The Downside of Bottled Water

1851 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on water resources management

Choosing to drink bottled water over soda or juice is widely known to be a great choice for your health. Water is a natural non-calorie drink with no sugar, sodium, or fat and many people prefer the taste and convenience of bottled water. But this choice of bottled water still damagingly impacts Earth in many ways. Municipal (tap) water should be the first choice for Americans when they want a drink of water, however, marketing schemes have convinced Americans that bottled water is the purer and more healthful option. Drinking bottled water instead of tap water is a poor choice because the environmental pollution and waste of resources accompanying production are unjustified when the end result is of equal or lesser quality to tap water.
As we needlessly increase our negative impact on the environment by consuming and producing bottled water our lives and activities will be impacted back in turn. Increased pollution from production and shipment will harm our lungs and increase the pace of climate change. Use of resources surrounding bottled water will take away our opportunity to use those resources in vital ways in the future. And all disposed bottles will add to the size of landfills, ruining arable land.
Municipal water is considered second to bottled water so the stereotype about the environmental health viability of municipal water needs to be removed. The existence of these stereotypes increases the revenue of the bottled water companies because consumers who have adequate municipal water will still purchase bottled water. This hurts consumers’ ability to use their money for other, more necessary purposes. This problem has occurred since municipal water achieved quality standards equal to bottled water with the advent of chl...

... middle of paper ...

...om http://www.allaboutwater.org/environment.html
Arnold, E. (2006). Earth policy institutes. Retrieved from http://www.bvsde.paho.org/bvsacd/cd47/bottled.pdf
Didier, S. (2011). Water bottle pollution facts. Retrieved from http://greenliving.nationalgeographic.com/water-bottle-pollution-2947.html Gayot. (2012). Gayot: the guide to the good life. Best ¬– Top 10 Bottled Water Brands.
Retrieved from http://www.gayot.com/lifestyle/health/top10-bottled-water/main.html
Natural Resources Defense Council. (2000). NRDC bottled water. Bottled Water:
Pure Drink or Pure Hype. Retrieved from http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/bwinx.asp
Natural resources defense council. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/qbw.asp Pacific institute. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.pacinst.org/topics/water_and_sustainability/bottled_water/bottled_water_and_energy.html

Show More
Related

  • The Curse Of Water Bottles Analysis

    184 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the first article "The Curse of Water Bottles" the author is obviously trying to convince people to stop wasting bottles and recycle. For example "There are solutions like using your own personal water bottle and refilling it" and that would save from buying water bottles, and reduce some of the waste. It also states "Some cities are fining homeowners and businesses for not recycling" so that means even cities are trying to get people to stop wasting water bottles. Companies and/or states have tried putting rewards on the bottles if you return them, as stated "Some states have tried to put a nickel return fee on water bottles like those on soda and other beverages" but it still doesn't work out for everyone, because "grocery

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Bottled Water Industry

    1715 Words  | 4 Pages

    Both Barnett’s claim that bottled water is not better than tap water (139-141) and Gleick’s claim that specialized water is not better than tap water (118-120) demonstrate that companies’ claims are unreasonable. Furthermore, consumers assume bottled water is better than tap water because they have the impression that tap water is dangerous because of the tap water incident in “2003 [where] 400,000 people [got] sick” from drinking tap water. One may wonder whether companies use this incident to remind consumers how dangerous tap water is with the way Gleick presents bottled water companies even after the tap water is taken care of. Because Gleick portrays the deception of advertisement from bottled water businesses, he makes it clear that Barnett hints that they are taking advantage of the case by informing consumers that their water is safer than tap water in an indirect, subtle way. However, Barnett ensures readers that tap water are safe to drink again after the incident by proving that both bottled water and tap water are equally safe to drink with a study she provides: The testing from Florida Trend (magazine brand) concludes that Publix brand bottled water and tap water both contains “0.020milligrams per liter [of] THMs (trihalomethanes)”, a “common byproduct…linked to increased risk of cancer” (139-140). Although other bottled water brands may not have

    Read More

  • Comparing Bottled Water and Tap Water

    1960 Words  | 4 Pages

    much more prevalent, as well as prominent in the arena of social and political debate.

    Read More

  • Bottled Water, the Reality

    1455 Words  | 3 Pages

    Waterway, W. (2008, October 2). The True Price of Fiji Water. Retrieved April 23, 2014, from http://www.alternet.org/story/101207/the_true_price_of_fiji_water

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Johnson Bottled Water Go Away

    1312 Words  | 3 Pages

    I am writing in response to your request that I analyze Johnson 's "Bottled water, go away" and make a recommendation for or against publication in The Shorthorn. I have analysed Johnson 's rhetorical appeals and determined that the contents of her article are very relevant to The Shorthorn readers. I recommend this article to be published in The Shorthorn because it discusses bottled water and relates that with environment and health. Johnson 's claim, reasons, evidence, ethos, logos, pathos, counterargument are very relevant for readers of The Shorthorn. Especially readers who prefer bottled water and are not serious about the recycling of those bottles are the target audience of this publication but it

    Read More

  • The Usage of Water Bottles Should Be Banned

    526 Words  | 2 Pages

    Moreover, the energy used in bottle production can supply energy to over 190,000 homes. The resources that can be conserved by ceasing the production of water bottles can solve many global problems faced by a growing population. The cost involved in water bottles is inconceivable to many. Bottled water costs 240 to 100,000 times more than tap water, which can be brought to your house for just pennies per day.

    Read More

  • Bottled Water Case Study

    1204 Words  | 3 Pages

    In short, the industry extremely focused on preventing and testing the presence of bacteria. Therefore, bottled water often represented “somewhat of a novelty or prestige product” in the United States, and it gave a perception to their consumers that they need to purchase bottled water in order to stay young and healthy. Because the bottled water industry seemed very attractive and profitable, as mentioned above, there were many competitors, too. Total nine bottled water producers were mentioned in the case study, but four key major rivals were Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestle, and Groupe Danone. However, there was no one buyer that accounts for a significant fraction of overall market demand. Distribution varied depending on the producer, but most distribution channels included food stores, supercenters, supermarkets, discount stores, and wholesale clubs. Because bottled water had an easy availability, consumers in the United States were able to find it anywhere the food was also

    Read More

  • Difference Between Bottled Water Vs Tap Water

    2641 Words  | 6 Pages

    In today’s society it is uncommon to see people walking around without water. Those who carry water with them either have their water in a reusable bottle or have bought bottled water. Bottled water is the more commonly found type of water carried around, reason being that it is easy to just buy a huge pack so that a person can just grab a bottle a go. The problem with bottled water is that more often than not, the bottle does not get recycled, but instead gets thrown into the garbage. The problem with this is that the bottles end up in a landfill. However, in this past year alone American’s used “about 50 billion plastic water bottles” (Ban The Bottle, n.d., Para. 4). Most people do not see the big difference between bottled water and tap

    Read More

  • Consumerism In The Story Of Bottled Water

    960 Words  | 2 Pages

    While watching “The Story of Bottled Water,” I thought to myself, “Is this all true, or is this really being blown out of proportion?” I simply couldn’t grasp the idea that we as consumers are that wasteful. So, I decided to watch the film again to really grasp the narrator’s message. Then it hit me: in high school AP History, we discussed how bottled water started and how it has become a multi billion-dollar company. From a business point of view, it seems so ignorantly deceptive, yet it was absolutely genius. With a little marketing, bottled water became a huge success. However, it is killing the environment and the water is usually comparable to tap water regardless. The “The Story of Bottled Water” is a very well-made short

    Read More

  • We Must Protect Our Environment

    1004 Words  | 3 Pages

    Clean water is needed for good human and animal health, but as DoSomething.org states, over 1 billion people worldwide don’t have a means of getting clean drinking water, an...

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Bottled Water

    634 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which oversees the bottled-water industry, Americans drink more than eight billiongallons of bottled water each year. Most of that water is packaged in plastic bottles.The EPA estimates that plastics such as those used to make water bottles make up nearly 13 percent of our trash. An industry watchdog group reports that it takes nearly eighteen million barrels of oil to make the amount of plastic needed to meet Americans'thirst for bottled water. That's about the same amount of oil that a million vehicles use in one year. Oil is a nonrenewable resource—once it's gone, it's gone. Worse yet, the vehicles used to move bottled water from place to place release harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Perhaps more alarming is that people recycle fewer than 20 percent of their empty bottles. Most emptybottles are tossed in the trash. From there, they end up in a landfill, where they cause further environmental damage.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Drinking Tap Water

    1515 Words  | 4 Pages

    When it comes to drinking water, most people immediately desire a crystal clear, ice cold bottle of water. What they might not know is that bottled water is dangerous; not only is it stored in a carcinogen-releasing container, but it has over 38 other chemicals and pollutants in it. Tap water, on the other hand, is straight from a source that is thoroughly regulated. Consumers should ban the bottle when it comes to drinking water and instead drink tap water. For one, drinking tap water decreases the astronomical amount of waste caused by bottled water. Not only that, but by American consumers purchasing bottled water, they are paying companies to waste money and valuable natural resources, while tap water and it's increased use is creating

    Read More

  • Nestle Water Case Study

    1386 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nestlé was accused of wasting 30% of water they pump; it’s shocking to know that for one liter of water to reach the shelf takes 80 plus liters of oil and 3 liter of water which is incredibly inefficient. In fact Nestlé intended to increase the amount of production of bottled water calling it the next hot commodity, which is not a good feeling when it comes to sustainability. As a corporation, they have the mentality that if they don’t bottle this water, some other company will. I would like to point out that Starbucks stopped bottling water in California during the time of drought. The issue is many other industries would be using the water for their operations but they actually need it and not creating a problem instead of solving one. Most of the water bottling companies make claims that they are only meeting consumer demand, but rationally thinking who would demand a less sustainable, less tasty and way more expensive than tap water. In 1970s the bottling water industry started, at that time people took it as a joke, but the marketing strategies were designed to scare people about the tap water and pictures of pristine springs and mountains were shown on the labels. Nestlé in one of its ads claimed- bottled water to

    Read More

  • Effects of Plastic Bottles On the Environment

    1327 Words  | 3 Pages

    Given all the negative effects that come from plastic, why are people still participating in this poisonous cycle? Some claim that bottled water simply tastes better than water from the tap whether they prefer spring, purified, distilled, or mineral water. Most people just appreciate the convenience bottled water offers; it’s easier to carry little bottles that one can throw away instead of larger reusable bottles that need to be brought home at the end of the day. Also, bottled water comes in big “value packs” in most stores, which is beneficial for large group events and big families.

    Read More

  • Tap Water Essay

    1450 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... middle of paper ... ... Therefore, consuming bottled water is equivalent to accelerating the global warming process. Indeed, walking to the kitchen and turning on the tap is much easier than driving to a store and carrying a case of bottled water home.

    Read More

More about The Downside of Bottled Water

Open Document