Tap vs. Bottled-What Should You Drink?
Glug, glug, glug!
Glug, glug, glug-- as we sip bottled water in our cars, at the gym or behind our desks.The sound you DON'T hear is the thwack of 60 million bottles a day being tossed into U.S. landfills, where they can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade.If that's not enough to turn your conscience a brighter shade of green, add this: Producing those bottles burns through 1.5 million barrels of crude oil annually--enough fuel to keep 100,000 cars running for a year.Recycling helps but reusing is even better. Invest in a couple of portable, dishwasher safe, stainless steel bottles that won't leach nasty chemicals into your water. (Avoid refilling the water bottle you just emptied; the polyethylene terephthalate it's made of breaks down over time.)3 Reasons to Turn on the Tap1. Tap water is tested dailyUnder the Safe Drinking Water Act, water suppliers are required to provide an annual report on the quality of your local water and to test tap water daily. By comparison, the FDA examines bottled water only weekly, and consumers can't get the agency's results.2. Tap water is a bargainBottled water costs about 500 times more than tap. If you're into really fancy labels, up to 1,000 times more.3. Tap water is often tastySome places (New York City for one) have delicious water, but if you don't love the flavor of yours, the solution is simple: Run your tap water through a Brita or Pur filter to remove most tastes and odors.The average home filter goes for $8.99 and produces the equivalent of 300 large (16.9 ounce) bottles of water. That's about $0.03 cents a bottle, versus the $1.25 or so you'd pay in a market.One last thing: Don't just think about making this switch; actually do it. Today. It does the world and you a lot of good. Plus, allowing nagging, unfinished tasks (known as NUTs) to go undone can make you years older!
Glug, glug, glug!
Glug, glug, glug-- as we sip bottled water in our cars, at the gym or behind our desks.The sound you DON'T hear is the thwack of 60 million bottles a day being tossed into U.S. landfills, where they can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade.If that's not enough to turn your conscience a brighter shade of green, add this: Producing those bottles burns through 1.5 million barrels of crude oil annually--enough fuel to keep 100,000 cars running for a year.Recycling helps but reusing is even better. Invest in a couple of portable, dishwasher safe, stainless steel bottles that won't leach nasty chemicals into your water. (Avoid refilling the water bottle you just emptied; the polyethylene terephthalate it's made of breaks down over time.)3 Reasons to Turn on the Tap1. Tap water is tested dailyUnder the Safe Drinking Water Act, water suppliers are required to provide an annual report on the quality of your local water and to test tap water daily. By comparison, the FDA examines bottled water only weekly, and consumers can't get the agency's results.2. Tap water is a bargainBottled water costs about 500 times more than tap. If you're into really fancy labels, up to 1,000 times more.3. Tap water is often tastySome places (New York City for one) have delicious water, but if you don't love the flavor of yours, the solution is simple: Run your tap water through a Brita or Pur filter to remove most tastes and odors.The average home filter goes for $8.99 and produces the equivalent of 300 large (16.9 ounce) bottles of water. That's about $0.03 cents a bottle, versus the $1.25 or so you'd pay in a market.One last thing: Don't just think about making this switch; actually do it. Today. It does the world and you a lot of good. Plus, allowing nagging, unfinished tasks (known as NUTs) to go undone can make you years older!
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