Tapping into a Bottled Society.

But bottled water is more pure!

Well, this is entirely untrue. Tap water is actually regulated by the EPA, state, and local government. On the other hand, bottled water is only regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Not only does the FDA only inspect the plants every couple of years, but they also have guidelines way behind the EPA. For example: 

- Municipal water is not permitted to contain E. coli, the FDA lacks this standard.

- Cities must test their water in government-certified labs, again the FDA has no requirement.

... these are only two of the many examples. 

After conducting an extensive study on bottled water, the Natural Resources Defense Council found that nearly one in five brands contained more bacteria than allowed by some states and the industry.

But bottled water is so much more convenient!

Is convenience worth 7 billion dollars? Well, that is how much American consumers spend on bottled water each year. Personally, I think not. Consider this, if the water coming out of your tap would cost the same as a CHEAP bottled water, your monthly bill would be 9,000.

Still don't care, consider what it's done to our environment?

Fact: Out of the 25 billion single-serving plastic water bottles that Americans will purchase this year, eight out of 10 (22 billion) will end up in a landfill. Even worse, they may end up as trash on the land, in rivers, lakes, and oceans... It takes hundreds of years for plastic to disintegrate. 

Fact: Imagine a water bottle filled a quarter of the way up with oil. That's about how much oil was needed to produce the bottle. (National Geographic)

 

Hate spending so much money on gas? Fact: To meet U.S. consumer demand for bottled water, about 17.6 million barrels of oil will be used (not including the cost of transport.) That, more or less, equals the amount of oil needed to fuel more than one million cars in the U.S. each year.

I challenge everyone to consider using a reusable water bottle. Like these:

Try Klean Kanteen a company producing a healthy, safe, earth-friendly alternative to plastic.

OR check out a local coffee shop, restaurant, etc. that may sell reusable bottles!

If you live in a city like me that doesn't offer the best tasting water, try a filter for your sink or fridge. 

"Bottled water is the food phenomenon of our times. We--a generation raised on tap water and water fountains--drink a billion bottles of water a week, and we're raising a generation that views tap water with disdain and water fountains with suspicion. We've come to pay good money--two or three or four times the cost of gasoline--for a product we have always gotten, and can still get, for free, from taps in our homes."- CHARLES FISHMAN, FAST COMPANY