Smart Water

So there you are at RD’s Party shop or maybe in the Marcus Deli and your mouth is bone dry. You are so thirsty that you wish it would rain and leak through the ceiling in hopes that even the tiniest drop will land on your tongue. This is the type of thirst that can only be cured by drinking crisp water. So what do you do? Ah, you purchase bottled water of course! 

But have you ever stopped to think about where bottled water comes from? Or where its plastic bottle comes from? Or better yet, have you ever thought about what you’ll do with the plastic bottle when you’re finished with it? 

Maybe you’ve though about this cycle and maybe you haven’t. If you haven’t given it thought, here are some interesting facts about bottled water:

Each year Americans consume 8.6 billion gallons of bottled water according to onlineeducation.net. The price of bottled water can be up to 10,000 times the cost of tap water. You wouldn’t buy pizza at the Vu Villa if it were even 20 times the cost it is now. So why would you buy water, which on average in America is $0.0015 per gallon, for even $0.79 per liter? 

Bottled water doesn’t just make your wallet cry; it hurts the environment and your body as well. According to the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) bottled water is often held to far less standards than city regulated tap water. For example a study by the NRDC found that “one or more samples of eight waters (8 percent) purchased in California exceeded the 5 ppb warning level for arsenic set under California’s Proposition 65, a law requiring public warnings if a company exposes people to excessive levels of toxic chemicals.”

Is this really “Smart Water”? The plastic bottles from bottled water can sit in landfills without breaking down in upwards of 500 years or more. And if the bottles are made with harmful chemicals, the chemicals can leach into ground water and pollute tap water supplies, rivers, and the oceans. 

You can help put an end to this madness by making a personal commitment to not purchase bottled water, except when other sources are  contaminated. So get a reusable aluminum water bottle and drink to your health, wallet, and the environment!