I asked Colin Beavan today of No Impact Man, if I could post his post. Graciously he said ” go straight ahead!” Thank you Colin not only for permission to share, but also for the amazing example you are.

A friend of mine said if you see a great idea – STEAL it – I say if you see a great idea  – SHARE it and be sure to give credit to the source!!

Makes no sense to rewrite, his guest post by Jenna Garland says it all and says it eloquently.

I think saying No to Bottle Water is an awesome cause.  I have many issues with bottle water – paying for it for one. (are you kidding?)

Environmental impact of course being another concern. Billions of bottles in landfills. Billions.I had no idea of the statistics stated below – wow. I knew misrepresentation – meaning some bottled waters are simply tap water in a bottle – but 40%?

I have always felt that purifying from the tap is the way to go. I had my personal concerns and initially didn’t want fluoride in my water, yet the more I learned the more I thought taking personal control was a choice I wanted to take. Not everyone can do that.

I never thought of lobbying for stronger or cleaner municipalities.

The other issue I have is the toxicity, phthalates in plastics in particular.  I cringe when I think about it.

All really good reasons to make some changes.

water flickr image credit

Take the pledge (but drink all the beer you want)!
Posted: 19 Nov 2007 02:00 AM CST

This is a guest post by Jenna Garland, who works with Corporate Accountability on their Think Outside the Bottle Campaign. Jenna wants us all to sign a pledge to stick with drinking tap water instead of bottled. Here, she tells us why:

The Think Outside the Bottle campaign is asking people to pledge to opt for tap water over bottled, and to support the efforts of local officials who are working for stronger public water systems. We are asking people to sign because:

• water is a human right and not a commodity to be bought and sold for profit;
• bottled water corporations are changing the very way we think about water and undermining people’s confidence in public water systems;
• up to 40% of bottled water in the US and Canada is sourced from municipal tap water;
• some bottlers have run over communities’ concerns and the environment when they extract water and build bottling plants to get local spring and ground water;
• bottled water travels many miles from the source, results in the burning of massive amounts of fossil fuels, and contributes to the billions of plastic bottles ending up in our landfills;
• worldwide there is a need for investments in public water systems to ensure equal access to water, a key ingredient for prosperity and health for all people; and
• solutions to ensuring water as a fundamental human right require people acting together and standing up for public water systems.
  

Last year in the US, 17 million barrels of oil were used to manufacture, fill, and transport bottled water. That’s enough to fuel 1 million cars for 1 year (in the US). This is a significant source of global warming pollution – furthermore, it’s becoming a have and have not issue.

As water resources shift with global climate change, water is going to become an even more precious resource than it is currently. Right now, we have more than 1.1 billion (with a b!) people who lack access to enough clean, safe water to meet their daily needs.

By 2025, that’s predicted to increase to more than 2/3 of the world’s population, without taking into account the effects of global climate change. We can’t let this become something that those who can pay for get access to, and those who can’t are left without options. Working for stronger public systems is essential to preventing all these things from happening.

To sign the pledge to stick with tap water and show corporations and public officials that you value it, click here.

K a r e n     H a n r a h a n
Wellness Educator/Nutritional Consultant
Mentoring YOU to Health Success
708.482.0678

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Member of BNI – West Suburban BNI: “Chapter Mentor”
Member of West Suburban Women Entrepreneurs www.wswe.org
WSWE Board Member and Programming Chair

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