BOTTLED WATER

I heard on the radio today that it takes 4 gallons of water (3 for the packaging) to produce one gallon of bottled water. Here's some more information about bottled water and why you might want to start thinking about moving back to tap...

Quote :

BOTTLED WATER:
Pouring Resources Down the Drain

Emily Arnold and Janet Larsen

The global consumption of bottled water reached 154 billion liters (41 billion gallons) in 2004, up 57 percent from the 98 billion liters consumed five years earlier. Even in areas where tap water is safe to drink, demand for bottled water is increasing—producing unnecessary garbage and consuming vast quantities of energy. Although in the industrial world bottled water is often no healthier than tap water, it can cost up to 10,000 times more. At as much as $2.50 per liter ($10 per gallon), bottled water costs more than gasoline.

The United States is the world’s leading consumer of bottled water, with Americans drinking 26 billion liters in 2004, or approximately one 8-ounce glass per person every day. Mexico has the second highest consumption, at 18 billion liters. China and Brazil follow, at close to 12 billion liters each. Ranking fifth and sixth in consumption are Italy and Germany, using just over 10 billion liters of bottled water each. (See data.)

...Fossil fuels are also used in the packaging of water. The most commonly used plastic for making water bottles is polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is derived from crude oil. Making bottles to meet Americans’ demand for bottled water requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel some 100,000 U.S. cars for a year.* Worldwide, some 2.7 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water each year.

After the water has been consumed, the plastic bottle must be disposed of. According to the Container Recycling Institute, 86 percent of plastic water bottles used in the United States become garbage or litter. Incinerating used bottles produces toxic byproducts such as chlorine gas and ash containing heavy metals. Buried water bottles can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade. Almost 40 percent of the PET bottles that were deposited for recycling in the United States in 2004 were actually exported, sometimes to as far away as China—adding to the resources used by this product.

In addition to the strains bottled water puts on our ecosystem through its production and transport, the rapid growth in this industry means that water extraction is concentrated in communities where bottling plants are located. For example, water shortages near beverage bottling plants have been reported in Texas and in the Great Lakes region of North America. Farmers, fishers, and others who depend on water for their livelihoods suffer from the concentrated water extraction when water tables drop quickly.

Studies show that consumers associate bottled water with healthy living. But bottled water is not guaranteed to be any healthier than tap water. In fact, roughly 40 percent of bottled water begins as tap water; often the only difference is added minerals that have no marked health benefit. The French Senate even advises people who drink bottled mineral water to change brands frequently because the added minerals are helpful in small amounts but may be dangerous in higher doses.

http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2006/Update51.htm

I think its a fad gone berzerk. I mean they've been reporting for years that tap water is ofter better than bottled. I'm installing a reverse osmosis filter. Best of both worlds from the tap, or chilled from the fridge.

It's the same story with hybrids, or worse.

The Paineful Truth wrote:

I'm installing a reverse osmosis filter.

How does that work?

I'm not sure I understand it all but here is Wiki's explanation. Here in Phoenix, it's become a very common household accessory to improve the taste, but it could probably be used in a lot of other locations for taste and other reasons. Sulfur isn't really a problem here, just other minerals. Screws up coffee, not to mention the tap water, which tastes thick.:

Quote :

Drinking water purification

In the United States, household drinking water purification systems, including a reverse osmosis step, are commonly used for improving water for drinking and cooking.

Such systems typically include four or five stages:

* a sediment filter to trap particles including rust and calcium carbonate
* optionally a second sediment filter with smaller pores
* an activated carbon filter to trap organic chemicals, and chlorine which will attack and degrade TFC reverse osmosis membranes
* a reverse osmosis (RO) filter which is a thin film composite membrane (TFM or TFC)
* optionally a second carbon filter to capture those chemicals not removed by the RO membrane.
* optionally an ultra-violet lamp is used for disinfection of any microbes that may escape filtering by the reverse osmosis membrane.

In some systems, the carbon pre-filter is omitted and cellulose triacetate membrane (CTA) is used. The CTA membrane is prone to rotting unless protected by the chlorinated water, while the TFC membrane is prone to breaking down under the influence of chlorine. In CTA systems, a carbon post-filter is needed to remove chlorine from the final product water.

Portable reverse osmosis (RO) water processors are sold for personal water purification in various locations. To work effectively, the water feeding to these units should best be under some pressure (40 psi or greater is the norm). Portable RO water processors can be used by people who live in rural areas without clean water, far away from the city's water pipes. Rural people filter river or ocean water themselves, as the device is easy to use (Saline water may need special membranes). Some travelers on long boating trips, fishing, island camping, or in countries where the local water supply is polluted or substandard, use RO water processors coupled with one or more UV sterilizers. RO systems are also now extensively used by marine aquarium enthusiasts. In the production of bottled mineral water, the water passes through a RO water processor to remove pollutants and microorganisms. In European countries, though, such processing of Natural Mineral Water (as defined by a European Directive) is not allowed under European law.(In practice, a fraction of the living bacteria can and do pass through RO membranes through minor imperfections, or bypass the membrane entirely through tiny leaks in surrounding seals. Thus, complete RO systems may include additional water treatment stages that use ultraviolet light or ozone to prevent microbiological contamination.)

In the water treatment industry there is a chart of types of contaminants, their sizes and which ones pass through the various types of membranes.[1] Membrane pore sizes can vary from 1 to 50,000 angstroms depending on filter type. "Particle filtration" removes particles of 10,000 angstroms or larger. Microfiltration removes particles of 500 angstroms or larger. "Ultrafiltration" removes particles of roughly 30 angstroms or larger. "Nanofiltration" removes particles of 10 angstroms or larger. Reverse osmosis is in the final category of membrane filtration, "Hyperfiltration," and removes particles larger than 1 angstrom.

On top of that, you can use a spray bottle of it on your car after washing to to keep off the spots.

I guess I'm pretty lucky. Our house is basically built over a fresh water spring. When they dug our well they hit a geyser at about 100 feet. The stuff was shooting up 15 feet into the air. Not only that but it's some of the cleanest water our local epa official has ever tested. We do need a sediment filter though because the water's full of iron.

Sounds like you hit an artesian well. Are there others around that you know of?

No it's probably just an underground stream. They're all over the place in the town where I live. We supply the water to half the towns in the area.