“Bottled water has already turned tap water into a commodity, and corporations are stepping up their efforts to privatize public water systems.” —Letter to the New York Times by Gigi Kellett, campaigns director, ”Think Outside the Bottle,” Corporate Accountability International.
“At the same time, to ensure maximum profits, these companies are lobbying to weaken water quality standards, and pushing for trade agreements that hand over the U.S. water resources to foreign corporations.” –From the webpage of Public Citizen
“There is growing concern about the impacts of bottled water on…people’s confidence in our public water systems…At the same time, there is a $22 billion funding gap between what cities need to spend on water infrastructure and the money available to them.” –Press release from Corporate Accountability International
“Faced with the suddenly well-documented freshwater crisis, governments and international institutions are advocating a Washington Consensus solution: the privatization and commodification of water. Price water, they say in chorus; put it up for sale and let the market determine its future.” –Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke’s “Who Owns Water” in The Nation
“‘More than 90 percent of the environmental impacts from a plastic bottle happen before the consumer opens it,’ said Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Oil for plastic, oil for shipping, oil for refrigeration — and in the end, most of the effort goes to landfills.” –Bill Marsh’s “A Battle Between the Bottle and the Faucet” in the New York Times
“Pepsi (NYSE:PEP) has the nation’s number-one-selling bottled water, Aquafina, with 13% of the market. Coke’s (NYSE:KO) Dasani is number two, with 11% of the market. Both are simply purified municipal water–so 24% of the bottled water we buy is tap water repackaged by Coke and Pepsi for our convenience.” –Nigel Cox’s “Message in a Bottle” in Fast Company
“Bottled-water companies like Nestlé, Coca-Cola and Pepsi are engaged in a constant search for new water supplies to feed the insatiable appetite of this business. In rural communities all over the world, corporate interests are buying up farmlands, indigenous lands, wilderness tracts and whole water systems, then moving on when sources are depleted.” –Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke’s “Who Owns Water” in The Nation
“Our recycling rate for PET is only 23%, which means we pitch into landfills 38 billion water bottles a year–more than $1 billion worth of plastic.” –Nigel Cox’s “Message in a Bottle” in Fast Company
“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.” –Sierra Club Bottled Water Campaign website
“Once you understand the resources mustered to deliver the bottle of water, it’s reasonable to ask as you reach for the next bottle, not just “Does the value to me equal the 99 cents I’m about to spend?” but “Does the value equal the impact I’m about to leave behind?”” –Nigel Cox’s “Message in a Bottle” in Fast Company
If you want to give up water in plastic bottles, why not join me in using the ultra-cool reusable water bottle?
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