BLOG IN YOUR FACE

I absolutely can’t stand bottled water. I think it is about as bad of an invention as sliced bread was a good invention. It is completely insane that Americans go through so much of Earth’s most natural resource in bottled form when that water is so readily available from the taps of our homes. The marketing campaign surrounding bottled water is absolutely genius. Companies have managed to take two molecules of hydrogen and one molecule of oxygen and add words like “pure,” “spring,” “natural” and so many others and dress up those simple molecules to make them appear worth more than a dollar for 20 ounces! My opinion is simply this: Bottled water sucks.

First of all, bottled water is regulated by the FDA, while tap water is regulated by the EPA. The FDA’s rules are quite a bit less strict than the EPA’s when it comes to inspection of water quality. Bottled water contains the same amount if not more micro-organisms and toxins than tap water just because of this simple fact. What kinds of chemicals have been found in bottled water? How about arsenic and several types of carcinogens (known cancer causing elements).

Also, from what I can see, a lot of bottled water is simply tap water in disguise. I saw conflicting figures in what I read, but if I had to estimate it looks like in upwards of 25% of all bottled water is simply tap water put through a very basic filtration system called ”reverse osmosis.” Basically a big Brittafilter. Look at Coca-Cola; they have admitted publicly that Dasani is exactly the same water that we take baths and dumps in (oh, and that comes out of our sink).

The problem with filtering water is also this: You lose so many valuable minerals that occur in it. Also, a lot of the fluoride that is in tap water isn’t in bottled water and that is incredibly important for our dental health.

And of course we can’t talk about the ridiculousness of bottled water without talking about the 2 million TONS of plastic bottles that end up in landfills every year. Those bottles aren’t going to bio-degrade for 1000 years and God forbid they ever get recycled. 

If it is the taste of tap or well water that bugs you, I can understand. Like Pabst Blue Ribbon, it is an acquired taste. But there so many products out there that can help make your tap water taste better. Other than taste, you have no excuse to drink bottled water! Yes, they have found some pretty interesting stuff in tap water lately, including birth control and other prescriptions but those are in such small quantities that I have no idea why in the world there is such a fuss being made about them. That spring water that you drink is probably run off from ammonia fertilized farms, dead Salmon and Grizzly Bear pee.

Finally, consider the cost bottled water as opposed to tap water:
Tap: $0.002 per Gallon
Bottled: $9.00 per gallon.

Thanks for reading. I gotta go. I just finished a 48 oz. Minnesota-Twins-glass full of ice cold tap water and now I need to pee and not flush it.