Whoever dreamed up bottled water was a genius. The ubiquitous plastic bottles are such a common purchase today that many consumers do not think twice before paying two-dollars for water that would cost them practically nothing from the tap. A recent study in New York City calculated that the recommended 8 glasses a day costs about $.49 a year from the tap. As much “designer” H2O purchased in plastic bottles equates to about $1,400 a year!
Clearly, bottled water is no friend to our savings accounts, but there are bigger costs too, as Sightline’s new book Seven Wonders for a Cool Planet, explains:
Bottled water is a notorious carbon culprit. Every day Americans go through 40 million bottles of water. The bottles are usually made from petroleum-based plastic, and the vaunted water often comes from a regular old public drinking supply. The bottles must be shipped, often over large distances.”
Using a ratio of food miles to calories, bottled water is an enormous waste.”
However, it’s not just about bottled water; the choices we make when we buy our food also have significant impacts upon our planet. From the amount of energy spent during transportation to the amount of energy spent on production, we all can make a difference and reduce the impact our food has on our planet by being an informed consumer and buying carefully.
If you’d like to read more about this, and other ways in which our daily choices about food and beverages affect our planet, our health, our climate, and our pocketbooks, and the many ways we can make little changes that help offset those impacts, check out Sightline’s new book, Seven Wonders for a Cool Planet—A handbook for designing sustainability into the very heart of our lives, communities, and economies.
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