Bottled water is a multi-billion dollar industry, in 2006, Americans spent nearly $11 billion on more than 8 billion gallons of bottled water. And for what? Your tap water has been nicely filled into a plastic bottle and it'll be $1.75 please.
Aquafina fills its water from the taps of many southern states of America. Companies such as Aquafina and Dasini are not even required to do any testing on their water if it is sold within the same state, while local governments are.
So tap water is tested and regulated, while bottled water is not
The bottled water industry drains 1.5 million barrels of oil each year, and 75% of bottles are thrown in landfill. With the cost of oil it works out that it takes 2litres of water to make 1Litre of bottled water.
Plastic bottled water contains bisphenol A, (which has now officially been declared a toxin by Health Canada).
Bisphenal A is a chemical that may damage male sperm cells, may influences birth defects, and is associated with many cancer cases. It can also, at nonmolar doses, reduce the effectiveness of chemotherapy in certain lines of breast cancer cells.
Researchers are now finding that it may also be related to childhood obesity levels.
If you live in Victoria and the Greater Victoria region you should know that our tap water is from the Sooke reservoir. The Capital Regional District manages and protects this large environment 365 days of the year. It is only open to the public in the first weeks of May. Our water quality is excellent and we have no excuse not to indulge.
In the past two years I have probably purchased under 5 bottles of water. Often at clubs or bars they want to make a buck and so only provide water to their customers at a cost. Water should be a right to every person in the world.
I would like to acknowledge Lucky Bar in Victoria, BC, who have taken the pledge not to sell any bottles of water at their bar.
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