Improving, or stopping the dismantling of the environment has always been a topic that many people say is easier said than done. We create habits that heavily influence our environment (littering, not recycling, using excess amounts of plastic, etc.), but it’s very easy to ignore just how much we are affecting where we live. When someone purchases a water bottle at their local convenient store, they’re not thinking of the larger consequences of their actions. It’s easy to feel small when it comes to changing bad habits. I always ask myself, what can I possibly do to create positive change in the environment? It’s so much bigger than just me. But, what many say, is that if everyone asked themselves those questions, and instead came together to make effective change, then we can become collectively more knowledgable about how we change our environment for the better.
One major thing we can do to stop this epidemic is to begin to realize how bad bottled water is for our environment. As stated in the lesson, “the use of bottled water is a huge environmental problem. The production of bottled water often involves removing millions of gallons per week from natural watersheds, thus depleting local water supplies and harming ecosystems that depend on natural water flows. And the plastic bottles themselves are made from petroleum, another scarce resource, and most plastic water bottles (>85%) end up in landfills, where they can contaminate groundwater and soil with carcinogens.”
And not only is bottled water terrible for the environment, but it’s bad for our bodies as well. There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that bottled water can have detrimental effects on human health. One study found that many brands of bottled water were deficient of essential minerals such as magnesium, potassium and calcium (Mahajan et al, 2006). Another study found that 20% of the bottled water samples had concentrations of chlorine, fluoride, nitrate and other harmful compounds that exceeded the World Health Organisation guidelines (Cidu, Frau and Tore, 2011).
So what can we do to help intervene this massive problem? We have to realize that we can create change one person at a time. Instead of purchasing bottled water, carry an eco-friendly water bottle around with you instead, use a water filter at home instead of storing bottles in your pantry. You can educate yourself and others about how much plastic water bottles damage our environment, and can continue to spread awareness.
We as humans are very powerful in both positive and negative ways. We create carbon footprints wherever we go, and it’s very easy for us to ignore the larger implications of our actions. We need to improve our planet because as of now, it is the only one we have. Just as the “plastic straw movement” that has evolved within the last few months, maybe with enough influence, the “plastic water bottle movement” will be following in it’s path.
References:
Mahajan, RK, Walia, TPS, Lark, BS and Sumanjit 2006, ‘Analysis of physical and chemical parameters of bottled drinking water’, International Journal of Environmental Health Research, vol. 16, iss. 2, pp. 89-98.
Cidu, R, Frau, F and Tore, P 2011, ‘Drinking water quality: Comparing inorganic components in bottled water and Italian tap water’, Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, vol. 24, pp. 184-93.