Bottled Water

[Merika]

This is really long....but VERY interesting!!! I happen to buy quite a bit of bottled water and was wondering if anyone else in here did.
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WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb 4 (OneWorld) - Water, water everywhere and we are duped into buying it bottled.

Consumers spend a collective $100 billion every year on bottled water in the belief--often mistaken, as it happens--that this is better for us than what flows from our taps, according to environmental think tank the Earth Policy Institute (EPI).

For a fraction of that sum, everyone on the planet could have safe drinking water and proper sanitation, the Washington, D.C.-based organization said this week.

Members of the United Nations have agreed to halve the proportion of people who lack reliable and lasting access to safe drinking water by the year 2015. To meet this goal, they would have to double the $15 billion spent every year on water supply and sanitation.

''While this amount may seem large, it pales in comparison to the estimated $100 billion spent each year on bottled water,'' said EPI researcher Emily Arnold.

''There is no question that clean, affordable drinking water is essential to the health of our global community,'' Arnold said. ''But bottled water is not the answer in the developed world, nor does it solve problems for the 1.1 billion people who lack a secure water supply. Improving and expanding existing water treatment and sanitation systems is more likely to provide safe and sustainable sources of water over the long term.''

Worldwide, bottled water consumption surged to 154 billion liters (41 billion gallons) in 2004, up 57 percent from 98 billion liters in 1999, EPI said in a written analysis citing industry data.

By one view, the consequences for the planet and for consumers' purses are horrifying.

''Even in areas where tap water is safe to drink, demand for bottled water is increasing--producing unnecessary garbage and consuming vast quantities of energy,'' said Arnold. ''Although in the industrial world bottled water is often no healthier than tap water, it can cost up to 10,000 times more.''

At up to $2.50 per liter ($10 per gallon), bottled water costs more than gasoline in the United States.

A close look at the multibillion-dollar bottled water industry renewed Arnold's affection for the faucet.

Tap water comes to us through an energy-efficient infrastructure whereas bottled water must be transported long distances--and nearly one-fourth of it across national borders--by boat, train, airplane, and truck. This ''involves burning massive quantities of fossil fuels,'' Arnold said.

By way of example, in 2004 alone, a Helsinki company shipped 1.4 million bottles of Finnish tap water 4,300 kilometers (2,700 miles) to Saudi Arabia. And although 94 percent of the bottled water sold in the United States is produced domestically, some Americans import water shipped some 9,000 kilometers from Fiji and other faraway places to satisfy demand for what Arnold termed ''chic and exotic bottled water.''

More fossil fuels are used in packaging the water. Most water bottles are made with polyethylene terephthalate, a plastic derived from crude oil. ''Making bottles to meet Americans' demand for bottled water requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel some 100,000 U.S. cars for a year,'' Arnold said.

Worldwide, some 2.7 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water each year.

Once it has been emptied, the bottle must be dumped. According to the Container Recycling Institute, 86 percent of plastic water bottles used in the United States become garbage or litter. Incinerating used bottles produces toxic byproducts such as chlorine gas and ash containing heavy metals tied to a host of human and animal health problems. Buried water bottles can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade.

Of the bottles deposited for recycling in 2004, the United States exported roughly 40 percent to destinations as far away as China--meaning that even more fossil fuels were burned in the process.

Meanwhile, communities from near which the water came in the first place risk running dry.

More than 50 Indian villages have complained of water shortages after bottlers began extracting water for sale under Coca-Cola Co.'s Dasani label, EPI said.

''Similar problems have been reported in Texas and in the Great Lakes region of North America, where farmers, fishers, and others who depend on water for their livelihoods are suffering from concentrated water extraction as water tables drop quickly,'' ''Arnold said.

All this, because many consumers associate bottled water with healthy living.

More fool us.

''Bottled water is not guaranteed to be any healthier than tap water. In fact, roughly 40 percent of bottled water begins as tap water; often the only difference is added minerals that have no marked health benefit,'' EPI said.

France's Senate, it added, ''even advises people who drink bottled mineral water to change brands frequently because the added minerals are helpful in small amounts but may be dangerous in higher doses.''

To be sure, many municipal water systems have run afoul of government water quality standards--driving up demand for bottled water as a result. But according to the study, ''in a number of places, including Europe and the United States, there are more regulations governing the quality of tap water than bottled water.''

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sets more stringent quality standards for tap water than does the Food and Drug Administration for the bottled stuff, it added.

Americans drank 26 billion liters of bottled water in 2004, or roughly one eight-ounce glass per person every day. Mexico had the second highest consumption, at 18 billion liters. China and Brazil followed, at close to 12 billion liters each. Italy and Germany ranked fifth and sixth in consumption, downing just over 10 billion liters of bottled water each.

Italians drank the most bottled water per person, at nearly 184 liters in 2004--more than two glasses per day. Mexico and the United Arab Emirates consumed 169 and 164 liters per person. Belgium and France followed, knocking back almost 145 liters annually. Spain ranked sixth, with 137 liters swallowed each year.

Some of the fastest growth in bottled water consumption is taking place in poor countries, however.

With consumption per person increasing by 44-50 percent between 1999 and 2004, Lebanon and Mexico had among the fastest growth rates of the top 15 per-capita guzzlers, EPI said.

Indian and Chinese people drank far less individually but collectively, the world's two most populous countries appear to have been on a bender. India swigged three times as much bottled water in 2004 as it did in 1999 and China, more than twice as much.

If individual Chinese consumers drank one-fourth the bottled water downed by the average American, EPI said, China would springboard over the United States and become the world's largest consumer.

[Weiser]

When I was working down in arizona, we would burn through a case of bottled water a day. But we had to. There aren't any taps to drink from out in the desert.

As for here, we buy bottled water - but mainly my dad and I take them to work with us. That's it. Tap water is fine. We have a filtration system on ours.

Back in Thunder Bay when we had the beaver fever scare everyone was buying bottled water. You had to or you had to boil your water. Now who wants to boil water before you drink it? Not many people. We ended up spending 2k on a filtration system for the house and didn't have to worry about anything else after that. Water tasted better too.

And I can't believe the people that import water. Water is water...

[Merika]

Originally Posted by Weiser

when we had the beaver fever scare

I was reading along....and there it was.....the funniest thing I've read all week.

Beaver fever scare!! Sounds like a nasty STD.

[BattleaxE]

Other than coffee and tea I only drink bottled waters. The water here is hard and doesnt have a good taste.

[Vautrin]

Barely ever drank bottled water, and when I did there was no difference with regular tap. Consider it both a waste of money and environmentally.

What I do on occasion, is to fill other bottles (which contained soda) with water or other stuff, in case I will be in the middle of nowhere. It saves enormous amounts of money.

I don't drink much water. Most of what I drink is coffee and tea, both with water from the tap.

[twinkle]

France = bottled water.

don't know why, but it's true. I drink one bottle a day - 1,5 l (one and a half in my good days). Why? I don't trust the system of distribution of water one bit.

When I'm near the montains or back home, I do drink tap water. I think people need to feel safe and with all the accidents happening these days - polution, factories etc, no one wants to risk anything. Plus with the automatic distribution machines, your choice is between Coca Cola and bottled water. Bottled water responds to other needs than just thirst.

The XXII century consumer feels the need to buy. He won't have it if it's for free or if perceives as being free. The French administration made a campaing about driking tap water, saying that it's 1000 times less expensive than bottled water. I don't know if how effective that was.

[Merika]

Our tap water can taste all funky (and worse) since we live in a very low lying area near an ocean inlet. Sometimes you have to hold your breath just to wash your hair. Once it's stored in the fridge though....you can't taste the difference. I have a gallon water jug that I refill with tap water and the kids just THINK I bought it down at the store to refill their water bottles with. But I thought it was a very interesting article in regards to the long term effect.

[Duke]

I don't like any kind of water other than the well water and spring water I was brought up on. Even the best bottled water is crap by comparison to 100% naturally filtered water.

[Merika]

Why don't you just buy a faucet filter?