Wednesday - July 23, 2008

Greenies are annoying us because that’s what they do

If you are old enough, you might remember when soda and other things to drink came in glass bottles. Nice heavy duty ones. You drank the contents, cleaned them out, and brought them back to store. The store sent them back to the vendor or the local bottling plant, and they got filled again. That’s how recycling used to be. Then came the plastic bottle, which either went back to the deposit machine, or went into regular recycling. We were all told that this was an even better way of recycling, and used less energy than either recasting the glass bottles, or cleaning and sterilizing them. See, it was better to shred the plastic and remelt it to make lawn furniture then it was to spend all the money on moving, storing, and processing all that glass.

Well now the Greenies have changed their story. Now that everyone everywhere recycles the plastic. And the aluminum. And the newspaper. And the cardboard. And the steel ... Heck, “co-mingle” is a regular part of the lexicon these days.

There was a time when brands like Evian and Perrier conjured up images of purity and luxury. That was before bottlers everywhere got their feet wet, and drinking bottled water became a very easy and healthy way to stay hydrated and refreshed.

But now there is a growing backlash against bottled water.  Thanks to a growing green movement, phasing out water bottles — seen as the ultimate symbol of conspicuous consumption — has become the latest fad.

Sales of reusable eco-friendly bottles like Sigg or Voss Water have surged. Green-minded Web sites list locations of municipal water fill-up stations. And cities like Chicago have added an extra tax to bottled water to discourage its purchase.

Some critics of bottled water cite concerns over the environmental waste of discarded bottles; others point out that municipal water systems were delivering excellent water long before plastic became all the rage.
...
There’s no question that bottled water tastes good, and it’s good for you. The problem is that 8 out of 10 of those water bottles wind up in landfills instead of recycling bins, and it can take 700 years before they begin to decompose. And given how much water we drink, that’s a lot of bottles.

The key, says Lauria, is to recycle. ’’If you recycle, all guilt is erased, ‘’ he said. ‘’Recycling solves the problem. If it‘s recycled, it‘s ecologically safe.”

But Americans aren’t recycling enough, and that has become the rallying cry for groups who want to see bottles banned altogether.

Oh horseshit. Is there an office cafeteria that doesn’t have a recycling bin? Is there a neighborhood anywhere that doesn’t have the trucks come around once a week, or, failing that, is there a town that doesn’t have a recycling drop off center? Give me a friggin break. It’s everywhere. Everyone recycles, or at least has the opportunity to. Lots of towns even have the Garbage Police these days, with hefty fines if you get caught hiding the beer cans under the coffee grounds. But the greenies are pulling the old “8 out of 10” crap again, and the old “700 years” blither? Sorry, that requires a willing suspension of disbelief to accept. We’ve all gone green, or green enough. Shut the hell up, get back in your Prius and drive away annoyingly slow if there’s traffic behind you.

But concerns over the environment aren’t the only reason why there is a push to remove bottles. Some say bottled water erodes the demand for the municipal water supply.

Corporate Accountability International says bottled water is subject to less rigorous testing than city tap water, adding that the high cost of energy to make the bottles isn’t worth the cost of a product that may not be any better than local water.

It has launched a campaign called “Think Outside the Bottle’’ to promote, protect and ensure public funding for public water systems by getting people to choose tap water over bottled water. Supporters include actor Martin Sheen.

“I’m a big believer in bottled water,’’ said Don Robart, mayor of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, who did not support the resolution against bottled water at the mayors’ meeting in June. ‘’From a health standpoint alone, I think we should be encouraging it.”

Robart says it’s a ’’bunch of baloney’’ that bottled water erodes support for tap water. He also notes how important it is to have bottled water on hand in case of emergency.

Hmm ... maybe this is just manufactured “bottled” news? Is that better or worse than real news? Gak.

Oh, and here is some Hollywood smut. Very cold showers at the beach this summer

Posted by Drew458     on 07/23/2008 at 09:24 PM   
Filed Under: • Environment •  
• Comments (2) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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