Would You Pay 1000 Times More For Gasoline If It Came In A Bottle?

If you’re looking for a place to trim your budget in order to afford gasoline, you might start by cutting out bottled water. In most cases, the water you buy is the same as what comes out of your tap. When it’s bottled, you pay anywhere from 1000 to 10,000 times the price of tap water.

Modern municipal water systems comprise a mind boggling and tremendously successful public works project costing in the trillions and delivering a basic necessity of life for an amount of money so small that most people think of water as being delivered to their home for free. Although we still need to work hard to protect our water sources and ensure that our water infrastructure is in good shape, most American cities have water that is equal to or better than a given bottle.

In June of 2007, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom took forward-thinking action on this issue to reduce waste and cut down greenhouse gas emissions. He also saved the city about $500,000 per year. Mayor Newsom instituted a ban on the purchase of bottled water for use by the city. On June 23^rd, the US Conference of Mayors voted to endorse this idea. In a non-binding resolution the mayors agreed to encourage bans similar to the ones in place in San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles and about 60 other cities. Mayor Newsom and 17 other big cities mayors led this effort against opposition from industry groups such as the American Beverage Association.

In commenting on the resolution, Newsom said “Cities are sending the wrong message about the quality of public water when we spend taxpayer dollars on water in disposable containers from a private corporation.”

According to the Pacific Institute, we used 17 million barrels of oil to manufacture bottles for water in 2006. That figure doesn’t come close to representing the full cost in oil. Transportation to point of sale and beyond is not included. The bottling process produced 2.5 million tons of CO^2. It takes three liters of water to manufacture a one liter bottle of water. Not to mention the environmental impact of the plastic that is not recycled after all that bottled water is consumed.

And there is a cost to our water resources for all of this bottling. Some major corporations have a big financial interest in exploiting our ecosystems to feed the demand for bottled water that they create.

In Michigan the Nestle Corporation’s water pumping operations triggered an ongoing seven-year-long battle over control of the state’s waters when it started a bottling operation in rural Mecosta County. Local residents took the company to court in 2001. The local court ordered Nestle to stop pumping and diverting waters from Sanctuary Springs, but subsequent legal appeals ended with Nestle being granted permission to withdraw up to 250 gallons per minute despite the fact that pumping was impairing a nearby stream, lake and wetlands. The Michigan Supreme Court majority, in a decision that overturned 30 years of settled law, ruled that federal law superseded the Michigan Environmental Protection Act and greatly reduced the ability of citizens to sue to enforce the state’s environmental laws.

Nestlé’s political muscle was further flexed in a deal that exempted most bottled water exports from the proposed Great Lakes Compact agreement which bans water diversions from the Great Lakes, a win reinforced in 2006 when Michigan’s elected officials put the diversion loophole into state law. Clean Water Action helped lead the way in winning new protections against the impacts of bottled water withdrawals in legislation expected to be signed by the Governor this month, but the diversion loophole remains.

Is there ever a circumstance in which bottled water makes sense? Of course there is, but every day routine use in most places do not require that we waste money, generate trash and burn oil to get an overpriced consumer product that is as close as your kitchen sink.

Routinely using bottled water for your drinking water is like buying alkaline batteries to power your refrigerator. It is insanely inefficient. You can take action to change this irrational consumer habit by switching to tap water in safe, refillable bottle. You can also contact your mayor’s office and public utilities commission and tell them you want them to adopt the ban on buying bottled water with taxpayer funds.

So this summer, stay healthy and hydrated, but BYOB to the beach, the gym or in the lunches you pack for day camp. Cut down on waste, damage to watershed, CO² emissions and save money in the process. Isn’t it great to know you can do so much good for the environment, save money and stay healthy all at the same time? All that, and you don’t need to carry those heavy cases of water around anymore!

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Comments

5 Responses to “Would You Pay 1000 Times More For Gasoline If It Came In A Bottle?”

Jan Howard on July 10th, 2008 3:08 pm

I purchased an IonWays water appliance in September 2007 and have been drinking the ionized alkaline water ever since. I and others I know have experienced fabulous results. Would be interested in knowing your thoughts on ionized alkaline water.
Tony on July 13th, 2008 6:49 pm

These days, many of us have used plastic bottles for water, which can be convenient for us, but can also harm the environment and can be expensive. It is true that bottled water is useful when we are thirsty and there is no access to a sink. Typically, a bottled water can cost about $1. to $1.50. It may not sound much, but these costs do add up because many of us use the bottle once or twice before discarding them. The plastic bottles can hurt the environment when they use so much energy and oil. They also contribute to global warming, especially when shipping them from the manufacture to various stores and restaurants. They also hurt the environment when we throw them away in the waste baskets. If we want to reduce waste, there are a few alternatives to plastic bottles.
We can use water filters at any sinks and faucets at home, office buildings, schools, etc. The filters and cartridges can be expensive, but when we use and maintain them, the filters can last a long period of time. These filters make the water tastier and healthier since they omit most of the dirt, debris, resin, etc. We can purchase a water filter either online or at stores that sell household appliances.
Last month, I started using the bottles that can be used over and over again. Although these bottles are made from plastic, they are durable, portable, and not too expensive. These bottles are useful for keeping warm beverages warm and cold beverages cold. If you use these bottles for non-sweet beverages, they do not need to be washed, maybe just rinsed. We can purchase these reusable bottles in various stores, especially in sports stores.
Bottled water is useful, but if you want to help the environment, you would want to limit the use of them. The plastic bottles are used once or twice and for only cold or cool beverages. Hot beverages can melt the plastic. The main problem with plastic bottles is too many of them end up in landfills. It is not that we should completely get rid of all bottled water; we need to limit the use of them and get in a habit of recycling them, not throwing them away in the garbage cans.
Heather Simpson on July 21st, 2008 2:20 am

Wonderful blog, thank you! I have added a link to my blogroll.
Dain on July 25th, 2008 5:58 pm

To Jan Howard:

I majored in biochemistry in college, and was intrigued at so called “ionized alkaline water” consumption for health benefit. Looking into some online sources, I have come to the conclusion that any claims made by the company that manufactured your water device are most likely bogus. Here is an excerpt from a great website that I found. I completely agree with everything stated:

Here, in a nutshell, are a few basic facts that I believe anyone with a solid background in chemistry or physiology would concur with:

* “Ionized water” is nothing more than sales fiction; the term is meaningless to chemists.
* Most water that is fit for drinking is too unconductive to undergo signficant electrolysis.
* Pure water can never be alkaline or acidic, nor can it be made so by electrolysis.
* Groundwaters containing metal ions such as calcium and magnesium can be rendered slightly alkaline by electrolysis, but after it hits the highly acidic gastric fluid in the stomach, its alkalinity is gone.
* The idea that one must consume alkaline water to neutralize the effects of acidic foods is ridiculous; we get rid of excess acid by exhaling carbon dioxide.
* The claims about the health benefits of drinking alkaline water are not supported by credible scientific evidence.
* There is nothing wrong with drinking slightly acidic waters such as rainwater. “Body pH” is a meaningless concept; different parts of the body (and even of individual cells) can have widely different pH values.
* If you really want to de-acidify your stomach (at the possible cost of interfering with protein digestion), why spend hundreds of dollars for an electrolysis device when you can take calcium-magnesium pills, Alka-Seltzer or Milk of Magnesia?
* Electrolysis devices are generally worthless for treating water for health enhancement, removal of common inpurities, disinfection, and scale control.

More can be found at:

http://www.chem1.com/CQ/ionbunk.html
J. Bridy on July 27th, 2008 6:43 pm

If, 40 years ago, you had predicted that Americans would gladly buy lightly filtered or unfiltered tap water in a plastic throwaway bottle for 1,500 times the cost of the water, most Americans would have said we would never fall for that swindle. Well, it seems we Americans will fall for almost any swindle if it is repeated often enough by the media and corporate advertisers.

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Jan Howard on July 10th, 2008 3:08 pm

I purchased an IonWays water appliance in September 2007 and have been drinking the ionized alkaline water ever since. I and others I know have experienced fabulous results. Would be interested in knowing your thoughts on ionized alkaline water.

Tony on July 13th, 2008 6:49 pm

These days, many of us have used plastic bottles for water, which can be convenient for us, but can also harm the environment and can be expensive. It is true that bottled water is useful when we are thirsty and there is no access to a sink. Typically, a bottled water can cost about $1. to $1.50. It may not sound much, but these costs do add up because many of us use the bottle once or twice before discarding them. The plastic bottles can hurt the environment when they use so much energy and oil. They also contribute to global warming, especially when shipping them from the manufacture to various stores and restaurants. They also hurt the environment when we throw them away in the waste baskets. If we want to reduce waste, there are a few alternatives to plastic bottles.
We can use water filters at any sinks and faucets at home, office buildings, schools, etc. The filters and cartridges can be expensive, but when we use and maintain them, the filters can last a long period of time. These filters make the water tastier and healthier since they omit most of the dirt, debris, resin, etc. We can purchase a water filter either online or at stores that sell household appliances.
Last month, I started using the bottles that can be used over and over again. Although these bottles are made from plastic, they are durable, portable, and not too expensive. These bottles are useful for keeping warm beverages warm and cold beverages cold. If you use these bottles for non-sweet beverages, they do not need to be washed, maybe just rinsed. We can purchase these reusable bottles in various stores, especially in sports stores.
Bottled water is useful, but if you want to help the environment, you would want to limit the use of them. The plastic bottles are used once or twice and for only cold or cool beverages. Hot beverages can melt the plastic. The main problem with plastic bottles is too many of them end up in landfills. It is not that we should completely get rid of all bottled water; we need to limit the use of them and get in a habit of recycling them, not throwing them away in the garbage cans.

Heather Simpson on July 21st, 2008 2:20 am

Wonderful blog, thank you! I have added a link to my blogroll.

Dain on July 25th, 2008 5:58 pm

To Jan Howard:

I majored in biochemistry in college, and was intrigued at so called “ionized alkaline water” consumption for health benefit. Looking into some online sources, I have come to the conclusion that any claims made by the company that manufactured your water device are most likely bogus. Here is an excerpt from a great website that I found. I completely agree with everything stated:

Here, in a nutshell, are a few basic facts that I believe anyone with a solid background in chemistry or physiology would concur with:

* “Ionized water” is nothing more than sales fiction; the term is meaningless to chemists.
* Most water that is fit for drinking is too unconductive to undergo signficant electrolysis.
* Pure water can never be alkaline or acidic, nor can it be made so by electrolysis.
* Groundwaters containing metal ions such as calcium and magnesium can be rendered slightly alkaline by electrolysis, but after it hits the highly acidic gastric fluid in the stomach, its alkalinity is gone.
* The idea that one must consume alkaline water to neutralize the effects of acidic foods is ridiculous; we get rid of excess acid by exhaling carbon dioxide.
* The claims about the health benefits of drinking alkaline water are not supported by credible scientific evidence.
* There is nothing wrong with drinking slightly acidic waters such as rainwater. “Body pH” is a meaningless concept; different parts of the body (and even of individual cells) can have widely different pH values.
* If you really want to de-acidify your stomach (at the possible cost of interfering with protein digestion), why spend hundreds of dollars for an electrolysis device when you can take calcium-magnesium pills, Alka-Seltzer or Milk of Magnesia?
* Electrolysis devices are generally worthless for treating water for health enhancement, removal of common inpurities, disinfection, and scale control.

More can be found at:

http://www.chem1.com/CQ/ionbunk.html

J. Bridy on July 27th, 2008 6:43 pm

If, 40 years ago, you had predicted that Americans would gladly buy lightly filtered or unfiltered tap water in a plastic throwaway bottle for 1,500 times the cost of the water, most Americans would have said we would never fall for that swindle. Well, it seems we Americans will fall for almost any swindle if it is repeated often enough by the media and corporate advertisers.

We All Live Downstream

A Blog by John DeCock, President of Clean Water Action