The Issue
September 4, 2008 by Angela Logomasini, Ph.D.
Filed under Policy
Environmental activists claim that bottled water creates too much needless waste for landfills, uses too much energy to transport, and contributes to global warming. They say that tap water is essentially the same, but costs less and requires fewer resources to produce and transport. As this website documents, the anti-bottled water claims about the value of bottled water are not accurate, and the activist hype has created an almost religious crusade against bottled water. This crusade threatens consumer access as taxes and regulations are increasingly offered as the “solution.”
In June 2008, the nation’s mayors passed a resolution on bottled water resolving: “The US Conference of Mayors encourages cities to phase out, where feasible, government use of bottled water and promote the importance of municipal water.” The Conference has issued a similar resolution in 2007 as well. Just a decade ago, such a move would have been considered very odd, since bottled water had been growing in popularity as an environmentally preferred choice and as a healthy alternative to beverages containing calories. But starting in 2007, bottled water suddenly became the target of environmental activists and others who claim that it is wasteful. As a result, mayors around the nation began to look at the issue more closely, and some have taken action, as detailed in the sections on taxes, bans, and government waste.
