Sustainability

When Sustainability Fails to Keep Up

There is a rather large amount of controversy that surrounds the idea of bottled water. Some of the facts attached to this dilemma are almost unfathomable. “Between 1976 –1998, three billion gallons of bottled water was consumed in America alone. Our generation is ten times more likely to drink bottled water than the generation which preceded us.” (Brode). There is no doubt of consumption increases, but is the increase a positive change on the environment and/ or humanity? Some argue that bottled water has led them to healthier lifestyle choices by providing the option of a serving of water rather than a juice or carbonated soft drink; which both contain high amounts of sugar.

Bottled water also allows for a tremendous amount of convenience in many cases. For instance, there are also places where water is not drinkable from the tap; making bottled water the only option. Along with the good, there is also substantial bad in this controversy:

“According to National Geographic, Americans drink more bottled water than any other nation. Americans purchase an impressive 29 billion bottles every year. The oil needed to produce the bottles is equivalent to that which is required to produce the amount of fuel needed to keep 1 million vehicles on the road for 12 months. The estimated amount of energy used to pump, process, transport and refrigerate bottled water is over 50 million barrels of oil annually. However, the most damaging problem is that the recycling rate for those 29 billion bottles of water is low; only about 13 percent end up being recycled” (Didier).

Approximately 200 million bottles end up in the landfills each day; that is just our country alone. Although water bottles may be a great choice for us as individuals for various reasons; our environment is reflecting the outcome of these choices. It’s almost unbelievable that something as simple as water bottles could make such a substantial difference....