Bottled Water

Better Than Bottled Water

Here's some disturbing news regarding what we Americans do our dear planet in our quest to feel healthy. This is ripped from Fast Company.com writer Charles Fishman. Read his full article entitled "Message in a Bottle". Or read the ADD version here.

Americans spent more money last year on bottled water than on ipods or movie tickets: $15 billion.

We pitch 38 billion plastic water bottles a year; in excess of 1 billion worth of plastic.

24% of the bottled water we buy is tap water repackaged by Coke and Pepsi (Desani and Aquafina are the brands).

We're moving 1 billion bottles of water a week in ships, trains, and trucks in the US alone. (Talk about your carbon footprint!) That's a weekly convoy equivalent to 37,800 18-wheelers delivering water.

Meanwhile one out of 6 people in the world has no dependable, safe drinking water. The global economy has decided to deny the most fundamental element of life to 1 billion people while delivering to us an array of water "varieties" from around the globe, not one of which we actually need. (And you wonder why there is such a robust insurgency.)

The United States is the single biggest consumer of the world's $50 billion bottled water market. Yet, it is the only one of the top four (Brazil, China, Mexico are the others) that has universally reliable tap water.

One last jab to hit you where you live (in the wallet). If the water we use at home cost what even cheap bottled water costs, our monthly water bills would run $9,000 a month. That's right sport's fans, you are literally pissing away a fortune and littering the earth when you're done.

Here's a better idea. Get a filter (Reverse Osmosis is good), make your own filtered water at home and carry it with you when you go in a re-usable container. Use a Kleen Kantene thermos bottle (stanless steel) which won't leach plastic into your endocrine system if you plan to get very attached to it.

Not that hard, really, once you give it a go. And you can feel a lot better about all that H2O you are pounding.

That's all for now, remember, our collective health is in your hands.