When I switched from bottled water to my own re-usable bottles, I was sure it would be a huge hassle. I was sure I’d forget to refill them, forget to take them along, lose them… In fact, it hasn’t been nearly so dramatic. It’s a very easy habit to maintain, I’ve relatively infrequently been caught waterless, and I haven’t lost a bottle yet.
Why?
Like many people, I used to think bottled water was a good idea. Maybe even better than tap water after scares like the deadly water contamination tragedy in small town Ontario. But after I’d done a little accidental research and then dug a little deeper there were some compelling reasons:
- Tap water must meet higher safety standards than bottled water
- It’s estimated that 85% to 90% of plastic bottles end up as landfill or floating in the ocean
- Re-using those bottles seems a decent compromise, but it’s highly unsanitary
- We’re running out of clean, drinkable water on this planet, and my region of the world is not immune
Don’t Take My Word For It
Bottled Water Isn’t Cool covers a lot of these reasons and more, in greater detail. And a quick search of the Internet will bring up an unlimited number of videos and articles. Here are a few resources to get you started:
Flow movie
Blue Gold movie
Bottled Water Isn’t Cool
More Benefits to Drinking Local Water
Creative Answers to the Question of Water
Drink Local…Water, I Mean
you`re so right on this! Thanks for keeping this issue front and centre. Theresa
Here’s a free iPhone app to help you find the closest drinking fountain: http://bit.ly/g3nDaH
Metro Vancouver will launch free apps for Blackberries and Androids this spring.
This is great, thanks for passing it along!