2005-11589 Economics 101 3rd ACLE Poetry ReadingLawrence Charles E. Salazar August 7, 2007TFEZG Mr. John Ponsaran

Mabote Pa Kaya

Pinagmasdan ko ang paghampas ng alon sa pampangSinundan ko ang pagkilos ng mga ulap sa kalawakan

Nasubaybayan ko sa telebisyon ang lebel ng tubig sa damNakita ko ang pag-apaw ng tubig mula sa Orocan

Inutusan akong bumili ng tubig sa kantoBitbit ko ang dalawang galon at pitumpung piso

Iniabot ko ang mga galon at ang bayad koUmuwi na ko’t sa bahay hihintayin ang delivery nito

Nang minsa’y napagod ako sa isang paglilibotAko’y nauhaw at doon sa Ministop tumungoSinilip ko ang ref sa malinaw na salamin nito

Nakahilera ang mga sisidlang iba-iba ang laki at presyo

O anong kasiguraduhan ang naibibigayNg mga sisidlang nagkukubli sa kung anu-anong ngalan

Summit, Absolute, Wilkins, Nestlé, Hidden Spring, Viva!Higit pa sa dami ng uri mayroon ang soda

Tubig. Lahat ng tao sa yamang ito nakasandalTubig. Lahat ng tao sa yamang ito’y nangangailangan

Tubig. Isang handog laan sa buong sangkatauhanTubig. Isang handog na natitikman ng iilan

Ligtas pa ba na inumin ang tubig mula sa gripo?Ligtas na bang inumin ang tubig kapag ito’y napakulo?

Mabote pa kaya’y bumili na lang ng tubig sa kantoMabote pa kayang pawiin ang uhaw sa mga sisidlang ito?

Bottled waterFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, searchThe examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject.Please improve this article or discuss the issue on the talk page.

A 1.5 litre bottle of water

Bottled water being poured into a glass.

Bottled water is drinking water packaged in bottles for individual consumption and retail sale.

The water used can be glacial water, spring water, well water, purified water, etc. Many countries, particularly developed countries, regulate the quality of bottled water through government standards, typically used to ensure that water quality is safe and labels accurately reflect bottle contents. In many developing countries, however, such standards are variable and are often less stringent than those of developed nations[citation needed].

Contents

[hide] 1 Demand 2 Regulation

o 2.1 Regulation In the United States o 2.2 U.S. FDA "Standards of Identity" for Bottled Water

3 Markets o 3.1 Consumption by Country o 3.2 Consumption per Person o 3.3 Producer Revenues

4 Impact of bottled water o 4.1 Environmental impact o 4.2 Economic impact o 4.3 Health impact

5 Alternatives to bottled water 6 See also

o 6.1 Brands 7 References

8 External links

[edit] Demand

The sales for bottled water are estimated to be between $50 and $100 billion (US) annually and increasing approximately 7 to 10 percent annually. In 2004, total sales were approximately 154 billion litres (41 billion gallons).[1]

In developed countries, the large demand is driven by factors including perceived convenience, perceived safety versus municipal water, and perceived potability or taste advantages over municipal water. Packaging and advertising work to foster these perceptions, and brand bottled water in ways similar to branded soft drinks. Though many municipalities, particularly in the developed world, guarantee safe, potable water, others may be subject to groundwater contamination from commercial fertilizer, MTBE, or other contaminants. Violations of tap water standards tend to be highly publicized and widely reported, for example, a 1993 Cryptosporidium outbreak which caused 400,000 people to get sick in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (see: Milwaukee Cryptosporidium outbreak).

In developing countries, demand is driven by factors including the lack of potable groundwater in many areas, the lack of reliable or safe municipal water in many urban areas, chemical and organic pollution of ground and well water, and convenience relative to boiling or otherwise treating accessible but potentially contaminated water. Advertising also contributes to water sales in developing countries. Though bottled water may provide an alternative to unsafe drinking water, it does so only for those able to afford it; many of the world's poorest people cannot afford bottled water (UN World Water Development Report 2006).

In 2004, the US bottled water industry surpassed 6.8 Billion gallons of water for that year, an increase of 8.6% over the previous year (Beverage Marketing Corporation, 2005).

[edit] Regulation

Regulation of bottled water varies widely by country, with developed nations generally having more regulation and enforcement than developing countries.

[edit] Regulation In the United States

In the United States, specific definitions and meanings ("standards of identity") apply to the most common types of bottled water. Bottled water manufacturers must ensure that their products meet the FDA established standard of identity for bottled water products. A bottled water product bearing a particular statement of identity (e.g., mineral water) must meet the requirements of the standard of identity in order to avoid being misbranded. For example, under the standard of identity regulations bottled water may only be labeled "mineral water" in the United States if it: (1) contains not less than 250 ppm total dissolved solids; (2) comes from a source tapped at one or more bore holes or springs; (3) originates from a hydrogeologically protected source; and (4) contains no added minerals. There are similar definitions for bottled water, drinking water, artesian water, ground water, distilled water, deionized water, reverse osmosis water, purified water, sparkling bottled water, spring water, sterile water and well water. A bottled water product must bear the appropriate name as reflected in the applicable standard of identity definition or it is misbranded.

Nutritional information required on water bottle labels varies from region to region and country to country. Bottled water is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), who demand suppliers use an "approved source", which the FDA defines as:

[approved source] means a source of water...that has been inspected and the water sampled, analyzed, and found to be of a safe and sanitary quality according to applicable laws and regulations of state and local government agencies having jurisdiction.

However, the FDA does not define guidelines for which regulations may be considered applicable, nor set requirements for water sources in the absence of applicable laws.

Additionally, bottled water suppliers are not required to provide details of the water source on the labels. Water bottlers are permitted to sell contaminated water if, and only if, their labeling notes the water contains "excessive bacteria" or "excessive chemical substances". Water bottlers are not required to test for the presence of E. coli, cryptosporidium, giardia, asbestos, or certain organic compounds such as benzenes.[2]

In the United States, tap water is regulated by the stringent United States Environmental Protection Agency. Bottled water is regulated under a similar, but significantly less strict set of regulations from the United States Food and Drug Administration under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act ("FFDCA" or the "Act"), 21 U.S.C. § 301et seq. [3]

[edit] U.S. FDA "Standards of Identity" for Bottled Water

The FDA has established "Standards of Identity" for bottled water products sold in the U.S. Note that other countries have different definitions and standards; some countries have no consistent labeling requirements. Some of the more common U.S. types of bottled water are listed below:

Artesian Water - This type of water that originates from a confined aquifer that has been tapped and in which the water level stands at some height above the top of the aquifer.

Fluoridated Water - This type of water contains fluoride added within the limitations established in the FDA Code of Federal Regulations. This category includes water classified as "For Infants" or "Nursery."

Ground Water - This type of water is from an underground source that is under a pressure equal to or greater than atmospheric pressure.

Mineral Water - This type of water contains at least 250 parts per million total dissolved solids (TDS). It comes from a source tapped at one or more bore holes or spring, and originates from a geologically and physically protected underground water source. No minerals may be added to this water.

Purified water - This type of water has been produced by distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis, or other suitable processes. Purified water may also be referred to as "demineralized water." It meets the definition of "purified water" in the United States Pharmacopoeia.

Sparkling Water - This type of water contains the same amount of carbon dioxide that it had at emergence from the source. The carbon dioxide may be removed and replenished after treatment.

Spring Water - This type of water comes from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the Earth's surface.

Sterile Water - This type of water meets the requirements under "sterility tests" in the United States Pharmacopoeia.

Well Water - This type of water is taken from a well.

[edit] Markets

The United States is the largest market for bottled water, at 26 billion liters in 2004. On average, this is one 8-ounce glass per person per day. Italy has the highest average consumption per person, at two 8-ounce glasses per person per day.

[edit] Consumption by Country

Here is data for global markets in 2004, in billions of litres consumed.[4]

USA 25.8 Mexico 7.7 China 11.9 Brazil 11.6 Italy 10.7 Germany 10.3 France 8.5 Indonesia 7.4 Spain 5.5 India 5.1 All others 39.9 Total 154.3

[edit] Consumption per Person

Per person data is shown below, in average number of liters consumed per person per year.

Italy 183.6 Mexico 168.5 United Arab Emirates 163.5 Belgium 148.0 France 141.6 Spain 136.7 Germany 124.9 Lebanon 101.4 Switzerland 99.6 Cyprus 92.0 United States 90.5 Saudi Arabia 87.8 Czech Republic 87.1

Austria 82.1 Portugal 80.3 India 79.6 Global Average 24.2

More data and graphs are available externally.

[edit] Producer Revenues

U.S. Bottled Water Market, producer revenues, 2000 – 2006

Year Millions of US dollars Annual Change

2000 $6,113.0 --

2001 $6,880.6 12.6%

2002 $7,901.4 14.8%

2003 $8,526.4 7.9%

2004 $9,169.4 7.5%

2005 $10,012.5 9.2%

2006 * $10,980.0 9.7%

(*) PreliminarySource: Beverage Marketing Corporation.[5][6]

[edit] Impact of bottled water

A large pile of full Poland Spring bottles

Making profits of $11 billion a year [1], bottled water is a successful product available throughout the world. The behaviors it enables are the subject of vocal criticism. This criticism primarily falls into environmental, economic, and health categories.

[edit] Environmental impact

The annual global consumption of bottled water in 2004 is 154 billion liters, [2] up 57 percent from the 98 billion liters consumed five years earlier. Though the materials used are generally recyclable, 90% of bottles are not recycled. [3]

The Pacific Institute calculates that the process of making the plastic for the water bottles consumed in the U.S. uses approximately 20 million barrels of oil per year (Harpers Magazine, July 2007). Overall, the average energy cost to make the plastic, fill the bottle, transport it to market and then deal with the waste would be "like filling up a quarter of every bottle with oil." (Peter Gleick, an expert on water policy and director at the Pacific Institute in Oakland, California.(Seattle P.I.)

It also takes water to make a bottle, if a container holds 1 liter it requires 5 liters of water in its manufacturing process (this includes power plant cooling water). The total amount of water used to produce and deliver one bottle of imported water has been calculated to be 6.74 l. [4]

Once you have created the bottle and filled it with water, the next environmental impact is the large amount of fossil fuel used to deliver the water from its source to end user by means of ground transportation. Some bottled water is transported long distances by ship in addition to the distances it travels by truck or rail. It takes a fair amount of oil to move a plastic bottle from where it is made, to where it is filled, then to the store, and finally into the consumer's hand. 250g (0.00025 tons) of GHGs are released for each imported water bottle. [5]

The local effects of tapping the water sources are also of concern. Because of the high demand companies like Perrier's Zephyrhills are requesting to increase their pumping from a spring on a private ranch in central Florida by 600 percent in the next 10 years. The request was denied by a judge ruling that the pumping could dry up Tampa Bay kitchen sinks, some 37 miles down stream. [6]

On a local level, water bottlers may adversely affect ground water levels, if they bottle more water than is naturally replenished. Rivers are delicate ecosystems. Tapping springs and aquifers even on a small scale can alter the movement of sediment in nearby streams, which can in turn disrupt the food supply for fish and other wildlife. "It's a very complicated system, and we don't have a very good predictive understanding of how the properties of the river channel will be affected [by large-scale pumping]," warns Kurt Cuffey, assistant professor of geology at the University of California at Berkeley.[7]

Saltwater intrusion is another problem with tapping aquifers in coastal areas. In healthy ecosystems along coastal areas there is a natural flow of groundwater that pushes freshwater out against the saltwater, creating a kind of sea wall. When the groundwater is being over used and the flow falters as a result the saltwater will begin to creep underground, ruining drinking water, wetlands, and crops. Saltwater intrusion is already a problem in parts of coastal California, Florida, and New York as a result of the demands -- including water for bottling -- being made on local water supplies. [8]

[edit] Economic impact

See also: Water supply and sanitation in Latin America

The economic impact of bottled water consumption is especially relevant in developing countries, where tap water is often of poor quality and where, even if the quality of tap water may be acceptable, it is often difficult to obtain reliable data on the quality of tap water. Therefore those who can afford it do not want to take a risk and switch to bottled water, usually of the type sold in large bottles of 5 gallons. Bottled water use is especially high in countries such as Mexico and Brazil (see above). While the poorest often can't afford bottled water and the richest face little economic constraints in buying bottled water, the cost of bottled water is a significant burden for middle-class households in many developing countries. For example, sales of bottled water in Mexico are estimated at 32 billion Pesos (US$ 3bn) in 2005,[7] or about US$ 135 per household, which is about twice the level of the average tap water bill. If these funds were available to water utilities they would have the financial means to improve significantly the quality of tap water.

The Wall Street Journal, after seeing the incredible demand for bottled water, is considering it the next best thing to oil and gold. [9]

In 2004, Andrea Petersen wrote in the Wall Street Journal that "... for the first time, Americans are expected to buy more bottled water than beer or coffee. Sales of bottled water reached $7.7 billion in 2002, up 12% from 2001, according to Beverage Marketing

Corp., a New York-based consulting company.” [10] Bottle water is a big business and with the current trend, everyone trying to get a piece, the individual states and countries are beginning to voice their objections. Many states have voted the big companies not over pump on their soil. [11]

In Ontario, Canada, a fee has been aimed at commercial and industrial water users to contribute to the cost of managing the water supply. The fee has been dubbed a 'cost recovery regulatory charge'. Those charges are explicitly stated as not a tax but as a fee to create a more sustainable system. Polaris Institute [12]

Another concern is the "privatization" of water. The United Church of Christ, United Church of Canada, National Council of Churches, National Coalition of American Nuns and Presbyterians for Restoring Creation are among some of the religious organizations that have raised questions about whether or not this is ethical. They regard the industrial purchase and repackaging at a much higher resale price of a basic resource as an unethical trend. [13]

[edit] Health impact

About 25% of bottled water sold is simply re-processed/used municipal(city) water according to a 1999 study in the United States.[8] Both Aquafina from Pepsi-Cola Company and Dasani from The Coca-Cola Company are reprocessed from municipal water systems. [9][10] Some bottled waters, such as Penta Water make unverified health benefit claims. About 22 percent of brands that are tested contain, in at least one sample, chemical contaminants at levels above strict state health limits. If consumed over a long period of time, some of these contaminants could cause cancer or other health problems.[11] In addition, 60 to 70 percent of all bottled water in the U.S. is packaged and sold in a state that is not regulated by the FDA. In the United States, 1 in 5 states do not regulate bottled water.[12]

Bottled water processed with distillation or reverse osmosis lacks fluoride ions which are sometimes naturally present in groundwater, or added at a water treatment plant and which has an effect on the inhibition of cavity formation; the drinking of distilled water may conceivably increase the risk of tooth decay due to a lack of this element.[13] People who drink mostly bottled water may wish to use supplemental fluoride, such as is available by prescription from dentists or doctors. However, most people continue to cook with common tap water and this is thought to potentially provide sufficient fluoride to maintain normal prophylaxis in many instances. Any other minerals in tap water such as calcium and magnesium are present in such minuscule amounts that their absence is compensated for many thousands of times over by other dietary sources. On the other hand, some people wish to avoid exposure to fluoride, particularly systemic ingestion of fluoride in drinking water, and may choose such bottled water for this feature. [14]

Bottled water is typically printed with expiration dates. Even if the water itself is pure, a plastic container may leak chemicals such as phthalates or Bisphenol A into the bottled

water[14]. Storage in cool and dark places helps reduce leaching of these chemicals. Industry associations claim "bottled water can be used indefinitely if stored properly."[15]

If the original water bottled is not pure, especially if it contained biological contaminants, then the water quality will continue to degrade regardless of the storage container or conditions.[16]

[edit] Alternatives to bottled water

In developed countries, municipal water is generally of high quality, and provides a far cheaper alternative to pure or bottled water. In municipalities where the water is of a somewhat lower quality, the use of home filtration systems such as Brita, Culligan, Kinetico or PUR filters provides potable water at considerably lower cost than pure or bottled water[citation needed].

In many areas of the world, good municipal water is unavailable. The United Nations estimates that in 2005, 1.1 billion people lacked access to safe, affordable, drinking water, and two to five million people die every year from preventable water-related diseases. In areas without a consistent supply of safe, potable water, alternatives to bottled water include boiling, filtering, or otherwise processing contaminated water to remove harmful pathogens or chemicals[citation needed].

Even where advanced water filters are not available, and fuel for boiling is scarce, effective water filters can be made in a few hours from clay by hand without advanced technology or skills. [17]. In some areas, water may be obtained from and in the form of rainwater, stored in a cistern or rainwater tank. In rural areas the rain is typically very pure and can be safely consumed without additional treatment or filtration[citation needed]

Ground water obtained through pumps or wells should be monitored for quality to ensure no risk of contamination or build up. Many people in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India are drinking groundwater that has been discovered to be contaminated with arsenic after wells were drilled to protect the population from the contaminated surface water[citation

needed].

Many countries such as the United Kingdom, have water that is adequate for drinking on tap, due to filters in the plumbing infrastructure. In these countries, it is sometimes seen as wasteful and pretentious to consume bottled water.

1. Isn't bottled water safer than tap water?

No, not necessarily. NRDC conducted a four-year review of the bottled water industry and the safety standards that govern it, including a comparison of national bottled water rules with national tap water rules, and independent testing of over 1,000 bottles of water. Our conclusion is that there is no assurance that just because water comes out of a bottle it is any cleaner or safer than water from the tap. And in fact, an estimated 25 percent or more of bottled water is really just tap water in a bottle -- sometimes further treated, sometimes not.

2. Is bottled water actually unsafe?

Most bottled water appears to be safe. Of the bottles we tested, the majority proved to be high quality and relatively free of contaminants. The quality of some brands was spotty, however, and such products may pose a health risk, primarily for people with weakened immune systems (such as the frail elderly, some infants, transplant and cancer patients, or people with HIV/AIDS). About 22 percent of the brands we tested contained, in at least one sample, chemical contaminants at levels above strict state health limits. If consumed over a long period of time, some of these contaminants could cause cancer or other health problems.

3. How can I find out where my bottled water comes from?

A few state bottled water programs (e.g., Massachusetts and New York) maintain lists of the sources of bottled water, but many do not. Try calling or writing the bottler to ask what the source is, or call the bottled water program in your state or the state in which the water was bottled to see if they have a record of the source (your state's health or agriculture department is most likely to run the bottled water program). If you choose to buy bottled water and are concerned about its safety, buy brands with a known protected source and ones that make readily available testing and treatment information that shows high water quality.

4. How can I determine if bottled water is really just tap water?

Often it's not easy. First, carefully check the bottle label and even the cap -- if it says "from a municipal source" or "from a community water system" this means it's derived from tap water. Again, you can call the bottler, or the bottled water program in your state or the state where it was packaged.

5. What actions can I take to improve bottled water safety?

Write to your members of Congress, the FDA, and your governor (see below for contact information) and urge them to adopt strict requirements for bottled water safety, labeling, and public disclosure. Specifically, point out to these officials that they should:

set strict limits for contaminants of concern in bottled water, including arsenic, heterotrophic-plate-count bacteria, E. coli and other parasites and pathogens, and synthetic organic chemicals such as "phthalates";

apply the rules to all bottled water whether carbonated or not and whether sold intrastate or interstate; and

require bottlers to display information on their labels about the levels of contaminants of concern found in the water, the water's exact source, how it's been treated, and whether it meets health criteria set by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control for killing parasites like cryptosporidium.

Members of Congress and governors should also pass legislation providing the resources for the FDA and state regulators to actually enforce the law.

To take further action, you can encourage your bottlers and the International Bottled Water Association (a trade organization that includes about 85 percent of water bottlers) to voluntarily make labeling disclosures such as those above.

Contact information:

FDAJane E. Henney, M.D.Commissioner, U.S. Food and Drug Administration5600 Fishers LaneRockville, MD 20857

Congress/State LegislatorsGo to our action center to find contact information for your members of Congress and state legislators.

6. If I drink tap water should I use a filter and what types of filters are most effective?

The real long-term solution is to make tap water safe for everyone. However, if you know you have a tap water quality or taste problem, or want to take extra precautions, you should purchase filters certified by NSF International (800 NSF-MARK). These filters remove the contaminants of special concern such as cryptosporidium. Such certification is not necessarily a safety guarantee, but it is better than no certification at all. It is critically important that all filters be maintained and replaced at least as often as recommended by the manufacturer, or they might make the problem worse.

7. How can I obtain test results on my tap water?

Under new "right-to-know" provisions in the drinking water law, all tap water suppliers must provide annual water quality reports to their customers. To obtain a copy, call your water provider (the one that sends your water bills).

You also can test your water yourself, though this can be expensive. There are state-certified drinking water laboratories in virtually every state that can test your water. Call your state drinking water program or the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800 426-4791) for a list of contacts. Standard consumer test packages are available through large commercial labs at a relatively reasonable price.

Based on BOTTLED WATER: Pure Drink or Pure Hype? a March 1999 report by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/qbw.asp

The Hidden Life of Bottled Water

by Liza Gross

Americans used to turn on their faucets when they craved a drink of clear, cool water. Today, concerned about the safety of water supplies, they're turning to the bottle. Consumers spent

more than $4 billion on bottled water last year, establishing the fount of all life as a certifiably hot commodity. But is bottled really better?

You might think a mountain stream on the label offers some clue to the contents. But sometimes, to paraphrase Freud, a bottle is just a bottle. "Mountain water could be anything," warns Connie Crawley, a health and nutrition specialist at the University of Georgia. "Unless the label says it comes from a specific source, when the manufacturer says 'bottled at the source,' the source could be the tap."

Yosemite brand water comes not from a bucolic mountain spring but from deep wells in the undeniably less-picturesque Los Angeles suburbs, and Everest sells water drawn from a municipal source in Corpus Christi, Texas-a far cry from the pristine glacial peaks suggested by its name. As long as producers meet the FDA's standards for "distilled" or "purified" water, they don't have to disclose the source.

Even if the water does come from a spring, what's in that portable potable may be less safe than what comes out of your tap. Bottled water must meet the same safety standards as municipal-system water. But while the EPA mandates daily monitoring of public drinking water for many chemical contaminants, the FDA requires less comprehensive testing only once a year for bottled water. Beyond that, says Crawley, the FDA "usually inspects only if there's a complaint. Yet sources of bottled water are just as vulnerable to surface contamination as sources of tap water. If the spring is near a cattle farm, it's going to be contaminated."

Let's assume your store-bought water meets all the safety standards. What about the bottle? Because containers that sit for weeks or months at room temperature are ideal breeding grounds for bacteria, a bottle that met federal safety standards when it left the plant might have unsafe bacteria levels by the time you buy it. And because manufacturers aren't required to put expiration dates on bottles, there's no telling how long they've spent on a loading dock or on store shelves. (Bacteria also thrive on the wet, warm rim of an unrefrigerated bottle, so avoid letting a bottle sit around for too long.) But even more troubling is what may be leaching from the plastic containers. Scientists at the FDA found traces of bisphenol A-an endocrine disruptor that can alter the reproductive development of animals-after 39 weeks in water held at room temperature in large polycarbonate containers (like that carboy atop your office water cooler).

Wherever you get your water, caveat emptor should be the watchword. If you're simply worried about chlorine or can't abide its taste, fill an uncapped container with tap water and leave it in the refrigerator overnight; most of the chlorine will vaporize. If you know your municipal water is contaminated, bottled water can provide a safe alternative. But shop around. The National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) independently tests bottled water and certifies producers that meet FDA regulations and pass unannounced plant, source, and container inspections. And opt for glass bottles-they don't impart the taste and risks of chemical agents and they aren't made from petrochemicals.

To get information on bottled-water standards-or to find out what's in the water you buy-contact the Food and Drug Administration, Federal Office Building #9, Room 5807, 200 C St. S.W., Washington, DC 20004, (888) INFO-FDA. To find an NSF-certified manufacturer, call (800) NSF-MARK. For information on your tap water, call the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline, (800) 426-4791.

Liza Gross is Sierra's copy editor.

http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/199905/water.asp

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

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By TOM STANDAGEPublished: August 1, 2005

London

IT'S summertime, and odds are that at some point during your day you'll reach for a nice cold bottle of water. But before you do, you might want to consider the results of an experiment I conducted with some friends one summer evening last year. On the table were 10 bottles of water, several rows of glasses and some paper for recording our impressions. We were to evaluate samples from each bottle for appearance, odor, flavor, mouth, feel and aftertaste - and our aim was to identify the interloper among the famous names. One of our bottles had been filled from the tap. Would we spot it?

Forum: Op-Ed Contributors

We worked our way through the samples, writing scores for each one. None of us could detect any odor, even when swilling water around in large wine glasses, but other differences between the waters were instantly apparent. Between sips, we cleansed our palates with wine. (It seemed only fair, since water serves the same function at a wine tasting.)

The variation between waters was wide, yet the water from the tap did not stand out: only one of us correctly identified it. This simple experiment seemed to confirm that most people cannot tell the difference between tap water and bottled water. Yet they buy it anyway - and in enormous quantities.

In 2004, Americans, on average, drank 24 gallons of bottled water, making it second only to carbonated soft drinks in popularity. Furthermore, consumption of bottled water is growing more quickly than that of soft drinks and has more than doubled in the past decade. This year, Americans will spend around $9.8 billion on bottled water, according to the Beverage Marketing Corporation.

Ounce for ounce, it costs more than gasoline, even at today's high gasoline prices; depending on the brand, it costs 250 to 10,000 times more than tap water. Globally, bottled water is now a $46 billion industry. Why has it become so popular?

It cannot be the taste, since most people cannot tell the difference in a blind tasting. Much bottled water is, in any case, derived from municipal water supplies, though it is sometimes filtered, or has additional minerals added to it.

Nor is there any health or nutritional benefit to drinking bottled water over tap water. In one study, published in The Archives of Family Medicine, researchers compared bottled water with tap water from Cleveland, and found that nearly a quarter of the samples of bottled water had significantly higher levels of bacteria. The scientists concluded that "use of bottled water on the assumption of purity can be misguided." Another study carried out at the University of Geneva found that bottled water was no better from a nutritional point of view than ordinary tap water.

Admittedly, both kinds of water suffer from occasional contamination problems, but tap water is more stringently monitored and tightly regulated than bottled water. New York City tap water, for example, was tested 430,600 times during 2004 alone.

What of the idea that drinking bottled water allows you to avoid the chemicals that are sometimes added to tap water? Alas, some bottled waters contain the same chemicals anyway - and they are, in any case, unavoidable.

Researchers at the University of Texas found that showers and dishwashers liberate trace amounts of chemicals from municipal water supplies into the air. Squirting hot water through a nozzle, to produce a fine spray, increases the surface area of water in contact with the air, liberating dissolved substances in a process known as "stripping." So if you want to avoid those chemicals for some reason, drinking bottled water is not enough. You will also have to wear a gas mask in the shower, and when unloading the dishwasher.

Bottled water is undeniably more fashionable and portable than tap water. The practice of carrying a small bottle, pioneered by supermodels, has become commonplace. But despite its association with purity and cleanliness, bottled water is bad for the environment. It is shipped at vast expense from one part of the world to another, is then kept refrigerated before sale, and causes huge numbers of plastic bottles to go into landfills.

Of course, tap water is not so abundant in the developing world. And that is ultimately why I find the illogical enthusiasm for bottled water not simply peculiar, but distasteful. For those of us in the developed world, safe water is now so abundant

that we can afford to shun the tap water under our noses, and drink bottled water instead: our choice of water has become a lifestyle option. For many people in the developing world, however, access to water remains a matter of life or death.

More than 2.6 billion people, or more than 40 percent of the world's population, lack basic sanitation, and more than one billion people lack reliable access to safe drinking water. The World Health Organization estimates that 80 percent of all illness in the world is due to water-borne diseases, and that at any given time, around half of the people in the developing world are suffering from diseases associated with inadequate water or sanitation, which kill around five million people a year.

Widespread illness also makes countries less productive, more dependent on outside aid, and less able to lift themselves out of poverty. One of the main reasons girls do not go to school in many parts of the developing world is that they have to spend so much time fetching water from distant wells.

Clean water could be provided to everyone on earth for an outlay of $1.7 billion a year beyond current spending on water projects, according to the International Water Management Institute. Improving sanitation, which is just as important, would cost a further $9.3 billion per year. This is less than a quarter of global annual spending on bottled water.

I have no objections to people drinking bottled water in the developing world; it is often the only safe supply. But it would surely be better if they had access to safe tap water instead. The logical response, for those of us in the developed world, is to stop spending money on bottled water and to give the money to water charities.

If you don't believe me about the taste, then set up a tasting, and see if you really can tell the difference. A water tasting is fun, and you may be surprised by the results. There is no danger of a hangover. But you may well conclude, as I have, that bottled water has an unacceptably bitter taste.

Tom Standage, author of "A History of the World in Six Glasses," is the technology editor of The Economist.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/01/opinion/01standage.html?ei=5090&en=1f703b85f17267b3&ex=1280548800&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all&YOUR_REG_SYSTEM_IS_EVIL

News Clips

Gulliver's Cove Bottled Water Project MothballedAs reported by a local radio station in Nova Scotia, the bottled water project proposed by New Hampshire businessman John Hyatt for Gulliver's Cove on Digby Neck, Nova Scotia, appears to have been indefinitely postponed.

Janet Eaton, Canadian liaison to Sierra Club's WPTF, working with a small committed group of local citizens, played a key role in bringing attention to the proposed project throughout Canada and emphasized that such a project is not in keeping with the local sustainable economic development on Digby Neck which serves as a model for the future.

Read more...

March 19, 2004: Guardian (London)

UK: Dasani Bottled Tap Water Withdrawn After Cancer Scare

Taking Action

The Sierra Club has published a brochure which we will be happy to provide to any group or chapter which wants to join the campaign to discourage the use of bottled water. Call Ruth Caplan at 202-244-0561 for details.Find out more...

What Are the Issues?

Advertising Hype. On the shelves of grocery stores, bottled water proliferates. New labels appear overnight claiming purity. In 2002, Americans paid $7.7 billion for bottled water and sales continue to increase.

It's an amazing new fad, one of the most successful advertising hypes in recent history. Advertising for bottled water suggests that drinking water in plastic can make you thin, sexy, healthy, affluent, and environmentally responsible. Water bottles have become a fashion accessory.

These ideas have a source, and it's not a mountain spring. Giant multinational companies like Nestle, Coke, and Pepsi are making a fortune on bottled water. In the U.S. a sip of bottled water costs on average 1,000 times a sip of water from the tap.

Environmental Justice. In Michigan, Nestle received $9.6 million in tax breaks to site their Ice Mountain bottled water plant in Mecosta County. Yet in Detroit more than 20,000 families have had their water shut off because of inability to pay their water bills when the state refused to provide a subsidy. How do such policies measure up to the United Nations declaration "The human right to drinking water is fundamental to life and health"?

How safe? Many people think bottled water is safer than tap water. There is no such guarantee. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has strict water quality standards for tap water, but the EPA does not oversee bottled water. Bottled water sold across state lines is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA interprets EPA clean drinking water regulations and applies them selectively to bottled water. While the FDA requires water sources to be “inspected, sampled, analyzed and approved,” it only has one inspector so the industry does the inspecting. Nor do the FDA regulations prevent bottling companies from drawing water next to industrial sites, underground storage tanks, or dumps.

In Pennsylvania, the state health department tested the water and found high levels of coliform bacteria. after a man reported getting sick from drinking bottled water. In California, an independent lab tested for hundreds of different chemicals in 38 brands of California bottled water. Two samples had arsenic contamination, six had chemical byproducts of chlorination, and six had measurable levels of the toxic chemical toluene.

So consumers should not assume that bottled water is safer than tap water. In fact Coca Cola’s Dasani and Pepsi’s Aquafina are tap water coming from places like Queens, NY and Jacksonville, FL with some additional treatment.

Ecosystems. Nestle prefers to market water from springs. The pumping can have a significant environmental impact, sucking water from underground aquifers that are the source of water for nearby streams, wells, and farms. In Mecosta County, a judge has ruled that Nestle must stop pumping from a site that is threatening the surrounding ecosystem. Nestle has at least 75 spring sites around the country and is actively looking for more.

Plastic Hazards and Waste. What about the bottles themselves? Every year about 1.5 million tons of plastic go into manufacturing water bottles for the global market, using processes that release toxics such as nickel, ethylbenzene, ethylene oxide and benzene. In

the U.S. alone 1.5 million barrels of oil are consumed in making the bottles. Most bottles end up in landfills, adding to the landfill crisis.

Taking Action

The Sierra Club has just published a brochure which we will be happy to provide to any group or chapter which wants to join the campaign to discourage the use of bottled water.

Use pitchers of water at your Club and community events? Use containers that you can refill with tap water when you are away from home If there is a problem with water quality in your community, use a good quality water

filter which is much cheaper than bottled water and does not produce mounds of plastic waste. The average cost of filtered water is $0.13/gallon compared to $1.27 for bottled water.

Advocate for adequate funding and good public management of municipal water systems.

Monitor unusual land purchases near to natural springs

E magazine reports: "When Good Morning America conducted a taste test of its studio audience, New York City tap water was chosen as the heavy favorite over the oxygenated water 02, Poland Spring and Evian." Do a blind taste test with your friends and see what they choose.

Look at the bottled water labels on your local grocery shelves. Do they say where the water comes from? If so, see what you can find out about the environmental quality of the water and the environmental impacts of the pumping.

Talk with your municipal waste authority to find out how plastic bottles are disposed of. If they are incinerated, research what chemicals might be released. If landfilled, how close to capacity is your landfill?

If the bottles are recycled, can you track where they actually go? What use is being made of the recycled plastic bottles?

Go to www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo.htm to get copies of reports to the EPA from your water and sewer authority. How often do they report? What are the findings?

Are there any limits as to how much water a water company can extract from any given site in your state? How springs and groundwater are protected by your state and community? Are there ways these protections should be strengthened?

Resources for More Information

E Magazine, Sept/Oct 2003, "Message in a Bottle," by Brian Howard: www.emagazine.com

Centre for Science and Environment: www.cseindia.org

Natural Resources Defense Council: www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/bwinx.asp

PBS/Point of View Borders: www.pbs.org/pov/borders/2004/water

Environmental Protection Agency Local Drinking Water Reports: www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo.htm

Water Follies, Groundwater Pumping and the Fate of America's Fresh Waters, by John Glennon, 2002, Island Press.

http://www.sierraclub.org/committees/cac/water/bottled_water/