Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Bottled Water is Bad

Need some ammo to convince the hold-outs on the bottled water issue? Here's some nice sources:

The Sierra Club -- this page has some great facts and links to a brochure that you could print out (double sided of course) and post at the office or other offending location.

Lighter Footstep gives a nice succinct 5 reasons not to drink bottled water.

You can encourage your friends to take the Take Back the Tap Pledge.

Finally, lead by example. When it is your turn to be snack mom, don't bring bottled water. Bring a pitcher and some cups. When you have a party, do the same. Use a thermos or canteen to carry water. Drink from the water fountain.

This is a very frustrating issue for me because since I moved I feel like I have stepped back in time and everybody around me seems to be gleefully slurping from bottles and THROWING THEM IN THE TRASH (we have curbside recycling... what gives?) I try to lead by example and I don't want to be some sort of environmental pain in the neck, but I am strongly tempted to do an Earth Day Daisy Scout meeting dedicated to vanquishing the bottled water. My main fear is that I would offend the many well-meaning moms who brought bottled water for snack. What to do?

Trends in my Neighborhood

Here's what I see:

More people are using cloth bags at the grocery store. Not everybody, but a lot more people. I also notice that people often say that they forgot their bags if they are getting plastic. At least they have bags somewhere. Often it takes a while to get into the habit.

People love bottled water. I just don't get it. It's so wasteful, but it is the #1 most popular drink at my kids' elementary school. They have water fountains! It's killing me. The "green team" supposedly worked to green the school carnival, but they sold bottled water at the carnival.

Apparently, bottled water is a big source of income at these school events. Why can't they just sell paper cups of water or sell lemonade or.... ACH! just about anything else?!

On the topic of bottled water, will I come across as a nut if I tell my daughter that she is not allowed to drink bottled water? For example, she goes to a kickball game -- everybody's having bottled water, but I send her with a bottle of tap water from home. That's normal, right? And an after school meeting? All the other girl scouts drinking their bottled water and I'll just tell her to say, "no thanks. I have my own bottle."

It's funny how this seemed so bizarre, but when I write it out it seems bizarre even to worry about it. I'm suffering from bottled water peer pressure. Crazy.