Reasons why you don't need bottled water.

I'm proud to say that I have not drank water from a plastic bottle in almost a year. I also have refrained from buying any other beverages or liquid consumables that come in a plastic bottle. Specifically for water, there are concerns that go beyond the potentially hazardous nature of the plastic.

Here is a list of reasons why you don't need plastic water bottles I obtained from my friend Mark Cooper in Toronto Canada. Mark has made it his mission in life to tell people about the dangers of bottled water:

• Bottled water costs $1.50 or more per bottle. That's almost 1,900 times the price of tap water.
  
• This means an average US citizen can spend over $400 every year on bottled water.
  
• The water in the bottle can be damaged by toxic chemicals like BPA, leached from the bottle into the water.
  
• Our environment then suffers because it's tainted by the production, transportation, packaging and disposal of plastic bottles (see picture above).
• In 2004, bottled water us was marked as 26 billion liters which equals nearly 28 billion bottles a year, of which 86% end up as garbage (again see picture above).
• 1,500 water bottles end up as garbage EVERY SECOND!
  
• 26 billion liters means that 17 million barrels of oil were used to produce the bottles. This oil could have instead fueled home heating or other more essential activities.
• 26 billion liters also = 2,500,000 tons of carbon dioxide for bottle manufacturing.
• And, 100 billion dollars spent on all these bottles every year.
  

It is possible that for a fraction of this amount, EVERYONE on the planet could have safe drinking water and proper sanitation.

Don't you think it's almost ludicrous that we use perfectly good drinking water to WATER our LAWNS???!!!! That water could be used obviously for better purposes.

Bottled water is NOT safer than tap water, and likely is less safe.

For those of us who keep our bottled water in the car, did you realize the heat of the car can increase the leaching of plastic chemicals into your water. Then, even if you didn't keep it in your car, do you know what extreme temperatures that bottle was exposed to before you bought it?

• Stored in warehouses, temperatures can range from 26F to 85F.
  
• Truck transportation: 100F to 150F
• Loaded and unloaded onto docks: 45F to 100F.

You can safely drink tap water, with extra filtration if you know your tap water needs it (you can have your tap water tested in any local area). Then, drink it from a non-BPA bottle so you can enjoy water any time of the day, any where.

For facts about plastic #7 (the plastic used to make most water bottles and most water cooler bottles), please visit Earth911.com.

Other important websites to read regarding your health and the health of the earth:

www.earthpolicy.org/
www.filterforgood.com

Remember: we only have one body and one Earth; let's keep them both healthy for as long as possible. And that includes our drinking water.