JohnRich 4 #1 February 10, 2006 News:Bottled water, a natural resource taxing the world's ecosystem Bottled water consumption, which has more than doubled globally in the last six years, is a natural resource that is heavily taxing the world's ecosystem, according to a new US study. "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," according to the Earth Policy Institute. Although in the industrial world bottled water is often no healthier than tap water, it can end up costing 10,000 times more. The consumption has translated into massive costs in packaging the water, usually in plastic bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) which is derived from crude oil, and then transporting it by boat, train or on land. "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 US cars for a year," according to the study. "Worldwide, some 2.7 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water each year." Once the water is consumed, disposing the plastic bottles poses an environmental risk...Source Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumpinfarmer 0 #2 February 10, 2006 Finally some sanity. I can't believe that so many people will pay so much for something that is virtually free. Bottled water normally costs more than soda or milk both of which cost far more to produce. Only in America can people be so stupid. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
miked10270 0 #3 February 10, 2006 And what's worse... What's really GAuLLING is that it's Cheese-Eating-Surrender-Monkey FRENCH BOTTLED WATER!!! Mike. Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable. Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lisamariewillbe 1 #4 February 10, 2006 QuoteOnly in America can people be so stupid. Ahhhhh cause OTHER countries do not bottle and sell water? Because tap water is also free? Its always americas fault.... f*&k you george bush for letting us drink water when the water I PAY for in my house is to orange to drink....Sudsy Fist: i don't think i'd ever say this Sudsy Fist: but you're looking damn sudsydoable in this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lawrocket 3 #5 February 10, 2006 QuoteFinally some sanity. I can't believe that so many people will pay so much for something that is virtually free. Bottled water normally costs more than soda or milk both of which cost far more to produce. Only in America can people be so stupid. I remember being in law school, and there was some gal complaining about how much gasoline cost (I think it was up to $1.89, somethinglike that). As she was complaining, she had a little bottle of water. It was a 12 ounce bottle. They charged 99 cents for it there, resulting in a charge of 8.25 cents per fluid ounce., Since there are 128 fluid ounces in a gallon, it meant that she was paying $10.56 per gallon for the fucking water that she could get out of a tap. And there she was sniveling about the cost of gasolne. My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gravitymaster 0 #6 February 10, 2006 Evian spelled backwards is Naive Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,600 #7 February 10, 2006 Tourists have been drinking bottled water in other countries for decades. It was all over Cuzco, Peru when I was there last November. I refill my bottles. They're nice to carry along. A 6-pack lasts nearly a year that way. Wendy W.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nightingale 0 #8 February 10, 2006 When I lived in my old apartment, I had no problem drinking the tap water. I'd drink it here, if my water didn't reek of chlorine. The chlorine smell and taste is so strong that it's even possible to taste it when I've used tap water to make ramen or mac and cheese. My water is so nasty, my cats won't drink it, and they didn't have a problem with the water before. Apparently, according to the city, I live much closer to the treatment plant than I did before, and that has something to do with it. I don't mind paying for bottled water, because I won't use my tap water because it's so foul, and there aren't any other alternatives. I do get the big bottes, though, and fill up a nalgene bottle for when I need to take water with me. The bottled water company recycles the bottles, though, so they get sanitized and reused instead of filling up landfills. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,600 #9 February 10, 2006 I put a faucet-end filter on my kitchen sink, and it made a huge difference in the taste of the water. A better filter would probably make even more of a difference. That said, the refillable big bottles and using your own nalgene bottle sounds awfully environmentally friendly to me. Wendy W.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
masterrig 1 #10 February 10, 2006 Several years ago, Saturday Night Live did a skit on Perrier water. They panned a beautiful mountainside, complete with a cold stream complete with rapids. All, while telling of the merits of Perrier water. They then showed a man, behind a barn, filling green bottles from a water hose. Maybe, there's more truth to that than we think. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nightingale 0 #11 February 10, 2006 Unfortunately, my sink is equipped with a sprayer and is configured in a way that I can't add a filter. I talked with maintenance at my apartment complex right after I moved in about trying something like that, and they poked around under my sink and decided it wouldn't work. =( I used a brita filter for a while, but it didn't help much, and the cats still wouldn't drink it. Also, brita filters (and other water filters that you have to change the cartridge on) create waste that ends up in landfills, and the recycled big bottles don't. For a while, I was buying the bottled water for the cats and using the brita stuff for myself, and then I started thinking "why in the heck am I paying for good tasting water for the CATS and not myself?!" So I buy an extra bottle for me now. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nightingale 0 #12 February 10, 2006 Penn and Teller did something similar also. In some places in the US (Wyoming comes to mind), the tap water tastes BETTER than bottled, so I could see how people would fall for that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sen.Blutarsky 0 #13 February 10, 2006 The constituent minerals in a bottle of spring water can give it a unique flavor that I may be willing to pay for depending on the brand. I don’t drink crap like soda pop. If the energy situation ever comes to it and the soda drinkers give up their beverages, then I’ll do my part to save energy by switching back to tap water when ever I’m in the US. Until that actually transpires, please pass me the Volvic or ze wasser mit gasse. Blutarsky 2008. No Prisoners! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
warpedskydiver 0 #14 February 11, 2006 try a camp filter like the nice hand operated ones you can find at a camping gear store like dick's or try an army surplus. they last a long long time can be backflushed and even make drinkable water from sewage Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
justinb138 0 #15 February 11, 2006 Quote The constituent minerals in a bottle of spring water can give it a unique flavor that I may be willing to pay for depending on the brand. Ever tried Fiji brand bottled water? Good stuff. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites narcimund 0 #16 February 11, 2006 For the most part, bottled water is a big pile of hooey. That being said, for the last couple of years that I lived in Portland the tap water made me very sick. I only drank distilled bottled water or imported bottled water or tap water from nearby communities. Here in Vancouver BC the tap water is not only incredibly tasty, it doesn't make me ill. First Class Citizen Twice Over Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites kelpdiver 2 #17 February 11, 2006 QuotePenn and Teller did something similar also. In some places in the US (Wyoming comes to mind), the tap water tastes BETTER than bottled, so I could see how people would fall for that. in the worst cases, you are paying for bottled tap water. More or less. Both Aquafina and Dyson (coke and pepsi) merely filter the local munipal water and put it in the bottle. At some point I found a data sheet for the various pollutant measures and there certainly was a lot of variance in the bottled water world, much of it below tap water standards. It ridiculous to skip the tap in San Francisco, but I have too many houseguests to have been trained to fear the tap. So I have a supply for them. Going back to LA, there definitely is that taste of chlorine. Not so tasty. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites masterrig 1 #18 February 11, 2006 QuotePenn and Teller did something similar also. In some places in the US (Wyoming comes to mind), the tap water tastes BETTER than bottled, so I could see how people would fall for that. ___________________________________ I've drank some of the tap water as well as some of the water from streams in Wyoming... good stuff! Years ago, I lived in a small town in Southeastern Colorado. The first glass of (tap) water I got there, had an irradecent film on it. Definate reason to drink bottled water. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites SpeedRacer 1 #19 February 11, 2006 Quote "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 US cars for a year," according to the study. This part is extremely misleading. It seems to imply that the petroleum products used to make the bottles could have been used for gasoline instead. Not true. When crude oil is refined, it is put into a fractioning tower, which heats the oil up. Different components will condense at different temperatures in the tower, and are drawn off & purified. Petroleum products include chemicals with just a few carbon atoms in them, such as butane and propane, to longer chain hydorcarbons. At the very bottom is asphalt. So the fractions of petroleum used to make plastics are different from the fraction used to make fuel. Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites kallend 2,175 #20 February 11, 2006 QuoteQuotePenn and Teller did something similar also. In some places in the US (Wyoming comes to mind), the tap water tastes BETTER than bottled, so I could see how people would fall for that. in the worst cases, you are paying for bottled tap water. More or less. Both Aquafina and Dyson (coke and pepsi) merely filter the local munipal water and put it in the bottle. At some point I found a data sheet for the various pollutant measures and there certainly was a lot of variance in the bottled water world, much of it below tap water standards. It ridiculous to skip the tap in San Francisco, but I have too many houseguests to have been trained to fear the tap. So I have a supply for them. Going back to LA, there definitely is that taste of chlorine. Not so tasty. In a fancy restaurant in NYC, diners were asked to do a blind taste test on NYC tap water and several brands of bottled. The tap water came out on top. In general, most US tap water is better than bottled in pathogen content. www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000007F0-6DBD-1ED9-8E1C809EC588EF21 Chicago has excellent tap water too.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites martin-o 0 #21 February 11, 2006 QuoteThis part is extremely misleading. I disagree, because, at a refinery you have a cracker. The Cracker breaks down long carbon-chains to shorter ones, thus making it possible to convert the crude oil to the products in need. As a side note, one should be aware that the bottle in itself is only half the problem in this equation. The energy consumed when transporting the water, from for example France, is probably a much bigger problem. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites SpeedRacer 1 #22 February 11, 2006 It all depends on where you live. I visited some people who lived near Buffalo, NY and the tapwater there was AWFUL!!! I used to live in Gaithersburg, MD & for some reason they put a shitload of chlorine in the water there. When I turned on my shower in the morning it smelled like a swimming pool there. I live in Frederick, MD & the tap water's OK here. But it really does taste better after I filter it (I use one of those BRITA pitchers with the charcoal filters) Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites shropshire 0 #23 February 11, 2006 Hi All, Do you remember the Coke company trying to sell mains water......clicky...... Prooves the saying. there's one born every minute.... 'cept they cancelled the project... seems like not everyone is too stupid. (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites miked10270 0 #24 February 11, 2006 Personally, I've found bottled water, at least in "The West" to be a triumph of marketing over common sense. Then again, I live in Scotland where there's certainly no shortage of the raw material! I did once consider bottling the local tap water and marketing it as: "Methil-Tap-Water" - Guaranteed 24% pure - - This is the secret to health & long life - - If you survive this water, you'll survive almost anything! - The idea was that being seen drinking it would be a macho, counter-culture thing. Mike. Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable. Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites shropshire 0 #25 February 11, 2006 Missed one.... - All of this water has been passed by the management.... (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Prev 1 2 Next Page 1 of 2 Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. 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narcimund 0 #16 February 11, 2006 For the most part, bottled water is a big pile of hooey. That being said, for the last couple of years that I lived in Portland the tap water made me very sick. I only drank distilled bottled water or imported bottled water or tap water from nearby communities. Here in Vancouver BC the tap water is not only incredibly tasty, it doesn't make me ill. First Class Citizen Twice Over Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelpdiver 2 #17 February 11, 2006 QuotePenn and Teller did something similar also. In some places in the US (Wyoming comes to mind), the tap water tastes BETTER than bottled, so I could see how people would fall for that. in the worst cases, you are paying for bottled tap water. More or less. Both Aquafina and Dyson (coke and pepsi) merely filter the local munipal water and put it in the bottle. At some point I found a data sheet for the various pollutant measures and there certainly was a lot of variance in the bottled water world, much of it below tap water standards. It ridiculous to skip the tap in San Francisco, but I have too many houseguests to have been trained to fear the tap. So I have a supply for them. Going back to LA, there definitely is that taste of chlorine. Not so tasty. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
masterrig 1 #18 February 11, 2006 QuotePenn and Teller did something similar also. In some places in the US (Wyoming comes to mind), the tap water tastes BETTER than bottled, so I could see how people would fall for that. ___________________________________ I've drank some of the tap water as well as some of the water from streams in Wyoming... good stuff! Years ago, I lived in a small town in Southeastern Colorado. The first glass of (tap) water I got there, had an irradecent film on it. Definate reason to drink bottled water. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #19 February 11, 2006 Quote "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 US cars for a year," according to the study. This part is extremely misleading. It seems to imply that the petroleum products used to make the bottles could have been used for gasoline instead. Not true. When crude oil is refined, it is put into a fractioning tower, which heats the oil up. Different components will condense at different temperatures in the tower, and are drawn off & purified. Petroleum products include chemicals with just a few carbon atoms in them, such as butane and propane, to longer chain hydorcarbons. At the very bottom is asphalt. So the fractions of petroleum used to make plastics are different from the fraction used to make fuel. Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,175 #20 February 11, 2006 QuoteQuotePenn and Teller did something similar also. In some places in the US (Wyoming comes to mind), the tap water tastes BETTER than bottled, so I could see how people would fall for that. in the worst cases, you are paying for bottled tap water. More or less. Both Aquafina and Dyson (coke and pepsi) merely filter the local munipal water and put it in the bottle. At some point I found a data sheet for the various pollutant measures and there certainly was a lot of variance in the bottled water world, much of it below tap water standards. It ridiculous to skip the tap in San Francisco, but I have too many houseguests to have been trained to fear the tap. So I have a supply for them. Going back to LA, there definitely is that taste of chlorine. Not so tasty. In a fancy restaurant in NYC, diners were asked to do a blind taste test on NYC tap water and several brands of bottled. The tap water came out on top. In general, most US tap water is better than bottled in pathogen content. www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000007F0-6DBD-1ED9-8E1C809EC588EF21 Chicago has excellent tap water too.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
martin-o 0 #21 February 11, 2006 QuoteThis part is extremely misleading. I disagree, because, at a refinery you have a cracker. The Cracker breaks down long carbon-chains to shorter ones, thus making it possible to convert the crude oil to the products in need. As a side note, one should be aware that the bottle in itself is only half the problem in this equation. The energy consumed when transporting the water, from for example France, is probably a much bigger problem. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #22 February 11, 2006 It all depends on where you live. I visited some people who lived near Buffalo, NY and the tapwater there was AWFUL!!! I used to live in Gaithersburg, MD & for some reason they put a shitload of chlorine in the water there. When I turned on my shower in the morning it smelled like a swimming pool there. I live in Frederick, MD & the tap water's OK here. But it really does taste better after I filter it (I use one of those BRITA pitchers with the charcoal filters) Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shropshire 0 #23 February 11, 2006 Hi All, Do you remember the Coke company trying to sell mains water......clicky...... Prooves the saying. there's one born every minute.... 'cept they cancelled the project... seems like not everyone is too stupid. (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
miked10270 0 #24 February 11, 2006 Personally, I've found bottled water, at least in "The West" to be a triumph of marketing over common sense. Then again, I live in Scotland where there's certainly no shortage of the raw material! I did once consider bottling the local tap water and marketing it as: "Methil-Tap-Water" - Guaranteed 24% pure - - This is the secret to health & long life - - If you survive this water, you'll survive almost anything! - The idea was that being seen drinking it would be a macho, counter-culture thing. Mike. Taking the piss out of the FrenchAmericans since before it was fashionable. Prenait la pisse hors du FrançaisCanadiens méridionaux puisqu'avant lui à la mode. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shropshire 0 #25 February 11, 2006 Missed one.... - All of this water has been passed by the management.... (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
