The great debate this week surrounds the business of Nestle, Evian, Poland Springs, Deer Park, among others... and the longtime debate regarding the sustainability and case for bottled water across the globe.
World Water Day, an iniatative that sprung from the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992 in Brazil, is observed internationally on March 22.
This year was no exception, and a video entitled The Story of Bottled Water debuted on YouTube on Monday to commemorate the day. (You can find the video in GCL's own article about water from this week.)
The animated piece declares bottled water companies scare consumers into buying their product with false claims that tap water is dirty and contaminated.
The film was met by mixed reviews, especially by the International Bottled Water Association. Jumping to defend the vast need for bottled water in places where clean drinking water is not easily accessible or affordable, the Association also pointed out that while it's true that 80% of plastic bottles end up in landfills or are burned in incinerators, they are also the nation's most recycled plastic container — boasting a ~31% recycling rate.
The IBWA quickly released their counter-argument, a minifilm that details the bottling companies' roles as "Good Stewards of the Environment." You can catch this video here.
The debate continued with a report from the United Nations published on Tuesday this week, pointing out that bottled water is not sustainable, since the production of bottled water for the U.S. market alone consumes 17 million barrels of oil a year.
So while the International Bottled Water Association continues to tout bottled water as an emergency and lifesaving necessity, consumers and communities question the practices of its production.
Green Chip Living covered the story of communities concerned with local bottling practices by Nestle. Citizens want a voice in how their local spring water is distributed, and they want the ecology of the area from which Nestle is taking water to bottle to be protected and preserved. You can read more about this public outcry and how Nestle plans to implement citizen concerns in their practices here.
And from water to land, a story about farm to fork programs in Baltimore school systems is as sensible as it is inspiring. As cafeterias struggle to serve up appetizing vegetables to students, Baltimore City School's director of food and nutrition has implemented a program to help schoolchildren understand the entire scope of the vegetable, not just what it looks like as it slides off a lunch tray into a garbage bin.
From the soil on a Baltimore county farm to the kitchen to their plates, the children are involved in every step of the process. And the benefits are without number, as children are eating better, learning the basics of nutrition and importance of organic lifestyle, learning about the geographical and cultural implications of the food they eat, and discovering the fun behind food preparation and expanding their taste buds' horizons.
Finally, GCL reported on the growing trend in American households: people are upgrading their older, energy-inefficient refrigerators and purchasing sleek Energy Star rated units... but then keeping the older models running as a back-up storage system for frozen foods and leftovers.
The total energy savings by the newer appliances is then undone, and this trend is actually costing consumers — and the planet — more than we're aware of.
Until next week,
Brigid
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