Bottled WHAT!?!

Lately in the news there have been many stories debating the benefits verses the environmental impact that bottled water has had in the US. In many large cities across the US mayors are leading a campaign against bottled water using the argument that perfectly good water is delivered to homes everywhere costing a fraction in comparison its bottled counterpart.
So I guess the main question that arises is whether or not bottled water is all that it’s cracked up to be. In the US the average person uses roughly 4000 gallons of water per month. This includes bathing, drinking, cooking, watering the lawn and flushing the toilet among other things.
After I found this fact out, I called my mom to find out how much our family spent on water last month in Northwest Harris County. For 11 thousand gallons my household spent $14.50, which means if every person in the US used the average at our water rates they would spend a grand total of $5.27 each month. Also as I seem to remember - as I’m sure you all do as well - television and science/health classes telling me growing up that the average person needed to intake about 8 8-ounce glasses of water each day. 8 times 8 is 64-ounces which is about 4 gallons. Using the same price per gallon above the cost of water per person just to drink comes to less then half of a cent per day. In comparison if you go to one of the many Coke machines on campus, one 20-ounce bottle of water is a dollar. And a case of Ozarka bottled water down at Kroger runs about $4.99. So, for the cost of one 24-bottle case of water, you could pay for all of the water you needed in a month!
One of the arguments against bottled water is that it’s healthier for you then tap water. Ok, first off, unless your bottle actually says that its spring water it’s simply filtered water that is sometimes enriched with extra minerals for taste. Also, there have been no recorded benefits in the long run to drinking bottled water over tap water. Another argument that I’ve heard many people use is that they prefer the taste of bottled to tap. Well my friend, there are a couple things you can do about this:

• Add some lemon or lime juice to your water
• Use something like a Brita filter before drinking or putting it into your trusty sidekick. (your reusable water bottle/canteen)
• Get a water bottle/canteen that filters water as you drink it
• Use those little single serving powder packet of iced tea, Crystal Light, Kool-aide, etc
• Get a whole system filter installed on your house
• Boil and cool your water before drinking
• Switch to drinking only Coke or beer

Ok, so that last one was more of a joke than anything. Seriously, it was. I doubt your stomach, doctor or your dentist would be too happy if you went around drinking Coke all the time. And somehow even though it might seem like a good idea at first, I don’t think going to classes and such drunk is a great idea.
On another note, in the past decade since bottled water has become the hip thing to drink, scientists have found out some pretty scary facts in the area of waste. I found this list from the Nalgene sponsored site http://www.refillnotlandfill.org:

• 8 out of 10 plastic bottles end up in landfills each year rather then being recycled.
  The energy we waste using bottled water each year would be enough to power 190,000 homes. (Remember, by refilling there is no waste!!!)
• In making all of the plastic bottles used in the US requires more than 1.5 million gallons of petroleum each year. (You can run 100,000 cars each year on that!)
• In 2006 the United States alone used 8.3 billion gallons of bottled water and the total amount spent on bottled water was well over $11 billion. (College tuition anyone?)
• It costs more money to drink bottled water then to run your car! (This means money and environmentally)
• And my favorite, bottled water companies do NOT have to release their water-testing results to the public, whereas municipalities are required to by law. (So, what are you actually drinking?)

Given these facts, are you willing join the movement to not use bottled water? I mean the idea that anything could, I’m not saying it is, be in your bottled water is a little unnerving. Or at least it is to me… ew. Personally I carry a 32-ounce green Nalgene bottle with me. I fill it at home before heading to school, and then when it’s empty I usually just refill it at one of the water fountains on campus. According to the official website, my water bottle runs about $9.00. And that’s a one time purchase!!! Nalgene also offers a variety of sizes and styles to suit a person’s needs. Or are you concerned about recent news that plastic could be leaching into your water from the bottle? Not at problem, there are also companies that make stainless steel and aluminum bottles as well. I looked on Amazon.com and found both of these options to be between $6 and $20.
It is a little expensive at first to actually purchase a refillable water bottle, but in the long run it turns out to be cheaper and more environmentally friendly as well!! If however my rant of sorts didn’t convince you to make the switch, remember to recycle those water bottles!! The Environmental Studies department has bins in their hall, as well as a few around campus.

Bottoms up!
~Lizzy