Jake Hughes
The Paw Print
Just like Colorado, 70 percent of the states in the US are in a drought and in this current climate water levels are big topic of discussion.
In particular, bottled water is the controversial subject matter that is currently manipulating its way onto our shelves and into our environment.
A staggering 75 percent of the world is covered with water and in comparison a shocking 1 percent of it is drinkable. By 2030 two thirds of the world will be without clean water. Bottled water has been directly linked with a number of catastrophic environmental and medical problems.
Eighty million bottles of water are consumed daily in the United States. The perception that these huge corporate companies such as Nestle, Coca Cola and Pepsi like to give off about their water is that its better and safer then tap water.
They use words such as pure in their labeling and have mountain ranges in the background. In cities with populations of one million plus, the EPA checks the water three hundred times a month and in cities with populations of three million plus it is checked four hundred times a month.
In comparison, bottled water is checked independently by the corporate companies very few compared to public water. These companies are ripping us off. An outrageous forty percent of bottled water is filtered tap water. These companies are mining the water free of charge from rural towns in particular states like Maine, and then selling the water back to the public at a huge price.
The water mining in these small rural towns has resulted in depleted or decimated fish population. River and stream levels plummeted and as a result has caused drought in certain areas. Nestle, who operates under multiple names is considered the worst offender out of these huge companies as they lead the market in bottle water sales.
After eighty million bottles are consumed on a daily basis where do they end up? Our usage of these bottles is having dramatic effect on our environment. The plastic bottles are produced in refineries and petrol chemical labs from crude oil. The toxic cycle of producing these plastic bottles is polluting the ground, the air and the water. Chemical leaks have corrupted whole streams and rivers in certain states.
A disgraceful amount of states in the US recycle soft drink bottles including bottles of water. This results in a large amount of plastic bottles being collected in landfills and in two huge garbage patches floating in the Pacific Ocean. This has had a direct effect on the wild life in these oceans, rivers and streams.
We must protect our bodies of water and conserve them for future generations, not pollute and disease them. There are no comprehensive policies for monitoring water supply and quantity.
Now, whose responsibilities is it? Is it the huge corporate companies or the government? Or is it our responsibilities as consumers to boycott the companies until such policies are made?
What’s Been Said…