At the Y this morning I noticed a sign informing members that they were removing the bottled water machines due to the carbon footprint implications and suggesting bringing a refillable water bottle.I whole-heartedly support this move and others like it. This is particularly critical in the state of Michigan. There's been considerable public attention paid to the desires of the Southwest to tap the Great Lakes. But water mining by the bottled water industry is completely off the radar in the mass media.
Consider this -- the Ice Mountain/Nestle water plant in Evart is based on the springs that feed the Pere Marquette and Muskegon rivers. These two rivers are Michigan treasures. And most guides I know have said the rivers have been consistently low in recent years, despite heavy winter snowfalls. Coincidence? Likely not.
The ironic thing is that it's a pretty simple decision. Get a Nalgene or KleenKanteen water bottle -- heck get a couple. I have one at home and another in my office. When I take a road trip, I fill one up before I head out. If you're out and about and must have a bottled water, look for products that aren't labelled "spring water". Little known fact -- Dasani (a Coke product -- that's how much money there is in this market) is simply municipal water with some extra filtration.
If we all do a little, it will help a lot.
Sermon concluded.
-Sean-
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1 comment:
Great post Sean! We need to get the word out to more consumers that bottled water is nothing but our own water being sold at 1000 times it's actual cost.
If people are that concerned about the quality of their tap water, using a Brita or tap filter are more effective options than purchasing unregulated bottled- water
www.thinkoutsidethebottle.org
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