Many of the people who read this article have probably bought water bottles at some point; a large percentage of you may even do so on a daily basis, and I know for a fact that some tend to live off water bottles alone. Now I know that we all have a right to our own choices. We all have the freedom to define how we live – as long as we’re not hurting anyone else in the process, right? What if I told you that water bottles often do more harm than good? Today I’ll be veering off the path of random musings to discuss something that truly worries me and many others who care for the wellbeing of each other and the entire planet (yeah – that’s how serious it is).
The first fact several of us are still unwilling to give any real credence to is that companies LIE FOR PROFIT. In more cases than you think, bottled mineral water is a misleading way for companies to expand their earnings through clever marketing strategies that end up either skewing the truth or even lying outright. In fact, according to the NRDC, at least 25% of all bottled mineral water comes from a public source (ie: taps). One example of this is Pepsi-Cola’s Aquafina brand, which it stated in 2007 was just purified tap water in a bottle. This is quite outrageous when you consider how much the U.S. population spent on Aquafina in 2006 – a whopping $2.17 billion. In the same year the U.S. spent $15 billion in total on bottled mineral water. This clearly shows that bottled mineral water really isn’t worth the extra money f you can get the same thing by using a filter at home to get our water, or by just drinking it straight from the tap.
And let’s not forget the health risks. In many cases bottled mineral water can be more detrimental than beneficial. Companies add a vast amount of chemicals into bottled water, and both this and the fact that the bottles that contain the water can emit harmful substances into the water make it a risky choice, especially for those with weaker immune systems. The same survey and tests conducted by the NRDC revealed that 22% of bottled water contained contaminants that were dangerously about the state health limits. The bottles also release substances called phthalates, the levels of which are limited by the law in tap water but shockingly have no such limits in tap water. Anyone can agree with me that that’s just not right.
Then there’s the more global issue of water security. In many countries the seizure of water distribution rights by large companies has taken away the rights of many people to free-flowing water. The privatisation of this water has given the companies the ability to buy water from the country and sell to its people for much, much more, in bottles. It’s happened in places like Turkey and will continue to happen worldwide. In fact many speculate that like the war for oil, we may be fast approaching a water war. To keep this from happening we’ll have to manage our resources and make better, more socially conscious decisions.
And so there’s really no great difference between bottled mineral water and tap water, and using tap water is universally the best thing for all of us. The next time you get thirsty, consider leaving your wallet where it is and grabbing a mug from the kitchen for a good drink – you’ll be going a good deed for us all.