FloresDontWorry?


 * Bottled Water: A Look at Earth’s Unquenchable Thirst ** [[image:oil_slick_angel_island.jpg width="733" height="434"]]

Bottled water is the #2 selling drink in America, right behind carbonated soft drinks, and the sales are increasing every year. While it’s refreshing to know that so many Americans are choosing to drink water over the unhealthy alternatives, such as beer, the increased demand for bottled water is not a good thing. The amount of energy required to make enough bottled water annually is staggering, and is a large contributor to this world’s overconsumption of natural resources. The sad thing about it is that so much energy is consumed for bottled water, and it’s so unnecessary. For your information: · About 200 billion liters of bottled water was sold worldwide in 2007 · Purchases in America constituted about 16.7% of that · Since 2001, bottled water sales have gone up about 70% Continuing to purchase so much bottled water can have a serious impact on the environment. Merely producing the plastic bottles needed for the bottled water consumes about 50 million barrels of oil each year. As you may know, drilling for oil poses a serious danger to marine life. Wastes left over from drilling sites are often composed of harmful substances that affect the overall composition of the surrounding water, which is harmful to the marine life that dwells nearby. Some effects of oil drilling include: · Emitted drilling fluids from oil drilling sites, up to 5000 m3 in volume per site · Emissions of “produced waters”, composed of hydrocarbons, metal ions, and other suspended materials used during drilling · Emission of biocides and corrosive fluids (In the North Sea, roughly 300,000 m3 of such waste is emitted in a matter of hours) This is not to say that bottled water is an enormous cause of the need for oil drilling (50 million barrels of oil is only enough to meet the oil needs of the United States for about 2 and a half days). However, bottled water is something that developed parts of the world don’t even need. In terms of composition, bottled water is not all that different from tap water. Companies use terms like “spring water” and “enhanced with vitamins and minerals” to make the average consumer believe that their product is somehow better than water from the tap. This, however, is not true, as tap water contains these nutrients as well. In conclusion, the best way to make people transition from bottled water to the much more eco-friendly tap water is to inform them. The average consumer will buy products that they find appealing without putting any thought into what kind of harm is done in making those products. The biggest mistake people can make is to stay ignorant to the truth. Willful ignorance is surrendering control, and it’s high time that control was placed back in our hands. West, Larry. “How Much Energy does it take to make Bottled Water?” Visited Feb 7 2010. [] Patin, Stanislav. “Water discharges during the offshore oil and gas activity”. Visited Feb 7 2010. [] Petroleum Wiki: []
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