Did you know that enough money is wasted on bottled water in a year to permanently fix all of the major global water problems identified by the World Health Organization? This past summer, I spent a week in Durham, North Carolina researching the global water crisis. In a program called Summer Symposium, I worked with other students at the North Carolina School of Science and Math to identify and propose solutions for international water shortage issues.
As part of the Statistics group, I did many calculations about what small changes, if universally made, could seriously improve our freshwater resources. The craziest, why-didn’t-anybody-tell-me-this issue for me was that of bottled water. Why do we use bottled water? I had never asked before. Putting water into bottles, not to mention transporting them, uses water as an act in itself, from making plastic to cooling factories and trucks. Public pipes use none of that water. A friend did taste and toxin testing, comparing bottled water with tap water, and water from the tap beat most bottled brands in all areas. Actually, many brands of bottled water do not pass EPA standards for public tap water. They don’t have to, legally.
The concept is counterintuitive. Most Americans believe that bottled water means safer water, (I certainly did) but that is just not true. What comes out of your sink faucet is probably cleaner and tastier than Dasani, Deer Park, Evian, or Aquafina, but you will spend 1000x the price for a bottle and a label. As soon as I got home I began planning an awareness project. I decided to write and film a video for YouTube. It is short, less than sixty seconds long, but it addresses the complexities of bottled water safety and legislation. I filmed it by a local stream and in my bathroom, to illustrate the safety of different water sources. I made it humorously, so it would remain interesting. (In the video I shower fully clothed.) I’m going to keep talking about this issue, and so should you. And while I have your attention, drink tap water.
