With headlines about natural disasters and droughts the topic of water and how we use it, is big news.

We all know water saving techniques by now; don't run it while you brush, take shorter showers and use water saving toilets.  So, while we are looking at water, let's look at what we are doing with water and how we can further help the planet.

How we drink water is another story

Bottled water comes in plastic bottles and we use far too many!  The carbon footprint to recycle these bottles, though admirable, is still less than desirable. 

Here are Five Reasons not to drink bottled water from the Green Business Bureau that should shed some light on the subject. According to the GBB bottled water may be convenient but it is at no way eco-friendly. 

Ditch bottled water

1. Disposable plastic water bottles are not meant for multiple uses. Hence the word “disposable”. The #1 polyethylene terephthalate, or PET is fine for a single use, but reuse can lead to chemical leaching of toxins such as DEHA, a known carcinogen, and benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), a potential hormone disrupter.

2. Making plastic bottles to meet Americans’ demand for bottled water requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, which is enough to fuel some 100,000 cars for a year (NY Times).

3. Buying bottled water is expensive. To drink the recommended daily amount of water using bottled water can cost an average of $1,400 per year, and to drink the same amount from the tap costs around $0.49 for the year (NY Times).

4. Tap water is fine to drink. 90% of tap water in the U.S. meets or exceeds EPA standards for drinking water.

5. At least 40% of bottled water is tap water anyways. That’s right…you’re paying big bucks on water that you could have just gotten from your kitchen tap. 

Add stories about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and Plastic Beach in Hawaii and we have have even more reason to think about water in bottles! So, next time you reach for one--think: Is this really good? 

Learn more about Water

Learn more about Weather,  Natural Disasters or Strange Weather and Unusual Natural Occurances

Teach kids about water Activity