Bottled Water Recoomendation

Seventy percent of the human body is comprised of water. This makes drinking water quality vital. The EPA estimates the average adult consumes 1.2 liters daily or 115 gallons of community (tap) water daily while the average consumption of bottled water per capita in the U.S. is in excess of 30.8 gallons per year and is expected to continue to increase according to the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) and the Beverage Marketing Association’s 2013 report. Bottled water costs anywhere from 240 to 10,000 times more per gallon than the average cost of tap, but people’s perception that bottled water is purer, safer or healthier is driven, in part, by strong bottled water marketing campaigns that focus on news reports about crises that involve municipal water supplies. (NRDC, “Bottled Water Pure Drink or Pure Hype”) The sources for both tap and bottled waters as well as additives to either enrich or neutralize contents of water determine the mineral and chemical composition of drinking water. Is bottled water really any purer or healthier than local tap water?

Billions of gallons of bottled water are consumed in the United States every year. Many Americans choose bottled water for its convenience and say that the taste is much better than tap water. They say tap water is flat and tasteless. Some argue that the cost of bottled water far exceeds the cost of tap water. One study showed that one bottled water per day would cost the consumer $365 per year while the same amount of tap water would cost ten cents. While bottled water is more expensive, it provides over 130,000 jobs resulting in over six billion dollars in salaries for american workers “Bottled Water Matters.” In the article, “ Bad To The Last Drop,” Tom Standage says that bottled water is too expensive and encourages people to stop buying bottled water and give the money to charity. In the article “ In Defense of Bottled Water,” Thomas J. Lauria says that eliminating bottled water would have the unintended consequence of driving people to choose more unhealthy beverages which have thicker plastic bottles and would be worse on the environment. He also says that bottled water is an important choice in situations where there is a lack of tap water or concern about water

In a qualitative study performed in the United Kingdom, “the majority of participants associated bottled water with having fewer impurities than tap water, and were more likely to trust the quality of bottled water than tap water” (Ward). Individuals with well water should also be attentive to the purity of their water supply, as it is not even held to regulation standard. Looking at the facts though, bottled water is regulated by Food and Drug Administration in equivalence to the Environmental Protection Agency who holds the public officials accountable for the standards of tap water (Hogan & Larsen). This is not to say, though, that there is not human error on both sides that can cause room for contamination of a drinking supply and jeopardize the safety of the

Gleick supports this argument and cites specific grounds that disprove bottled water companies’ false claims. For example oxygenated water is said to “strengthen your immune system…and even brain function” despite scientific testing done proving that a single breath of air contains more oxygen than the product itself (Gleick 118). Next, the author recalls someone who drank nothing but super-hydrating Penta Water, which cost over sixty dollars a case. This costly expense was proven to be futile, because scientific evidence proved that Penta did not have any health benefits superior to those of ordinary water (Gleick 129). Barnett incorporates a qualifier which states that it is difficult to conclude whether bottled or tap water is healthier. However, this does not take away from the fact that the EPA, which regulates municipal water, is more strict than the FDA is with regulation over bottled water. Bottled water companies claim they intensely purify their products despite this evidence. These seemingly astonishing claims mislead consumers who do not possess the knowledge nor the equipment necessary to test the water themselves. Consumers spend money to purchase products that turn out to have no outstanding health benefits. They may additionally put their health at risk by consuming bottled water which may contain pollutants detrimental to the human body.

According to The Water Project, “Bottles used to package water take over 1,000 years to bio-degrade and if incinerated, they produce toxic fumes. It is estimated that over 80% of all single-use water bottles used in the U.S. simply become ‘litter’” (“Bottled Water is Wasteful”). This fact is not the only reason I believe that bottled water does not outweigh its costs. Although statistics show that bottled water is efficient, there are many reasons to believe otherwise.

Michael Hiltzik’s first section of the article is especially important for individuals to know about. I agree 100% with his opinion on bottle water. There are many environmental dangers and unnecessary expenses for bottled water. Countless people don’t discard of their bottled waters in the recycling or trash bin. Eventually, these plastic dangers end up in the ocean and may put marine life in jeopardy.

First, all water is the same, it does the same job as any other water you get and put into your body. “People need to drink more water. The consumption of water, whether from the bottle or the tap, is a good thing and supports people’s pursuit of a healthy lifestyle.” says the Bottled Water Association. So whether or not the water comes from the tap or a process factory, it should not matter because in the end all water should be the same. It is silly that people think that bottled water shouldn’t be used. Bottled water is just the same as tap or any other water besides unprocessed, salt water, or dirty/contaminated water. It nourishes our body the same way and humans need to see that it all does the

Americans utilize a great deal of water, in fact, the average American uses 90 gallons a day (Henshaw). So it is not surprising America has one of the cleanest water reserves in the world (“Water Quality”). A surprising statistic, however, is one-third of the American population drinks bottled water on a regular basis when the majority has clean drinking water at home (Olsen). This might be due to the fact that the bottled water industry has promoted itself as a healthier and more portable alternative to tap water. However, the truth is startling as bottled water is only a misleading, expensive, and dangerous gimmick to bring in revenue for large companies.

Water is an essential part of daily living and having clean water in the United States is becoming a topic of discussion. According to World Health Organization, (2015) “six hundred- sixty six million people lack access to safe water, twice the population of the United States lives without access to safe water”. The question becomes is bottle water safer than tap water in the United States. The bottle water industry would strongly disagree indicating bottle water is regulated more than tap water.

When enjoying themselves in amusement parks and water parks, when people get thirsty they tend to grab the easiest thing at their disposal- bottled water, and many different brands to choose from. Likewise, during the night when people don’t want to make the full trek into the kitchen to grab some water, they just head to the sink and cup their hands to drink the tap water. It’s an easy decision at that moment, people just know that they’re thirsty and that they want the nearest source of water. Are these people really choosing the safest water for their health though? The battle between bottled water and tap water has since long been a debate, and many people don’t know what possible health implications could be from what they’re

Let's be honest, every single one of us in this room has used a plastic water bottle in our lives. However, they are not always the convenient and safe way to quencher thirst. Bottled water isn't as pure and clean as we think. In the 2009, the Government Accountability Office stated that tap water is more strictly regulated by the EPA, Environmental Protection Agency while bottled water is less regulated by the FDA, Food&Drug Administration. In fact, the EPA has the power to require water testing for tap while the FDA often cannot test the bottled. There have been many counts of finding arsenic in bottled water that can cause abdominal pain, heart disease, numbness and cancer. Tap water costs about one tenth of a cent for a gallon while

Because of federal regulations and certain laws bottled water has to reach these standards, but tap water does not. Many people will argue the assumption that bottled water isn’t better for you because of the small white particles that people have see when they freeze a bottle or leave it in high temperatures. On the other hand, this could be because of the way that it was handled and contamination by the handler (“It’s Your Health”). Bottled water is also healthier than tap water because of the nutrients that are put into it like fluoride and electrolytes (Azouley). Water itself is an essential nutrient for the body so the healthier the water you can get your hands on drink that

Bottled water can be carried by a person while they go for a run, or just go out for the day and want to stay hydrated. Public water fountains are left in unhygienic conditions. In a study on water fountains done by a college student from Penn State they were able to find “E-coli, legionella, and coliform are three types of bacteria found in water fountains.”(Peterson 5) This is why bottled water is a safe alternative that is attainable to everyone domestically and in developing countries is needed because they lack a source of clean drinking

Society continues to debate whether the benefits of bottled water outweigh the cons or vice versa. Many people are in favor of bottled water because of the convenience and availability. On the other hand, several people are opposed to bottled water because of the detrimental effects on the environment. In different facilities worldwide, organizations have performed several studies in both points of view to determine whether or not the benefits of bottled water outweigh the cons or vice versa. As a result of the various studies, the benefits of bottled water do not outweigh the cons.

Almost everywhere you go, you see someone holding a water bottle in their hands or have one by their sides to stay hydrated. If you ask any one of those people why they consider drinking water bottle instead of other water, they will tell you that it’s safer and purified. But they are wrong. Water bottles cause damages without them realizing it. That is why water filtration like distilled water is better than bottled water. Distilled water is not expensive, made out of phthalates, and does not contain BPA.