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Apr 19 2010
Water is the Sleeping Giant Issue of the 21st Century and We All Need to Wake Up About It
- Author: Webmaster
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- Posted In Store Blog
By Ron Toppi, Grocery Manager Chico Natural Foods Co-op
Do we need bottled water? That is a questions I have had to ask myself. I personally drink filtered tap water. It is smart to filter, it is estimated that many "stomach viruses/flu" are water born. Bottled water is typically perceived as safe to drink, sometimes even "exotic" from ice caps or mineral springs. The truth is that most bottled waters come from the same sources as any water from our taps (many times straight from the tap!).
As our population is rising, lake and groundwater levels in many states are plummeting, farmers are squabbling with developers over a dwindling water supply because there's just not enough to irrigate all those rows of corn and condos. Some of the water we have left is contaminated by everything from Agribiz runoff to acid rain to antidepressants. No wonder people worry about whether their tap water is safe to drink and reach for bottled waters with labels that promise purity.
Let's take a look at the bottled water industry.
The bottle water industry is dominated by four large transnational corporations: Coca-Cola, Pepsico, Nestlé, and Danone. These "Big 4" giants in the industry have economies that are larger than some countries. When one of the Big 4 (smaller companies as well) establishes a plant in a community they take not only water from the regions aquifers or municipal water utilities, but often they receive massive subsidies and tax exemptions.
No one has the right to use America's aquifers as a goldmine. But that's exactly what these companies do. For example, Nestlé has done just that in the states of Michigan and Maine; in 2006, Nestlé sold $843 million worth of Maine's water under its Poland Springs label,(Royte, Author of "Bottlemania"). That's an awful lot of water and it does not leave enough to keep the citizens of Maine and their municipal water systems sufficiently hydrated. Nestlé's depleting their aquifer and damaging its ecosystem. In Michigan, they do not even pay for the water they pump out of the ground. This scenario's being repeated elsewhere in the country and the world as corporations seek to control more and more of our natural resources.
Here's a list of labels these companies own:
- Nestlé : Nestlé Pure Life, Acqua Panna, S. Pellegrino, Perrier, Vittel, Poland Springs, and Contrex.- Coco-Cola's bottled water's: DASANI, glacéau smartwater, glacéau fruitwater, glacéau vitaminwater, Spring!, Spring! Fluoride to Go- Pepsi: Aquafina, Ethos Water, Propel, SoBe Life Water- Danone's one American brand: EvianThese 4 and other Corporations, along with the World Trade Organization (WTO), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have established the World Water Council. This self-appointed council claims governance over the world's water resources. However, in many parts of the world people are fighting back. In India the people have successfully shut down Coca-Cola. In Bolivia, Eva Morales has taken back the waters rights from a transnational corporation, Suez, one of the biggest private watercorporations in the world. As many of you may know, Crystal Geyser was recently granted license to bottle water in Orland. With a majority council vote, Crystal Geyser will now be bottling and selling Orland's water. Here is a link to the Orland Plant Proposal; http://www.crystalgeyserorland.com/Crystal Geyser has deep roots in California, making it's home in Calistoga 31 years ago. They claim a desire for transparency, yet in years past have been hush about possible contamination of their sparkling waters and have had to shut down facilities. Here is a link to a recent article about Crystal Geysers contamination problems.
Now, what about all those non-biodegradable water bottles? Are they all recycled?
The Container Recycling Institute (CRI) estimates Americans buy more than 28 billion single serving bottles annually. Most people assume the vast majority of plastic bottles are recycled, but that is not the case, as the market for recycling plastic is not as well developed as the infrastructure for recycling glass or paper. CRI estimates more than 80% of plastic bottles end up in landfills or incinerators. Hundreds of millions of plastic bottles litter our roads, beaches, streams, and other waterways, according to CRI, and we taxpayers spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year for their disposal and cleanup. Getting rid of plastic bottles is no easy task. Incineration releases toxic gases and ashes and plastic is not biodegradable, so it will remain wherever it is dumped for 1,000 years. Also, many plastic bottles end up in the ocean. Over time, plastic bottles "photo-degrade" into tiny plastic pieces that no living being can digest, but are ingested by marine animals which mistake them for eggs. Sometimes they suffocate or starve because the plastic makes them feel so full that they don't eat anything. But that plastic moves up the food chain and we eat fish, so the toxins can eventually go into us.
So, as you can see this description of the global water situation does not look good for people, other living beings, or the environment. Global Corporations are claiming rights to water resources, taking it from indigenous peoples. The practice of bottling and selling water is draining water tables everywhere leading to catastrophic humane and ecological issues and plastic bottles are a huge waste problem!
So what do WE do?
For one thing, WE can stop selling and purchasing bottled water reducing the demand for it!
Here at Chico Natural Food Co-op we promote the use filter systems. We sell New Wave Enviro Products tap systems for shower and sink use ranging in price from $40.00 - 139.00. These systems are designed to filter bacteria and chemicals from your water. We also have filtered water available to our customers at a reasonable cost of 35 cents per gallon.
We also promote Re-use and Re-cycling of plastic containers. Be sure that all your plastic makes it to the re-cycling bin if you are not going to re-use it. We also offer Stainless Steel water bottles!-New Wave Enviro Products 5 gallon - $20.49, 3gallon - $17.49, 1gallon - $6.99
-Klean Kanteen stainless steel bottles range in price - $20-28.00
We would like to end the selling of bottled water at Chico Natural Foods Co-op. With your help WE can make a statement to bottling companies, "We do not need bottled water!"We are constantly examining our products, who the companies are, whether they are ethical fair market traders. You may notice products come and go in your Co-op. That is because we believe in product integrity and know that it is important to you. We work to maintain that integrity at every level of our product purchasing and marketing.
Feel free to always ask questions or give us information you may think we do not have.
Here is some more info and links about water:
· Of the 6 billion people on earth, 1.1 billion do not have access to safe, clean drinking water. (www.charitywater.org)
· The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency currently does not regulate 51 known water contaminants. (www.foodandwaterwatch.org)
· While the average American uses 150 gallons of water per day, those in developing countries cannot find five. (www.charitywater.org)
· The water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns. (www.water.org)
· According to the National Resources Defense Council, in a scientific study in which more than 1,000 bottles of 103 brands of water were tested, about one-third of the bottles contained synthetic organic chemicals, bacteria, and arsenic. (www.nrdc.org)
· Water is a $400 billion dollar global industry; the third largest behind electricity and oil. CBS News, FLOW.
· There are estimates that from five hundred thousand to seven million people get sick per year from drinking tap water. Erik Olson, Deputy Staff Director of Barbara Boxerüs Environmental and Public Works Committee (EPW), FLOW.
· Californiaüs water supply is running out - it has about 20 years of water left in the state. Maude Barlow, author of Blue Covenant and co-author of Blue Gold, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians, FLOW.
· There are over 116,000 human-made chemicals that are finding their way into public water supply systems. William Marks, author of Water Voices from Around the World, FLOW.
· In Bolivia nearly one out of every ten children will die before the age of five. Most of those deaths are related to illnesses that come from a lack of clean drinking water.
Jim Schultz, founder of the Democracy Center in Bolivia, FLOW.
· The cost per person per year for having 10 liters of safe drinking water every day is just $2 USD. Ashok Gadgil, Senior Staff Scientist in the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, FLOW
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