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Even though my carbon footprint resembles something similar to that of Bigfoot's, I've been actively trying to do my part by recycling and precycling.What does this entail, you ask? Precycling basically means reducing waste by avoiding items that generate it. In other words, it basically means changing over your monthly statements to electronic ones, bringing your own bag for your groceries, and having a refillable water bottle handy. These are small, simple gestures that doesn't ask for a radical change in your lifestyle so there is really no excuse for you not to even try. You don't have to sport an authentic Anya Hindmarch "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" tote just to precycle, you know. Environmentalist chic my ass.
But I digress. What I would like to discuss is The Story of Bottled Water. Think about the past week, the past month, the past year and all of the bottled drinks, water specifically, that you've consumed during that time. Think of all the money you've spent, as well as all the plastic bottles you've thrown away. Conversely, think of all the money you'll save and the carbon emissions you'll negate by having a refillable water bottle like Nalgene
and the like, and drinking tap water.
and the like, and drinking tap water.Granted there might be some apprehension towards drinking tap water, especially locally, as we're in the Third World but our water is cleaner than you think. I've been drinking tap water for the better part of the year and I've never had bouts of cholera or any other sickness remotely connected with drinking from the tap. One might argue that you still have to account for intestinal fortitude but I stand by my assertion. Annie Leonard goes on length on how bottled water is all about "manufactured demand" which is true - I mean cmon, years ago no one had the audacity to bottle tap water and sell it for a profit. But times change and bottled water is now the norm. The next thing you know, you're paying for bottled air. Oh, wait - we already have Oxygen Bars.
Unless you're way out in the boondocks with no source of potable water, I implore you to reconsider buying that next bottle of water. Portable Faucet Filters
are aplenty in the market if you really want to be safe. Pepsi's Aquafina and Coca Cola's Dasani are nothing more but filtered tap water, bottled, and sold. If you can do it for yourself at probably a hundredth of the cost, why don't you? You might think Leonard's assertions are overly dramatic, perhaps even exaggerated. The story of bottled water is being told and retold by other media entities like CNN, which provide a different and independent standpoint that may help convince you, or at the very least, enlighten you in the politics of bottled water and manufactured demand.
are aplenty in the market if you really want to be safe. Pepsi's Aquafina and Coca Cola's Dasani are nothing more but filtered tap water, bottled, and sold. If you can do it for yourself at probably a hundredth of the cost, why don't you? You might think Leonard's assertions are overly dramatic, perhaps even exaggerated. The story of bottled water is being told and retold by other media entities like CNN, which provide a different and independent standpoint that may help convince you, or at the very least, enlighten you in the politics of bottled water and manufactured demand.This is not a rant, although it sounds like one. This is not a lecture, as much as it sounds like one. It's nothing more but a reminder. So fill 'er up, grab a drink, chug it down and let's all hope that this is a story that ends with a happy ending.
