Island Press E-News
July 1
Greetings, rosaria!
Americans now consume an average of 30 gallons of bottled water every year. In the United States, a thousand people buy a plastic bottle of water every second of every day. And most of those bottles are not recycled but end up in landfills. Marketers of bottled water have persuaded millions of consumers that tap water is bad.
These are just a few of the unsettling facts that water expert Peter Gleick conveys in his new book, Bottled and Sold. In addition to an interview with Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air, he appeared this morning on Good Morning America to discuss the continued pervasiveness of bottled water and its impacts: plastic waste, vanishing water fountains, and a consumer culture in which bottled water is a fashion statement. On top of that, Gleick takes bottled water companies to task for having spread fear about drinking tap water. You can watch his interview here.
As Peter Gleick says, water has become a battleground for the hearts and minds of consumers, and one which corporate interests have come to dominate. We hope you will learn the truth about water from Bottled and Sold, and toast to the planet's health with a glass from the tap.
Sincerely,
Chuck Savitt
President
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34 comments:
Thank you Rosaria for sharing and highlighting a very important message.
I wish you a happy weekend.
important post, Rosaria!
makes you wonder how we ever got along before bottled water...hmm...
For a long time I have been rolling this concept around in my mind to post... and I am so pleased that you have done so.
Here in Australia we have perfectly healthy drinking water and no reason to buy it.
We have been brainwashed!
If people are concerned about their tap water then they should just filter it themselves.
We all know that plastic leaches toxic chemicals, yet we continue to drink from it.
thank you x
I'm with Robyn.
Blogging is such a wonderful vehicle for getting info out there. Thanks, Rosaria.xx♥
We got a Brita water filter for home. I understand why bottled water is so bad, but on the other hand so is bottled soda. What are the statistics on how many plastic soda bottles are bought and discarded? I'd much rather have water available to me than soda. If I'm on the road, out for the day, away from the house and want to stay hydrated, I want water. True you can bring some with you but perhaps not as much as you may want. the problem is not that water is bottled. the problem is plastic bottles. I heard that Oregon outlawed water in plastic bottles. I don't see the wisdom of outlawing something that's healthy and leaving sugared and chemicaled sodas as the only alternative to thirst. Surely there is a better solution, like bringing back deposits and education. Mandatory recycling. Have it canned in aluminum like soda is. Get rid of plastic bottles period.
I hadn't heard of Bottled and Sold. I will check them out.
Great post, Rosaria. I've never use bottled water. To me, it's a big waste of money and plastic. Thanks for highlighting this important issue. Blessings!
I have heard this about water and try to stay away from bottled, though there is a comfort in that plastic for me... UGH!
I'm no fan of bottled water, mostly because of what leeches out of the plastic. I use a Brita filtering system for what I drink, and store water in glass containers, or old-fashioned thermos bottles.
I think of bottled water as vanity (to be frank), and a sign of the constant consumer demand for "more," and "quick," and "easy."
I rarely use bottled water anymore. I have my stainless steel container with the leakproof
sippy top and I love it. I take it everywhere with me!
I have been drinking tap water where we live for the last 9 years, including Antigua and Italy, without adverse effects. I put tap water in metal or non-leaching plastic reusables for outside use. It saves a LOT of money (bottled water costs more than gas!) and helps the environment as well.
I have no trouble drinking tap water and bottled water is never on my shopping list...but 100% Norwegian Husband can't quite cut himself off from plastic--as much as we've discussed it. what to do...what to do...
I am guilty of the bottled water but only because what comes out of my tap would work best in a swimming pool. You can really smell the chlorine and it is actually blue in the bathtub. Good thing about my tap water is no bath tub ring.
I drink and have drunk tap water all my life. We are well served here in the UK but pay heavily for it.
It is the strangest thing, for everyone to be so consumed about the portability of the drink and WILLING (my god) WILLING to pay for it so heavily. We are a bunch of sheep lead to slaughter. And I have to admit, I buy water a few times a year but use the plastic over and over and over and over again. Wondering why I do that just this minute. Baaaa~
xo
erin
We use tap water cooled overnight in a glass, as a matter of fact two, pitcher. The chlorine and other "ines" thus evaporate and you are left with just plain cold water. That is a trick learned on "L'Épicerie" a consumer education program on Radio-Canada.
Bonjour, thank you for your lovely comment on my blog. I've had a look (so far) at three of your posts and really like it all because they make me stop and think - and that's a good thing. Thanks for the inspiration, I'll be back and look forward to reading more. Love from London x
PS: I have a filter I use for tap water. Cheap, effective, much better than plastic bottles for the environment and it gets rid of the chlorine taste. Have a lovely weekend. x
I never tire of your gorgeous beach vistas. It’s actually better to drink tap water because it has fluoride. Good point on the waste. We use canteens at home or refill water bottles when on vacation (just got back from Canada.)
Yes..... that is an important post. Most of the bottles over here are now being recycled. But it wasn't so long ago that they were all slung into land-fill.
All our water is safe to drink and I only buy these bottles of water if I am thirsty on a day out.
When I was little, all drinks were in glass bottles and we had to pay a deposit on them that was returned to us when we took the bottle back.
Maggie X
Nuts in May
I drink tap water unless I want it sparkling. But then, I'm not American, either.
Hello my dear, what I will do now, first I will take all with the calm, and try to put in order so to say my life, that me and Huby have a normal day, that we do all with calm, go to the town to look the mothers, brings to them from the shop, take care around the house, as the summer is here, and the guests is hear, makeing a nice gifts to the ladies so that they can spread a nice words about our villa, reading, resting nera the pool, popping the blogs of my blog friends the old and the new one, try to finishing the works in progress, to play swaps, to tray the challange of patchworks, etc. etc. Glad to hear that your daughter is better. Loredana.
I was just dropping in to wish you and yours the happiest Independence Day. May your day be full! May you enjoy laughter shared with family, great food shared with friends, fireworks to make you gasp, a lump in your throat at the anthem, and a full and grateful heart at all we have been given. Happy Fourth of July, my friend!
I filter my water. When I walk by the river, I often take a trash bag with me. 95% of the garbage I pick up is empty water bottles. Sheesh.
Very important post. I know I don't do nearly enough. Even rabid recycling isn't enough.
Sounds like a most interesting book. Will look for it.
Bonjour Rosaria, yep, I'm back again and this time I'd like to ask you to stop at my blog to collect a little something. Even though I'm new to your blog, I'm finding it really interesting and like it very much... Love from London x
I read your message and then I looked at the bottle of water I've got in rucksack, filled this morning before coming to work. You're so right. Many thanks.
Greetings from London.
"Evian" is "naive" spelled backwards – rather ironic when we consider how much a bottle of this liquid costs and ponder why any sensible person would think of actually paying for it. In a society where clean tap water can be had for free, are we indeed naïve - or to put it more bluntly, just plain bonkers?
Rosaria, I’m so pleased you enjoyed the book and thank you very, very much for the lovely card you sent me. I was so touched by your thoughtfulness. The painting by Connie Zane is wonderful and I have the card propped up on my desk so I can gaze at it and imagine the crash of the waves against the rocks in rough weather....or the gentle swish-hiss of the water as it caresses the shore in the mellow calm of this painting.
Referring back to your post and the impact of plastic waste, I wondered whether you’d like one of my fish trio linocuts and if so, please let me know which colour you like best. I would like to send one to each of my blogpals just to help us all remember how important the oceans are to life and that we have to stop making such a mess of things before its too late.
I agree the plastic is a risk too, I'd rather drink the stuff out of the tap.
Good post, Rosaria. I try not to use bottled water; only in an emergency. We use tap water at home & try to carry tap water on ice with us when we leave home so as not to contribute to the growing build-up of plastic. I also try to recycle my bottles when I have to use them. I have bins for paper/cardboard, plastic, cans & bottles.
I grew up when you bought soda pop in bottles and then took the bottles back to a refund. Gone are the days.... All the plastic accumulating in landfills is horrifying to even think about. Yes, this is really an important message you've posted.
I have never been able to understand how water sitting in a plastic bottle for days -- weeks -- can be better than cool, fresh water from the tap. That's where the bottled water companies get their water anyway.
People can sometimes be sheep...
I don’t really know why people buy so much bottled water here. I have had a Brita plastic jug for years or we keep the water in a glass container. I only buy drinking water, and usually in glass bottles, when I travel in countries were the tap water is not safe, like Ethiopia or Indonesia. I do believe it is a fad with many people here.
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