following links are invaluable resources in learning more
about water, bottled water and the containers it comes in:
PBS on water
The New York Times on bottled water
The Sierra Club's brochure about bottled water
The Dallas Morning News on recent research about Bisphenol A (BPA)