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Archive for the ‘Bottled Water’ Category
Is Berkey Smarter than Jennifer Aniston’s Water? Definitely.
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012For the past several years, former Friends star Jennifer Aniston has been the celebrity spokesperson for Glaceau’s Smartwater brand. Perhaps because there aren’t that many, Jen and Glaceau are no longer making any attempt to sell bottled water on its merits.
Jennifer Aniston with Puppies, Dancing Babies, and Double Rainbows for Bottled Water
In their print ads, Jen is now topless and more than 10 million people have watched an online video where Jen trots out whatever Web experts say makes videos go viral, with no regard to what they are actually advertising.
Why? Because what they are advertising isn’t water and hasn’t been for a long time. Bottled water companies, including this one, are advertising hip, sexy, carefree, and healthy. Yep, Jennifer Aniston has that in spades. Clean, fresh, water comes with the last one, healthy, no matter the source.
Bottled Water Not So Smart
Smart people know that Jennifer Aniston didn’t get her fabulous complexion or shapely thighs out of a bottle of over-priced water. In fact, both probably got some help from Photoshop, but advertisers would like us to forget that.
Advertisers would also like us to forget that bottled water is thousands of times more expensive and less regulated than tap water, contributes to the pollution of the environment, and is likely to contain contaminants from the plastic bottles it’s sold in.
Berkey Water Filters Provide Smarter Water
The reality is that Smartwater is simply filtered municipal water. With a Berkey Filter system, you can have even smarter water at home.
Black Berkey Filters, the most power gravity filter elements currently available, set a new standard in water purification. The Black Berkey purification elements remove and reduce heavy metals, solvents and chlorine as well as 100% of pathogens when tested at 10,000 times the concentration required by standard test protocol. Berkey water filters do all this without removing the healthy minerals your body needs.
While bottled water can cost more than $8 a gallon, tap water filtered through a Berkey filter costs less than $0.02 for the first 6000 gallons and even less than that for replacement filters. Now that’s smart!
Find out more:
Coca-Cola and a Trashed Grand Canyon Bottled Water Ban
Monday, November 14th, 2011Zion National Park in Utah eliminated 60,000 plastic bottles in the first year of its bottled water ban. According to documents received by the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), it appears that, perhaps without actually asking, Coca-Cola may have scuttled a similar ban that could have had even more of an impact in the Grand Canyon.
Apparently, barely two weeks before a ban on sales of bottled water within the Grand Canyon National Park was to take effect at the end of 2010, word came down from National Park Service headquarters that the ban was to be delayed, indefinitely. “Coca-Cola, which distributes water under the Dasani brand and has donated more than $13 million to the parks, had registered its concerns about the bottle ban through the foundation, and … the project was being tabled,” reports the New York Times
This was after the park service had spent $300,000 to install filling stations for reusable bottles along the parks trails and launched a public education campaign to encourage their use. Why? According to the National Park Service “litter associated with disposable plastic water bottles is on the rise along trails and walkways and is one of the biggest contributors to trash below the rim.” Bottled water also uses much more fossil fuel energy and creates much more climate change pollution than refilling a reusable bottle and the park service has committed to saving energy and reducing its contribution to pollution.
“Why in the world would the Park Service Director swoop down at the last minute to veto a common-sense conservation measure that a park had spent significant taxpayer dollars to implement?” asked PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch in a statement. “It would be outrageous if corporate contributions are influencing national park management decisions,” continued Ruch whose concern is heightened by efforts within The Park Service to encourage even more funding for park programs from big corporations.
Both Jarvis and Coca Cola deny that the company asked Jarvis to step in a stop the bottle ban or that Coca Cola’s funding for the National Parks Foundation, a non-governmental charity organization, was contingent on selling water in the parks.
However, Coca-Cola does not support bottled water bans: “Banning anything is never the right answer,” spokeswoman Susan Stribling told the Times, and she characterized the bottle ban as limiting personal choice. “You’re not allowing people to decide what they want to eat and drink and consume,” she said.
Interestingly there was no opposition to the ban from the vendor of bottled water in the canyon. Xanterra Parks & Resorts, an operator of lodgings, gift shops and general merchandise stores at the Grand Canyon and many of the national parks in the west actually campaigned for it. “We would like to see the ban of all petroleum-derived plastic water bottles in national parks,” Vice President for Environmental Affairs Chris Lane said told the New York Times.
Mr. Lane also told the Times that once the company accounted for a loss of $50,000 in bottled water sales and an increase in $25,000 in reusable bottle sales, they definitely lost money on the bottled water ban in Zion, but Lane is still a believer. “Revenue or no revenue, something’s got to be done about bottled water,” Mr. Lane said.
California Sues Over Bottled Water Greenwashing
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011Under a new environmental marketing law, the state of California filed a lawsuit this week against two bottled water companies and a plastic bottle supplier for false environmental claims, something known as “greenwashing.” Bottled water companies Aquamantra and Balance Water and bottle supplier ENSO Plastics have been marketing their water bottles as “100 percent biodegradable and recyclable,” but California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris says they are neither.
“Plastic takes thousands of years to biodegrade and may never do so in a landfill,” explains Harris’s press release about the lawsuit. ”Californians are committed to recycling and protecting the environment, but these efforts are undermined by the false and misleading claims these companies make when they wrongly advertise their products as ‘biodegradable,’” charges Harris. The lawsuit aims to remove thousands of bottles of Aquamantra and Balance Water from store shelves immediately because of the potential for litter and for contamination problems for plastic recycling programs around the state.
Aquamantra Water Bottle
Plastic water bottles are not biodegradable
Mark Murray, executive director of Californians Against Waste explained to the Silicone Valley Mercury News why the attorney general is right that ENSO Plastics don’t really decompose the way natural materials do and, therefore, are not truly biodegradable. “We are not adding nutrients to the soil when these things break down,” Murray said. “We are simply breaking the plastic into smaller and smaller pieces so it can’t be seen.”
Plastic water bottles with biodegradable additives cause problems for plastic recycling programs
Microbial additives, such as those in ENSO Plastics, can wreck havoc on plastic recycling, which is why NAPCOR, the National Association of PET Container Resources, opposes their use completely.
“Even in small percentages, like one-tenth of one percent, these are just catastrophic for us,” Ed Byrne, CEO of Peninsula Packaging in Visalia told the Mercury News. ”They melt at different temperatures. They ruin our products.”
Balance Water Bottle
Plastic water bottles falsely advertised as biodegradable could cause more litter
If Aquamantra and Balance Water customers believe the advertising claims made by the companies, they may think that the bottles will break down in the environment. But these are not banana peels or corncobs, natural materials that are truly biodegradable. Plastic litter is a significant threat to marine animals and the environment and these bottles, if disposed of improperly, could make those problems worse.
If plastic isn’t a good choice, what’s the eco-conscious water drinker to do?
The truly eco-friendly way to ensure pure water on the go is to filter your own. We recommend a Berkey water filter and then carrying it in your own BPA free reusable bottle. We’ve recently discussed how consumers of commercial bottled water have no assurance that they are getting the purity they are paying for anyway.
Greenwashing by companies is just one more reason to avoid buying bottled water. Check out our post on choosing the right Berkey water filter for you.
Buying Bottled Water - Do You Know What You’re Getting?
Thursday, October 27th, 2011When reaching out for a bottle of water in a supermarket you expect to get a safe, high value drink that replenishes your bodily fluids and supplies the organism with valuable minerals. But is this always the case? The truth may surprise you.
Nowadays, consumers have become more and more aware of their rights and have requested manufacturers to provide information that enable them to make good choices. Surprisingly, the bottled water industry finds this already established trend difficult to accept and follow.
As bottled water can cost up to 1,900 times more than tap water, is it too much too expect to be well-informed on the product? What is the water’s origin? Has it been purified? If so, what techniques have been used in this process? Has it been tested for quality? Have the tests found any contaminants? In many cases this basic information is difficult to find on the label or on the producer’s website.
EWG’s Bottled Water Study
Environmental Working Group (EWG) carries out an annual survey on the level of transparency of information among the bottled water brands in the United States. In 2011 the group has reviewed 173 bottled water products and compared the results with those from the previous year.
It has turned out, that nine of the best-selling brands, including Pepsi, Coca-Cola and Nestle, do not answer at least one of the above questions. The survey results have revealed that 18% of the products do not provide the location of water source, 32% of brands do not disclose any information on the treatment or quality of water, and 13% of product are supported by ‘water quality reports’ that lack actual testing results.
Comparing the results with previous year findings, very slow progress was noticed. Over 50% of the surveyed brands did not improve, or even worse, included less information than in 2010. Only 39 brands scored better in information transparency in 2011 versus 2010. Even the best scored brads were not faultless. Believe it or not, some of them provided out dated water tests from 2008!
Bottled Water Vs Tap Water
It may be a surprise, but most companies producing bottled water source it from municipal tap (Food and Water Watch data). Moreover, the plastic material used for making bottles may incorporate chemical substances like BPA (Bisphenol A) that can leach into drinking water.
According to federal regulations bottled water is not much safer than tap water, as the chemical pollution standards are almost the same. As so many bottled water producers keep information on water quality to themselves, it is possible that most of the time you are paying for bottled tap water without even knowing it.
In addition to water quality arguments, there are serious environmental reasons for giving up bottled water. Between 2004 and 2009 the consumption of bottled water in the United States increased by 24%. It is estimated that every 27 hours U.S. citizens drink enough bottled water to circle the equator with empty bottles and each year more than 4 million of plastic containers go to the landfill nationwide. These are not good statistics!
Producing bottled water also has a high carbon footprint price – it takes 20,000 times more energy to produce bottled water than the same amount of tap water. In the United States, the production and transportation of bottled water is responsible for the level of CO2 emission comparable to that produced by two million cars.
Drink Filtered Tap Water
What are EWG’s recommendations then? Their main call is: Drink Filtered Tap Water.
A good quality domestic filter system lasts over 10 years. It can save you money and allow you to do your part in contributing to a cleaner environment. There is a wide variety of water filter systems that can be used indoors, outdoors or even during travelling. Good quality systems successfully remove bacteria, chlorine, organic solvents, VOCs, lead, mercury, nitrates and nitrites as well as other harmful substances. We believe the berkey water filter provides the highest quality filtration for the lowest initial and ongoing maintenance costs. There is also a different berkey water filter model available to accommodate every family size. Here’s a comparison of berkey and other top consumer water filters on the market. Regardless of what model or supplier you choose, they should provide you with detailed system specifications and ongoing maintenance costs estimates, so you will know exactly what you will be paying for.
The Story of Bottled Water - Reduce Your Consumption
Wednesday, April 13th, 2011The Story of Stuff project is created by Annie Leonard who has partnered with a wide range of activist organizations to address the state of consumerism today. Her focus and intent is to educate individuals on how to move closer to a more sustainable way of life, and in our view, she’s on the right track.
One of this recent series films focuses on bottled water (shown below). In just 6 minutes, it quickly runs through the many downsides to bottled water use. Some of these include the substantial environmental impacts, the contaminants in bottled water, the high out of pocket costs, and the stark reality of where bottled water often comes from.
Last year when we covered the documentary “Tapped”, we were very excited to share a film with our site visitors that we thought was long overdue in exposing the bottled water industry. If you find the Story of Bottled water clip below interesting and would like to learn more, we highly recommend seeing this documentary. It’s only an hour long, but will open your eyes and most likely change your attitude towards bottled water completely.
We believe a berkey water filter is a great way to reduce your use of bottled water, and save money while doing so. If you’ve got any questions about our water filter systems, please check out our Berkey Help section of the site, or contacts us here.
Andy Rooney of 60 Minutes on Bottled Water
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010This 3 minute Andy Rooney commentary on bottled water is 3 years old, but is even more relevant today then in was at that time. Two things that grabbed our attention are:
- Beechnut water with added fluoride: The warning on the back of this bottle states that “If you are giving your baby a fluoride supplement, do not use water with fluoride without consulting your doctor”. This is blurred out of the segment and the ADA recommends no child under the age of 12 months should be exposed to fluoride.
- Yorktown Environment Services, Al Podovani states “The water that you get our of a municipal supply or a well supply has more chemicals that your body needs.” To clarify, we believe Mr. Padovani was alluding to minerals that your body needs and not chemicals like chlorine, fluoride, disinfection by-products, etc.
New Documentary “Tapped” Exposes The Bottled Water Industry
Monday, April 19th, 2010This weekend, I was fortunate enough to be able to catch the newly released DVD documentary “Tapped“. At only 1 hour and 7 minutes, this hard hitting, must-see film, exposes the true interests of the bottled water industry and the dire health risks we are all now facing.
If you have any doubt about the damage this industry causes to local water sources, the greater environment, local communities, and your own health, then you should take the time to watch this film. The producers did a fine job pulling together bottled water industry reps, EPA employees, environmentalists, scientists, and everyday citizens like you and I, putting into perspective the unquenchable profit motives of the corporate water bottling giants and their lack of desire to give back and make whole what they’ve helped destroy.
“Tapped” also does a great job at showing the lack of regulation that the bottled water enjoys. It’s easy for many of us to be unhappy with our local water municipality for the quality of water, however water bottlers essentially get a free pass and do not undergo any routine or monitored water sampling by any government agency. The producers take it upon themselves to have the bottled water tested, and the contaminants and chemicals found in the bottled water are downright scary.
Finally, the film spends a good amount of time examining the bottle containers themselves, including the dangers they pose to human health from endocrine disrupting chemicals such as Bispenol-A (BPA). What’s truly eye-opening and nightmarish is the speed at which havoc is being wreaked on our land and oceans from these plastic bottles. “Tapped” will make you think twice about ever purchasing bottled water again, and it’s of those films you’ll be recommending to friends and family members to make them aware of the accelerating severity of this problem. Please watch the trailer below.
Contaminants in our Bottled Water? - The Video
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008For those of you still interested in this story, ABC news picked it up. Check it out.
Contaminants in our “Pure Mtn Spring” Bottled Water? - Part 2
Friday, October 17th, 2008Well it’s time for me to touch on some of the other findings from the Environmental Working Group’s study on 10 major brands of bottled water. See part 1 of bottled water contaminants here. Being released just this week, I’m hoping we’ll see some major news organizations follow-up on these disturbing results.
Altogether, the test found 38 different type of contaminants with a average of 8 in each bottle of water. 4 of the 10 bottles also were contaminated with bacteria. Ugh! So, what sorts of contaminants are we talking about here? How about disinfection byproducts or waste water pollutants like caffeine and Tylenol. There’s also your standard array of heavy metals including arsenic, radioactive isotopes, and fertilize residue (nitrate and ammonia). Also found were what the study termed “tentatively identified” industrial chemicals such as solvents, plasticizers, viscosity decreasing agents, and propellants. I wonder where that’s coming from?
This is not the first time a study has highlighted some of these contaminants found in our bottled water. What’s truly fascinating is that the marketing department would lead you to believe that you’re getting water from a spring in the Rockie’s or the Catskills…a pristine source undisturbed by the byproducts of our human development. Most of us are not naive enough to believe this hype though; especially since the fine print usually gives it away. That is, if there is a fine print. According to a EWG survey of 228 brands of bottled water, less than half state their source or detail any information regarding treatment. Transparency is a usually a good thing for the consumer, and if we take our health seriously, this sort of information should be a bare minimum requirement for the bottled water industry.
So, where are the controls? Where are the regulations? Why am I paying all this money for bottled water that is similar to tap water, or actually is tap water? Why am I not addressing the fact that using tap water as a reference point for bottled water is troubling in itself? We’ll definitely get into that in the future, but here’s an EWG stat for you: Of the 36 million bottles of water sold in 2006, only a fifth were recycled. That’s alot of bottles ending up in the dumpsters or potentially polluting the very water sources we rely on. It should make us all give the subject of bottled water a little more serious thought.
The Thristy Berkey
Contaminants in our “Pure Mtn Spring” Bottled Water?
Wednesday, October 15th, 2008While doing some research for my blog today, I come across an AP release stating that tests on 10 leading brands of bottle water turned up many of the same contaminants shown in everyday tap water. It turns out that a rather intensive investigation by the Environmental Working Group revealed that not only was this water in many cases no purer than tap water, but that in some instances it had more contaminants. This obviously caught my attention and I decided to turn this article into a two part series so that readers fully understand the basics of these findings.
As many of you may or may not be aware, the bottled water industry is not regulated by the government or any official body. Rather, this industry simply states that its own regulatory standards and thresholds are stricter than that of tap water safety standards. While that may sound semi-convincing, a curiosity is arisen when one discovers that the industry will not disclose the results of its own testing. With that said, let’s jump right into what the Environmental Working Group discovered.
Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation
For one type of bottled water that was tested at the U. of Missouri, the results were less than satisfactory. Apparently, when this water was combined with breast cancer cells it resulted in a 78% growth proliferation in just 4 days when compared to a control. The exact figures at day 4 were 32,000 cancer cells for the bottled water and 18,000 for the control. While, I’d like to see additional testing done to substantiate this sort of data, the thought that this water stimulated a faster cancer cell growth rate is not a pleasing one. But, here’s the kicker… When the scientists added an estrogen blocking chemical into the mix, the effect was inhibited, inferring that the chemicals found in this water were akin to estrogen, a hormone which has been linked to cancer. The study claims that other industry chemicals known to be cancer spurring are relatively worse, but makes the point that individuals typically consume many bottles of water and in essence could be fueling this sort of activity bottle by bottle. Unfortunately due to the type of lab tests that were performed, EWG and we, the consumers, do not know which bottled water product this was. They’ll be more to come on this, I’m sure.
Walmart(Sam’s Choice) and Giant Brand Waters(Acadia)
Right off the bat, the study reveals that these two products have the same chemical signature of municipal water. Actually, the Sam’s Choice water source was Las Vegas tap according to the Walmart officials. There’s something rather funny(insert your own appropriate adjective here) about living in Las Vegas and spending $5 for a case of bottled water that also happens to come out of every faucet in town. I can live with that though because bottled water provides me with convenience, right? Well, then I learned that Sam’s Choice Water was found to also possess levels of trihalomethanes that exceed California state law. Trihalomethanes are disinfection byproducts that are linked to cancer and reproductive problems. That doesn’t sound too appealing, so maybe I’ll bring a travel water filter with me next time I go to Vegas. But wait, there’s more. Lab tests also found a cancer causing chemical called bromodichloromethane that again surpassed California safety standards. Ok, I think it’s time Walmart revisits their supplier. It seems that as a result of these findings, EWG is filing suit against Walmart to enforce warning messages posted on Sam’s Choice bottles sold in California.
Acadia also possessed these same cancer causing chemicals exceeding California safety standard levels. Fortunately, this brand is only sold in some Mid-Atlantic States so Californians and their safety board can breathe a sigh of relief. Hmm…, I wonder if our states safety standards are more appropriate than California’s or simply slower to catch on to the risks that these chemicals may pose to our health? The government’s usually never late to the public health safety party, so I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about. One thing’s for sure, the bottled water industry’s standards may actually not be stricter than FDA standards as they claim. Or, maybe they’re just slow in policing themselves. Looking forward to posting part two of this series.
The Thirsty Berkey
