Water Isn’t Just Water Any More

It’s doubtful whether or not anyone today except possibly a senior citizen can remember a time when drinking water was something that you never had to give a second thought. You knew it was clean, knew it was pure, and there was no need for any sort of testing. The mountain springs were pure and untouched, and if by chance you happened upon one of them on a camping trip, you could scoop some of that sparkling water up in your hands and drink to your heart’s content without any fear of that water making you sick. Just try doing that today!

For many, many people, if it isn’t bottled water, it won’t pass through their lips. This happened fairly quickly if you stop and think about it. When we first started to noticed bottled water in movies and television programs, we laughed. Who in the world would pay money for something that everyone has in their homes for free? We’d read snippets in the tabloid newspapers about famous personalities who would only give their pets bottled water to drink, and shake our heads in disbelief. During this time, there were three, maybe four brands of bottled water tops. The selection was nowhere near as wide and varied as it is today.

This was a time pre 1976, which has been estimated as the time when people first started to drink bottled water instead of the tap water that flowed from their kitchens. Have you noticed that you don’t see water fountains in public buildings like you did in the mid 70s? Back then, they were a necessity, for people didn’t carry a bottle of water with them everywhere. Nowadays, a water fountain seems rather redundant. That’s not to say you don’t see them, but they are they “new”, bottled water kind of water cooler/fountain. The little cups are the same, still looking like pointy white dunce caps, but the water is certainly different than it was in the 70s.

Bottled water is everywhere you look, it seems. In offices, homes, restaurants, homes, and even on airplanes. The last time I flew, I watched as the flight attendant poured water into a cup from a 1 liter bottle of spring water. (The airlines are too cheap to give you your own bottle of water! Those smaller bottles called Aquapods would be perfect for this. Maybe I ought to write the airlines, because pouring into multiple cups from one bottle doesn’t seem sanitary to me.) You can tell that America has taken to bottled water like it was the only kind of water in existence. We consumed more than 9 billion gallons of bottled water last year in America. More money was spent on bottled water in this country last year than on movie tickets or iPods… fifteen billion dollars! The numbers speak for themselves.

Bottled water is better regulated than tap water, better protected than tap water, and safer than tap water. We have all given it our vote by willingly buying it, plain bottled water and flavored bottled water. If there were no more of this, no more plastic bottles filled with sparkling goodness, I wonder what the people of America would do?

Water isn’t just water any more. It has been describe as “liquid gold” and a “gold mine” by those who feel that bottled water is not very environmentally friendly, and are thinking about the amount of money that the companies who bottle and sell this water have made. These people also complain bitterly about the huge number of empty plastic bottles that our bottled water creates in the landfills. Yet, you never hear them complain about the plastic bottles that soft drinks come in! What’s the difference? They are both plastic! The plastic bottles for water are not the only disposable plastic item we use!

It’s been said that bottled water should be called a food phenomenon… the food phenomenon of our time. We each drink an estimated 28.3 gallons a year, more than beer, coffee, and even milk. Children are choosing to by bottled water out of the vending machines rather than sugary sodas. Bottled water is making us healthier as a nation.

Did you know that they are now finding prescription drugs in the municipal tap water supplies of more than 41 million people in the USA? Antidepressants, anti psychotics, heart medications, tranquilizers, antibiotics, sex hormones and more! To be sure, they are very, very small amounts, but scientists are concerned about the build up of these drugs in our bodies, and what the long term consequences of this build up could be.

These pills get into the water from people. They take the pills, and their bodies absorb some, but not all of it. The rest is passed into the toilet. This goes into what is called wastewater. Wastewater is treated before it is sent to rivers, lakes, or reservoirs, where municipal water typically comes from. Some of the water is cleansed once more before it runs out of our kitchen faucet, but these treatments can’t get rid of all of the drug residue. Our Federal government requires no testing for drugs in water, and there have been no safety limits set for any prescription drugs in water.

And people try to say that tap water is as safe as bottled water? Don’t you believe it! Bottled water is the best water you could put into your body!