Water, or H2O, is the foundation of life as we know it. We don’t incorporate it into our DNA, or use it to build our cells. Our dealings with water are different. It lets our blood run through our veins, it allows us to cool off when our bodies heat up, and provides a medium for thousands of reactions to occur that are necessary for life. We also use it for hundreds of recreational and industrial purposes, like swimming and heating our houses. Mostly, we get the water into our bodies by drinking it. In the past, humans have acquired water from wells dug in the ground, or rivers and streams that naturally purify themselves by simply moving. In industrialized, developed nations, water is available to basically everyone at an extremely low price. But recently, an odd yet pervasive market has taken over the beverage industry: bottled water. It’s odd because virtually every home has access to tap water at a price that is infinitesimal compared to that of tap water. (People pay prices for bottled water that range from 240 to 10,000 times more per gallon than tap water.(1)) The biggest reason people buy bottled water is because they think it’s more pure than their tap water. But is this true? How much difference is there between tap and bottled water? What are the pros and cons of each?
Every year, we spend $15 billion on bottled water.(2) A big reason that people prefer bottled water is the portability it presents. If you are rushing around or doing some sort of exercise, it is more convenient to grab a bottle of water than anything else. The fact that it’s able to be resealed allows for even more convenience. You are able to carry it around, and even lets you mix the bottled water with powdered supplements and flavors.(3) Also, bottled water provides a healthy alternative to soda and fruit drinks. The increase in sales of bottled water is good, as it shows that people are becoming more conscious to what they are putting in their bodies. However, the main reason is the purity that bottled water claims it has over tap. The commercials of bottled water boast beautiful mountains and valleys, with clean, clear rivers running through them, claiming this is where they get their water (and some of them actually do get it there). People trust this and feel more comfortable drinking tap water. They buy into the ads and think that the bottled water comes from a natural spring or some untouched river in the heart of some glacial mountain. These people have it stuck in their head that the bottled water is more pure, and they can’t drink their tap water. But are these conceptions misconceptions? How much of the bottled water perception is true?
Bottled water is significantly more expensive than tap water. If tap water cost the same as bottled water, monthly water bills would be $9,000.(4) Bottled water is three times the price of gasoline.(5) So is the extra price worth it? No. Tap water, since it is a municipal service, is subject to a lot of regulations- bottled water has no federal filtration or disinfection regulations.(6) City water systems are required to publish a report of what is in their water, and bottled water companies have no so much requirements.(7) Bottled water also has a colossal environmental impact. Every year, 1.5 tons of plastic are used in the production of bottled water.(8) The recycling rate of plastic is very low, so most of that fills up our already filled landfills, and plastic takes thousands of years to decompose. The amount of resources to produce and transport the plastic is tremendous. Plastic itself is made out of oil, and it takes even more to fuel the plants and ship it to wherever it’s going. According to a U.S. Conference of Mayors resolution passed in 2007, the bottled water industry uses 1.5 million barrels of oil every year- enough to power 250,000 homes or 100,000 cars for a year.(9) In our current energy crisis it is illogical that we use so much oil on something that is so pointless.
There is an extremely ugly side to bottled water too. On the lighter side, the Coke and Pepsi bands of water- Dasani and Aquafina, respectively, are merely packaged tap water. So tap water makes up at least 24% of the bottled water industry.(10) Therefore, people are paying Coke and Pepsi billions of dollars every year to package tap water. While were sipping our overpriced tap water in a country that already has the best cheap tap water, a large portion of the world doesn’t have reliable drinking water. The company Fiji extracts and bottles a million bottles a day of the “hippest bottled water on the U.S. market”, while most of the country of Fiji doesn’t have reliable drinking water.(11) Incredible statistics like these are plentiful and horrifying. The ethics of two of the biggest names in bottled water- Coke and Pepsi- are very much in question. A study done by the Center for Science and Environment in India found that the Coca-Cola and Pepsico products sold in India have a very high level of pesticides and insecticides- high enough to cause cancer. When they did identical tests on drinks served in America, none of the chemicals were found.(12) This just proves that these companies hold themselves to a dual standard- complying when they must and taking advantage where they can. Another big problem with Coca-Cola is the amount of groundwater they use in their making of their products. In 2004, the company used 283 billion liters of water for production of their other products, which is enough to supply the whole world’s population for 10 days. One of the company’s biggest customers- India- suffers from extreme groundwater shortages, and Coca-Cola’s plants use 3-5 liters of water per liter of Coke.(4) 2/3 of this water is released as toxic waste and is sometimes even given to farmers as “fertilizer”.(13) It is said that water is the new oil, referring to how scarce it will be in the near future, and if we wasted oil like we do water, people would be in a complete uproar, and those firms might even face legal issues. Many of these bottled water providers are unethical and don’t care about the impact they leave on the places they produce and sell their products. We shouldn’t condone their practices by buying their products- any of their products, including bottled water.
Bottled water has quickly become one of the biggest industries in the country. You see it everywhere- they sell them in every convenience store, pizza place, supermarket and restaurant. You see them rolling around people’s cars and empty bottles fill garbage cans all around the country. There definitely is something good about bottled water. When the tap water isn’t pure, or you’re rushing to work or soccer practice, bottled water makes sense. But people don’t need to buy a case of water every week at the store. What really needs to change about this industry isn’t the big corporations that make the water- it’s the consumers. If we choose to reuse our water bottles, or order tap water at restaurant, we will save ourselves money, and greatly benefit the environment and developing nations by decreasing the amount of bottled water we buy.
Bibliography
1. "Bottled Water: Pure Drink or Pure Hype?." National Resources Defense Council. National Resources Defense Council, n.d. Web. 11 03 2011. <http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/exesum.asp>.
2. "Drop the Prop: Bottled Water Statistics." Drop the Prop. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar 2011. <http://www.droptheprop.info/bottled-water-statistics>.
3. Hamel, Gregory. "Bottled Water Pros and Cons." eHow Health. eHow Health, n.d. Web. 14 Mar 2011. <http://www.ehow.com/list_5981577_bottled-water-pros-cons.html>.
4. "Drop the Prop: Bottled Water Statistics." Drop the Prop. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar 2011. <http://www.droptheprop.info/bottled-water-statistics>.
5. DiMassimo, Marc, and Eric Yaverbaum. "Bottled Water is a Big Drain." Buisness Week. Tappening.com, n.d. Web. 14 Mar 2011. <5. http://www.businessweek.com/debateroom/archives/2008/06/bottled_water_i.....
6. DiMassimo, Marc, and Eric Yaverbaum. "Bottled Water is a Big Drain." Buisness Week. Tappening.com, n.d. Web. 14 Mar 2011. <5. http://www.businessweek.com/debateroom/archives/2008/06/bottled_water_i.....
7. DiMassimo, Marc, and Eric Yaverbaum. "Bottled Water is a Big Drain." Buisness Week. Tappening.com, n.d. Web. 14 Mar 2011. <5. http://www.businessweek.com/debateroom/archives/2008/06/bottled_water_i.....
8. "The Effects of Bottled Water on the Environment." All About Water. All About Water, 2004. Web. 15 Mar 2011. <http://www.allaboutwater.org/environment.html>.
9. Gashler, Krisy "Thirst for Bottled Water Unleashes Flood of Environmental Concerns." USA Today. The Ithaca Journal, 07 Jun 2007 . Web. 15 Mar 2011. <8. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2008-06-07-bottled-water....
10. "Drop the Prop: Bottled Water Statistics." Drop the Prop. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar 2011. <http://www.droptheprop.info/bottled-water-statistics>.
11. Fishman, Charles, and . "Message in a Bottle." Fast Company . Fast Company Magazine, 01 Jul 2007. Web. 16 Mar 2011. <11. http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/117/features-message-in-a-bottle.html?page=0%2C1>.
12. "Pesticides in Soft Drinks." Centre for Science and Environment. Cenre for Science and Environment, n.d. Web. 15 Mar 2011. <12. http://www.cseindia.org/content/pesticides-soft-drinks >.
13. "India Resource." Fact Sheet on Coca Cola. India Resource, n.d. Web. 15 Mar 2011. <http://www.indiaresource.org/campaigns/coke/2004/Brochure.pdf>.
Comments