Rethinking Drinking Water Distribution

The Curious Case of Mega-Bottler Behavior

The following excerpt relates the tale of a Coke Fan Site gone wrong. Just as "green washing" can backfire in the social media realm, apparently so can giving a platform to the voice of dissent in the supposed safe haven of product supporters.

clipped from www.alternet.org For three years, Corporate Accountability International has asked that Coke label the source of its water. Tens of thousands of people have made phone calls, written letters, or sent emails to the country's third largest bottler demanding Coke label the source of its water. Coke's competitors, Pepsi and Nestlé, have both responded to Corporate Accountability International demands by putting the source on labels. Even Congress has now called on Coke to disclose the source and sites of its bottled water. The deadline for Coke and the other water bottlers to report to Congress is this Monday, August 10. Will Coke also announce its intention to put this information on labels? If so, that'd be the smartest tactic it could employ in response to the new Facebook outpouring.

Back To School Beverage Tip

This clip taken from a well written article on tips for school lunch, beverage and snack options. A simple, common sense approach to keeping our kids healthy.

clipped from www.garnernews.net Another tip Leroy shares is, “Water is essential.  Water should be the beverage of choice in lunchboxes - and I mean water without flavoring or flavor packets.  Flavored waters can add as many calories as juice boxes - and the calorie free flavored waters contain artificial sugars.  Parents should not pack Gatorade or other sports drinks in lunches - kids don’t spend their lunch time on a treadmill and don’t need to replace the minerals and carbohydrates lost during exercise while sitting in a cafeteria.”

Drinking Water Levity

The profits from all that overpriced bottled water, allow for some pretty creative marketing. It skirts the REAL issues surrounding this product, but manages to be both endearing and creepy at the same time. Since drinking water should be a positive part of a healthy lifestyle, you've got to credit Evian for this gem.

Facts About Throw-Away Plastic Water Bottles Continue To Pile Up

The bulk of the article cited below surrounds the controversy of single-serve plastic drinking water packaging.

Major bottlers try to re frame the issue, but the bottom line is still the same; it is up to consumers to change their habits with respect to all one-use throw-away plastic if we hope to stop choking the environment in the stuff.

clipped from topics.nytimes.com "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.

Stop Blame Game - Take Personal Positive Steps

If you have any question about who is responsible for the mess plastics have (and continue to make) of our environment, please take 8 minutes out of your day and watch the video posted here of a presentation given by Captain Charles Moore. It's fascinating in its scale and horrifying in its consequences. The time for reflection has past, the time for action among all responsible people is now.

It is easy to blame the plastics industry, Big Brother, the greed of capitalism/consumerism or just that thoughtless "other guy". The fact is we all have a hand in distributing the plastic material that ultimately collects in places it was never intended to be; even by the most shortsighted litterbug.

View this video and you WILL be moved to make personal changes to do your small part to work toward a more sustainable consumer mindset.

Think Disposable Plastic Is Defensible?