Blog

This site is mainly focused on water issues, of course.  But anything that has to do with climate change and human civilization relates to water and how we will learn to survive as humans in a very changed physical environment.  Yale's School of Forestry has a blog that anyone interested in environment and climate should be subscribing to.  It's called Environment 360: Opinion, Analysis, Reporting and Debate.  The digest has a really important article in it this week that headlines:

We started this site simply because we woke up to the waste created by bottled water and its carbon and environmental impacts.  But it did not take long for us to realize how many other issues that water leads us to.  Not the least of which is the ongoing privatization of what have long been considerd public goods.  This is a concern that relatively few Americans seem to even think about.  Probably because of the over arching mythology that we all absorb about the power and value of private property - a myth perpetrated by the largest property holders, no doubt, for obvious reasons.  B

Here is a really interesting article, one I would simply not have expected to see in as mainstream a news source as US News.  Bottled water, though challenged somewhat by the recent push to "green" concerns, worries about health, energy and garbage overload, still manages to trump almost every objection with its convenience and seemingly low price.  The good news is that people are thinking about their behaviors, the discussions are cropping up everywhere, and as this article indicates, there are real problems with bottled water that more people need to know about.

A recent USA Today story headline: Feeling thrifty, the thirsty reach for tap, not bottle

With a day's worth of bottled water — the recommended 64 ounces — costing hundreds to thousands of dollars a year depending on the brand, more people are opting to drink water that comes straight from the sink.

I was happy to be sent this article by Michele Turk who writes for AOL's Walletpop (her article was spurred by the article I wrote on Turn to Tap about bottled water and youth sports).  Thanks Michele, your article asks the right questions.

by Michele Turk May 15th 2008 @ 6:00PM

Sigg is the victim of its own success.  We are not alone in our belief that Sigg is the best water bottle you can buy.  Sigg has shut down its online store and is no longer allowing online sales at least until supply is restored.

We are honoring their wishes and ending sales of Sigg water bottles online until further notice.  Send an email to me at editor@turntotap.com if you would like a list of places where you can buy Sigg bottles.  And as soon as we have more bottles to sell, we will let you know.

I am happy to recommend Tappening - it's a great site with an innovative smart approach to bottled water issues and an action plan that could really make a difference. Go to their site. Send a message in a bottle to the bottled water industry.
The money we, as a nation, waste on bottled water could insure every single uninsured child in America!
Join Tappening now to receive free information and updates about what we can do together for our planet.

It’s not just marketing that makes people drink bottled water. Yes, our behavior is influenced by marketing messages, but marketing does not make us do things we don’t want to do. People drink bottled water partly because they think it is “healthy” or “clean” or “pure” but clearly turn to tap!convenience and ubiquity is a major factor in the growth of bottled wat

water bottles smallI've been reading stories lately in a variety of "green" online venues that characterize Chicago's tax on bottled water as a "sin tax" similar to taxes of liquor and cigarettes.

Garry White is a British based investment advisor. I think his piece - reprinted below - is terrific. He sums up the issues around bottled water clearly and plainly, and comes to the conclusion that we all must stop drinking bottled water - right now!. It's hard for me to disagree. We need to spread these ideas far and wide. Hopefully this article will help Turn To Tap readers make your case wherever you go.

(source: Garry White Writes: inside the mind of a strategic investor)

http://www.fspinvest.co.uk/Free-E-Letters/Garry-Writes.html