Rethinking bottled water

I think I’m addicted to bottled water. I must drink at least two bottles every day.

 

I feel guilty, though, for several reasons.

 

While I recycle my empty bottles, I always wonder if some of that plastic ends up in a landfill anyway. A lot of empty water bottles do. According to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), only about 13 percent of water bottles are recycled. In 2005, two million tons of plastic water bottles ended up in landfills.

 

I also think I’m wasting money. A lot of bottled water comes from public water supplies, so I could fill a reusable cup with nearly-free tap water and save myself all the money I spend on bottled water. Yesterday, I bought a 16.9 ounce bottle of Aquafina (made by Pepsi) for $1.49. I could have bought the same size Pepsi for $1.39.

 

I’m not alone, though.

 

Depending on the source, Americans spent anywhere between $11 billion to $22 billion in 2006 drinking 9 billion gallons of bottled water, or slightly more than 29 gallons for every human in the country.

 

I’m also learning that bottled water is likely no cleaner or safer than tap water. In some cases, tap water may be safer.

 

The NRDC tested over 1,000 bottles of water and concluded that “there is no assurance that just because water comes out of a bottle it is any cleaner or safer than water from the tap. And in fact, an estimated 25 percent or more of bottled water is really just tap water in a bottle — sometimes further treated, sometimes not.”

 

Currently, bottled water is only regulated by the FDA. City systems must comply with a higher standard set by the EPA. 

 

Some bottled water companies, such as Aquafina, state that their water exceeds purity standards set by the U.S. government, and that their purification system removes Total Dissolved Solids such as chlorides, sulfates and phosphates. Dasani, made by Coca-Cola, has detailed analysis on its website showing the water’s safety and quality compared to FDA standards.

 

Apparently, not all manufacturers take such care. The NRDC notes that about 22 percent of the brands they tested contained chemical contaminants at levels above state health limits. If consumed over a long period of time, some of these contaminants could cause cancer or other health problems, particularly for those with weakened immune systems.

 

To learn where your bottled water originates, check the label. WebMD states that bottled water originating from a municipal water supply is required to disclose this on the label unless the bottler takes steps to further purify the water, which most do. In this case, the label will say “purified water” or “purified drinking water,” but the original source is probably tap water. Water labeled “spring water” comes from an underground water spring, often piped to the bottling plant.

In short, bottled water may or may not be any cleaner or purer than tap water. It’s literally 1,000 times more expensive. I think I’ll switch to tap water for awhile and see if I notice any difference.

 

And here’s a tip: the comedy team Penn and Teller has produced a low-budget expose of bottled water. It’s interesting, but be forewarned that Penn likes to color his commentary with 4-letter words.

Dying children teach us about living

Sometimes I read a news story that puts life’s trivial troubles into humble perspective.

 

Case in point: the recent story of 9-year-old Jayla Cooper, who doctors say will die within weeks of leukemia.  

 

Jayla’s dying wish was to have a wedding, and she did. She “married” her 7-year-old friend, Jose Griggs, who himself is battling a more curable form of leukemia. The ceremony, of course, is non-binding, with no paperwork, but 150 guests attended the event, likely one of the last of Jayla’s life. According to ABC News, the two met at a Halloween party while they were both being treated at the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas.

 

The ABC news story notes Jayla says she is ready to “see Jesus and go to heaven,” and she tells her brother that she’ll “come down from heaven one night and tickle your tummy.”

 

The same ABC News story also notes the story of 11-year-old Brenden Foster, who only had two weeks to live – and made a dying wish to feed some homeless people he saw on the way home from the hospital in Lynnwood, Washington. Before he succumbed to Leukemia, a local group touched by his request made 200 sandwiches and delivered them to the homeless. Brenden died last November.

 

I think about these children and feel for their parents. I also don’t worry so much now that I haven’t trimmed the bushes in front of the house, or about that “big project” at work, or that someone cut me off in traffic. Once again, I’ve been reminded about the fragility of life and to appreciate my incredible good fortune to worry about the silly things I do….

Help to find missing children

Few scenarios are more horrifying to a parent than to be told that your child is missing.

 

While dealing with a runaway is very difficult, and abductions by estranged family members must be scary, I can’t imagine a complete stranger abducting a young child.

 

Regardless of how they disappear, I cringe to think of young children separated from their families, such as the case of 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings, who disappeared in the middle of the night from her home in Satsuma, Florida several weeks ago.

 

In a separate case, police are still looking for 6-year-old Adji Desir, a developmentally-disabled boy who went outside to play at his grandmother’s home in Immokalee, Florida on January 11 – and just disappeared.

 

And I still follow a case that began four years ago: two boys, ages 12 and 13, walked off the grounds of their middle school in Jacksonville, Florida and have not been seen since. Mark Degner and Bryan Hayes vanished without a trace after walking off the campus of Paxon Middle School in 2005. The mother of one of the boys has speculated that the boys had planned to run away, but something went wrong. Nobody has seen or heard from either boy since that day.

 

More recently, 14-year-old Amber Leeanne DuBois left home in Escondido, California, around 7 a.m. for school  and hasn’t been heard from since. She went missing on Friday, February 13.

 

While it is unusual for a child to go missing, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children lists six steps parents should take now to be prepared. Collecting the data described below will help law enforcement search for and identify your child when he or she is recovered.

• Keep a complete written description of your child, including color of hair and eyes, height, weight, and date of birth. Also include identifiers such as eyeglasses or unique physical attributes.  

• Take color photographs of your child at least every six months, or more often if the child’s appearance changes. Candid photographs may be more representative of how your child looks than a posed shot.  

• Have your dentist prepare dental charts and prints for your child.  

• Know where your child’s medical records are located.  

• Arrange with your local law-enforcement agency to have your child fingerprinted.   

• Consider having a DNA sample taken from your child. There are many DNA collection kits available, but it is simple for you to collect a sample.

To get involved or report a sighting of a missing child, visit the website of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at http://www.missingkids.com.