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The same people who wreaked havoc in poor communities in Jamaica and around the world are at it again.
The Goethe University at Frankfurt conducted another study: they found that a high percentage of the bottled water contained in plastic containers was polluted with estrogenic chemicals.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a U.S. research and advocacy organization that acts as a watchdog on behalf of citizens. They report, "Unlike tap water, where consumers are provided with test results every year, the bottled water industry is not required to disclose results of contaminant testing it conducts." They felt the water bottle industry is not held to the same safety standards of tap water. Their tests revealed 10 brands that had pollutants, including not only disinfection byproducts, but also common urban wastewater pollutants like caffeine and pharmaceuticals (Tylenol); heavy metals and minerals including arsenic and radioactive isotopes; fertilizer residue (nitrate and ammonia); and a broad range of other, tentatively identified industrial chemicals used as solvents, plasticizers, viscosity decreasing agents, and propellants.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a U.S. non-profit, non-partisan international environmental advocacy group and in 1999 they tested 22% of brands and at least one sample of bottled drinking water contained chemical contaminants at levels above strict FDA health limits. What can we do to drink with confidence? Buy a good filter and use it!
With climate change, it seems that reports show droughts are our new reality. Mark Twain wrote, “Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over”. Water seems to be everywhere, but throughout history it's always been a precious resource.
The water source taken from the Colorado River is divided up for U.S. states, and they’re running at abnormally low water levels. The river feeds the upper states (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming) and then it delivers a certain amount of water to the Lower Basin (New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada). An early provision also allows California and its rapidly growing coastal cities to grab excess water coming off the Colorado River, but since Arizona and Nevada cities have expanded, the surplus has disappeared and California is left with no water.
If the Nestle’s Colorado bottled water operation doesn’t appear totally irrational, consider CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe strict ideas on water rights. It kind of all falls into place, his reasoning behind “water privatization”. Nestle knows first hand as they pine for water around the world that the golden source is getting precarious.
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, is the CEO and current Chairman of the $65 million Nestle Corporation. In a youtube video he describes that people's access to water as being a basic human right is "extreme". He also argues that the water supply ought to have a market value and be privatized, "because people have a sense of entitlement that causes them to waste copious amounts of water."
This would mean the price we pay today for our home tap would be small in comparison. Corporations like Nestle, Pepsi and Coca-cola are pining to buy up or lease land and water rights globally, some of us in the end could be obligated to their fees!
Brabeck-Letmathe is quoted in The Guardian saying that he would allow people a limited amount of water as a human right, and this would be, "five liters of water for daily hydration and 25 liters for minimum hygiene and he would charge for the remainder of the 98.5% of the water if used." What would happen to the poor who cannot afford to pay these said corporations? Should they suffer from starvation due to their lack of financial wealth?
There’s a good chance that fancy water you’ve just forked out a couple bucks for comes from the same place, a municipal water supply! Yes, there's an estimated 25% of bottled water that actually comes from the municipal water supply. Of course the water goes through a filtering process, like reverse osmosis, deionization, activated carbon filtration and other treatments.
Look at the label carefully, does it read "purified" or "drinking water"? If so, chances are it is from a municipal water supply, and unless the water has been “substantially” altered, it’s required to be stated on the label, that the water’s from a municipal source.
Here's a list of bottled waters which are from municipal sources: Pepsi's Aquafina, Coke’s Dasani, and now it looks like Nestle's Ice Mountain Natural Spring Water is up in the air with a class action lawsuit for a document revealing a 5 gal water bottle that was defined by Nestle as, "municipal water and/or well water" processed by Nestle's treatment plants and repackaged with images of pristine glacial lakes and mountains.
Water and water rights is an on going political issue for The Golden State. It holds 30 million people and there are over 5,680,000 acres of agricultural farmland. The question California rubs up against, is whether to increase the redistribution of water to agricultural and urban sectors, or increase conservation and preserve the natural ecosystems of the water sources.
The majority of California’s water supply (75%) comes from north of Sacramento, while 80% of the water feeds the southern 2/3rds of the state. We've mention that Nestle has a legal grip on a large portion of Sacramento water, and the city is battling it out after realizing in hindsight that they agreed to more than they should give. The farming industry is huge in California and 80-85% of all its water is being used for agricultural purposes.
The Los Angeles Aqueduct carries water from the Eastern Sierra Nevada down to Los Angeles. The drinking water quality has less chlorine and is noticeably "softer" nearer to its source. Although controversial, 30% of all public water providers in the state, fluoridate their water.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a U.S. non-profit, non-partisan international environmental advocacy group and in 1999 they tested 22% of brands and at least one sample of bottled drinking water contained chemical contaminants at levels above strict FDA health limits. What can we do to drink with confidence? Buy a good filter and use it!
With climate change, it seems that reports show droughts are our new reality. Mark Twain wrote, “Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over”. Water seems to be everywhere, but throughout history it's always been a precious resource.
The water source taken from the Colorado River is divided up for U.S. states, and they’re running at abnormally low water levels. The river feeds the upper states (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming) and then it delivers a certain amount of water to the Lower Basin (New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada). An early provision also allows California and its rapidly growing coastal cities to grab excess water coming off the Colorado River, but since Arizona and Nevada cities have expanded, the surplus has disappeared and California is left with no water.
If the Nestle’s Colorado bottled water operation doesn’t appear totally irrational, consider CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe strict ideas on water rights. It kind of all falls into place, his reasoning behind “water privatization”. Nestle knows first hand as they pine for water around the world that the golden source is getting precarious.
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, is the CEO and current Chairman of the $65 million Nestle Corporation. In a youtube video he describes that people's access to water as being a basic human right is "extreme". He also argues that the water supply ought to have a market value and be privatized, "because people have a sense of entitlement that causes them to waste copious amounts of water."
This would mean the price we pay today for our home tap would be small in comparison. Corporations like Nestle, Pepsi and Coca-cola are pining to buy up or lease land and water rights globally, some of us in the end could be obligated to their fees!
Brabeck-Letmathe is quoted in The Guardian saying that he would allow people a limited amount of water as a human right, and this would be, "five liters of water for daily hydration and 25 liters for minimum hygiene and he would charge for the remainder of the 98.5% of the water if used." What would happen to the poor who cannot afford to pay these said corporations? Should they suffer from starvation due to their lack of financial wealth?
There’s a good chance that fancy water you’ve just forked out a couple bucks for comes from the same place, a municipal water supply! Yes, there's an estimated 25% of bottled water that actually comes from the municipal water supply. Of course the water goes through a filtering process, like reverse osmosis, deionization, activated carbon filtration and other treatments.
Look at the label carefully, does it read "purified" or "drinking water"? If so, chances are it is from a municipal water supply, and unless the water has been “substantially” altered, it’s required to be stated on the label, that the water’s from a municipal source.
Here's a list of bottled waters which are from municipal sources: Pepsi's Aquafina, Coke’s Dasani, and now it looks like Nestle's Ice Mountain Natural Spring Water is up in the air with a class action lawsuit for a document revealing a 5 gal water bottle that was defined by Nestle as, "municipal water and/or well water" processed by Nestle's treatment plants and repackaged with images of pristine glacial lakes and mountains.
Water and water rights is an on going political issue for The Golden State. It holds 30 million people and there are over 5,680,000 acres of agricultural farmland. The question California rubs up against, is whether to increase the redistribution of water to agricultural and urban sectors, or increase conservation and preserve the natural ecosystems of the water sources.
The majority of California’s water supply (75%) comes from north of Sacramento, while 80% of the water feeds the southern 2/3rds of the state. We've mention that Nestle has a legal grip on a large portion of Sacramento water, and the city is battling it out after realizing in hindsight that they agreed to more than they should give. The farming industry is huge in California and 80-85% of all its water is being used for agricultural purposes.
The Los Angeles Aqueduct carries water from the Eastern Sierra Nevada down to Los Angeles. The drinking water quality has less chlorine and is noticeably "softer" nearer to its source. Although controversial, 30% of all public water providers in the state, fluoridate their water.
