[Dialogue] Emailing: US Mayors Agree to Phase Out Bottled Water - CommonDreams.org.htm

Wed Jun 25 16:38:32 EDT 2008

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Published on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 by Agence France Presse
<http://www.afp.com/english/home/>  

US Mayors Agree to Phase Out Bottled Water

The US Conference of Mayors on Monday passed a resolution calling for a
phasing out of bottled water by municipalities and promoting the importance
of public water supplies.
<http://www.commondreams.org/archive/wp-content/photos/0625_02_1_2.jpg> 0625
02 1 2

The vote comes amid increasing environmental concerns about the use of
bottled water because of its use of plastic and energy costs to transport
drinking supplies.

The mayors, meeting in Miami, approved a resolution proposed by San
Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom along with 17 other large-city mayors to
redirect taxpayer dollars from bottled water to other city services.

"Cities are sending the wrong message about the quality of public water when
we spend taxpayer dollars on water in disposable containers from a private
corporation," said Newsom.

"Our public water systems are among the best in the world and demand
significant and ongoing investment."

According to the activist group Think Outside the Bottle, more than 60
mayors in the United States have already canceled bottled water contracts.

"It's just plain common sense for cities to stop padding the bottled water
industry's bottom line at taxpayer expense," said Gigi Kellett, national
director of the Think Outside the Bottle campaign.

"This resolution will send the strong message that opting for tap over
bottled water is what's best for our environment, our pocketbooks and our
long-term, equitable access to our most essential resource."

The American Beverage Associations called the resolution "tainted with
hypocrisies and inaccuracies."

"While some mayors oppose the use of bottled water by city governments, most
mayors across America gladly welcome bottled water when disaster strikes,"
the industry group said in a statement.

"Our beverage companies continually come to the aid of communities ravaged
by floods, fires, hurricanes, other natural disasters and compromised
municipal water systems."

The group said plastic water bottles "are 100 percent recyclable, making
bottled water one of the few fully recyclable consumer goods."

C 2008 Agence France Presse

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11 Comments so far 

1.	

	Rich Griffin June 25th, 2008 12:03 pm 

	I got incredibly sick & almost died due to contaminated tap water -
how does one go about phasing out bottled water?? Do they mean from
government buildings?? I'm FOR bottled water.

2.	

	alfred e no-man June 25th, 2008 12:12 pm 

	it takes three quarts of water to bottle one quart. clean water is
not an unlimited natural resource. clean water should be a right for
everyone, and not for capitalist profit. check out Maude Barlow's writings;
also an interview here:
http://www.motherjones.com/news/qa/2005/01/maude_barlow.html

3.	

	ThomasMc June 25th, 2008 12:38 pm 

	Get a water filter, you can hook it right up to your tap. I use a
distiller, it makes a gallon at a time, is cheaper than buying it in gallon
jugs, I'm not wasting tons of plastic, and I KNOW there is nothing in there
but H20.

4.	

	Jeffrey Courion <http://www.powerofstory.com>  June 25th, 2008 12:46
pm 

	We live in a city where we don't necessarily believe what local
governmnet says about the quality of water. And even if the city water
supply is clean - what about all the pipes it must travel to reach the tap?
Filter at the end point.

	If you filter your drinking water at the tap (real, quality filters)
- issues of contamination are not an issue. Simply repeatedly re-fill
reusable containers you need to take.

	Bythe way, most of the bottled water sold is simply out of a tap.
It's all dollar motivated - B.S.

5.	

	Maine-ah June 25th, 2008 12:58 pm 

	Maine will be the next "Dry State" Nestle who own Poland Springs
sucks millions of gallons out of our aquifer daily with the latest the
Kennebunkport water district about to "give" them 250 thousand gallons a day
so they can waist fuel to ship it to who knows where!
I say the Mayors have to tax every drop coming out and tax every plastic
bottle sold in their towns.
Get a filter system and that $1.39 sport bottle will cost you 3cents!!!

6.	

	tecullinan June 25th, 2008 1:15 pm 

	Probably the best filter is a reverse osmosis device. It takes out
virtually everything. Also it is cheaper to run that a distiller. A real
distiller must use energy to vaporize the water to be condensed later.
Reverse osmosis uses that pressure in the water line.

	Bear in mind, this device uses more water than it supplies. The
water containing the contaminates is discharged.

7.	

	Surrender June 25th, 2008 1:23 pm 

	Hell, the bottled water is coming from a tap anyway.

8.	

	jpbreeze June 25th, 2008 2:26 pm 

	"While some mayors oppose the use of bottled water by city
governments, most mayors across America gladly welcome bottled water when
disaster strikes," the industry group said in a statement.

	"Our beverage companies continually come to the aid of communities
ravaged by floods, fires, hurricanes, other natural disasters and
compromised municipal water systems."

	We used to have the National Guard supply water trucks to disaster
stricken areas, and if those were in short supply, the Guard would
decontaminate rancid water with chemicals, and if that wasn't available,
people used to boil their water, but since 70% of Government services are
now being run by Private Corporations, what choice do we have?

9.	

	indijo <http://ts-variant.net>  June 25th, 2008 2:44 pm 

	This seems to me very suspicious. IMO, cutting off bottled water
could be disastrous in some localities. I agree with the first poster. Bad
tap water in old lead pipes in the slums of Holyoke, Mass made me so sick in
the mid 90s that I absolutely HAD TO USE BOTTLED WATER. 

	I understand the big filter-craze, but I think bottled water has its
practical, life-saving uses and we should not simply put an end to it.
Bottles should be redesigned so that they can be reused over and over again
and/or easily recycled.

	Check this idea out:

	http://ts-variant.net/blog/miscl/concept-101.html

10.	

	shortfreak116 June 25th, 2008 3:03 pm 

	I think phasing out bottled water is a GREAT idea. This gives cities
the incentive to improve drinking water in cities, and for the public to
demand cleaner water and efficient use of drinking water. How many ppl
actually recycle these bottles? Not enough. Soon there will be wars over
water, and we need to start seriously considering where and how we use our
water. I think bottled water and tanks should be used during a natural
disaster provided by the national gaurd/government. However, the average
person does not need bottled water. That's what water purifiers are for. See
a gross water fountain? Take action instead of being lazy and get that
fountain fixed!

11.	

	eine stimme June 25th, 2008 3:35 pm 

	It would be great if cities did improve drinking water and the
public demand clean water. However, the US is a hyper-capitalistic,
hyper-individualistic country where 'nanny government' is frowned upon and
private sector or DIY solutions encouraged.

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