We drink water every day, without thought, without wondering where it comes from or what a long journey it makes before it ends up in your hands. Water is considered to be free by most people.
I was shocked to learn the bottled water industry in the U.S. makes $50 billion each year, according to fiberwater.com, for something most people have access to for free. It’s a genius business plan that feeds on the American consumerism and our addiction to convenience.
The sad truth of the matter is, we are not paying monetarily alone. The seemingly harmless plastic bottle of water is damaging our planet and our health. How can the bottled water industry be responsible for climate change? A bottle of plastic does not seem too dangerous. But how about 200 billion plastic bottles each year?
Seventeen million gallons of gas are used every year to support this habit of ours, according to banthebottle.net. The chemicals in these bottles have been linked to cancer. Millions of these bottles end up in landfills and stay there forever.
What can you do? Don’t buy bottled water. Support the ban on sale of these bottles on campus; Harvard, Brown and Berkeley have all banned their sale. It’s our turn now.
Aneri Sakhpara
senior - biology
