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Polar bear with carrot

Monday, August 30, 2010

What does Evian spell backwards again?

I read a new report today from the advocacy group Food and Water Watch. Almost half of the bottled water sold in America in 2009 came out of a tap. Actually the number is 47.8%. They run it through a filter and give it some sort of springy fresh name. Of course the price of the bottled water is hundreds to thousands times the cost of tap water. The group also found that from 2005-2009, the volume of tap water bottled grew by 66% while the volume of spring water bottled went up by only 9%.

People should be aware that tap water doesn't contain  polyethylene terephthalate, a chemical with questionable environmental effects found in plastic bottles.

According to the report, it takes water to produce bottled water, so the environmental consequences of bottling tap water are magnified. And the containers don't have to end up in the North Pacific Gyr.

So the next time you are tempted to reach for that cool bottle of water from the convenience store shelf, you might pause and consider. Put a glass under your faucet and reach for some home brew. It's just as safe and a hell of a lot cheaper.

9 comments:

windowdancer said...

Okay, but what about the poor homeless bum that will find that plastic bottle along side the road after I toss it out the window of my car? Cashing those bottles in are how that poor jobless soul makes a living. Remember, the smallest of changes in our lives can have the greatest of consequences.
I believe that a little more compassion for the poor is in order here.
Besides, I don't drink Diet Coke and "I WANT MY BOTTLED WATER NOW"!!!

Blue Heron said...

Are we acquainted on the physical plane mon' dancer?

Anonymous said...

Please tell me you have a twisted sardonic sense of humor. What an insensitive bastard! Who the fuck is this litterbug windowdancer? I hope you end up in a breadline.

windowdancer said...

WOW! Wishing ill will on any living creature shows a lack of compassion and signs of a possible traumatized childhood. I don't know you my dear Anonymous one, but if I had to guess I would say your deep rooted anger probably stems from one or more sexual encounters with and overly aggressive Priest. My advise to you is to seek therapy immediately and say seven Hail Mary's... Oh and if it makes you feel any better, I have spent many a cold San Francisco winter days in breadlines (shelters actually). More then once in my younger years. It's not as bad as you might think.

Blue Heron said...

Dancer, we can overlook for penchant for clubbing baby harp seals to death, after all everybody needs a hobby. With a few hours of community service, the whole incident with the brownie troop is likely to be forgotten. But the blast frowns strongly on any casual reference to littering, whether it is uttered honestly or in jest. Please refrain from any similar claims in the future.

The management

windowdancer said...

Yeah, I saw the commercial... Iron Eyes Cody sheds a tear after a piece of trash is thrown from a speeding car landing at his feet. "Keep America Beautiful" indoctrinated an entire generation of youth to be ever vigilant on the highway. But you said it best Blue Heron and therein lies the problem in this great nation of ours. Why is it that a piece a plastic alongside the road sets off a wave of contempt that demands karma retaliate while the brutal slaughter of four civilians in Israel barely raises a ripple? Can it be that our liberal upbringing has actually been manipulated to keep our eyes and thoughts off those things that truly need to be addressed? I get it 4 Jews died in Israel but hey, John Lennon said "Give Peace A Chance". So come on Israel lets all join hands and sing. The reality is there's over one and a half billion Muslims in the world and under 14 million Jews. A large majority of those Muslims support the complete destruction of Israel. As you quoted in the blog for post Tuesday, August 31, 2010, "Interesting, about half of the letters to the Huffington Post blame the victims of this murder rather than the perpetrators. Liberal thought in America today. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/01/palestinians-crack-down-o_n_701605.html"

While I haven't read that article myself, I can only imagine that to stir that kind of vicious "Liberal repose" there must have been "littering" from a moving vehicle involved.

DISCLAIMER: Please note that in no way am I advocating the practice of littering in this post...WD

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Anonymous said...

Windowdancer, What does an article about plastic bottles have to do with the violence in Israel?
Yes, it is tragic, the murders of innocent Israeli's. Maybe you should specifically reply to the blog about Israel with a sincere comment.
But it would be easier to make some smartass demeaning comment about homeless Palistinians, although that would be too simplistic for such a clever and streetwise person like you.
You must of learned your humor from Joseph Stalin.

windowdancer said...

Dear Anonymous one... Let me try to explain to you as simply as I can.

My first response was about the water bottles... my second response was directed at you regarding your vicious attack on me regarding the content of my first response about the water bottles... My third response had nothing to do with you whatsoever and was totally directed at "BLUE HERON" and his Baby Harp seal is okay/littering statements are not okay response to me.

It is my hope that this explanation halts any further aggression, eases your mind and quells your rage toward me and my initial water bottle statement.

Now, on a more positive note: I WAS happy to read that you and I are in total agreement over the senseless murder in Kiryat Arba. If I may be so bold as to go one step further and applaud your statement "Yes, it is tragic, the murders of innocent Israeli's."
I believe that if two people such as you and I can come together in peace and harmony then yes, there is hope left in this beautiful world of ours.

PEACE oh Anonymous one...WD

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Blue Heron said...

That's what I like to see - peace in the valley.