Bottled water produces up to 1.5 million tons of plastic waste per year. (Photo: quinn.anya/Flickr)
Many of us in the Venice community are bombarded with “green”. And I don’t mean that of the smoking kind…which we are fortunate enough to have plenty as well. I am talking about “going green”. You know, becoming a more environmentally conscious So Cal Venetian. While many think it’s time consuming or costly to transform your lifestyle or home into a greener one you’d be surprised at how changing a few little things you do every day could drastically effect our world for the long term. Each week, this article will focus on one thing we all can put into practice to start living a more eco friendly life. Come on…it’s sexy…it’s cool…everyone’s doing it!! It’s one thing, every week to put into practice and here, you’ll find out why it’s important and how you are contributing to making a difference. The grass may be a little greener on the other side.
This week’s tip:
Photo: Courtesy of Reuseit.com
BUY A REUSABLE WATER BOTTLE! Yeah, yeah, yeah…you say you know how damaging one-time use water bottles are to the environment, yet YOU STILL BUY THEM!! Yeah…you! We are all guilty of this one, but come on people, we just buy it because it’s convenient and the packaging is pretty. There’s a simple alternative to bottled water: buy a stainless steel thermos, or BPA free plastic reusable bottle, and use it. There are tons of options and colors for you to choose from. Don’t like the way your local tap water tastes? Inexpensive carbon filters will turn most tap water sparkling fresh at a fraction of bottled water’s cost. How cool would it be to buy your own water bottle that you can take around every day…like your new sidekick?
Let me give you some facts so you can think before you drink. According to Reuseit.com…
- Americans will buy an estimated 25 billion single-serving, plastic water bottles this year. Eight out of 10 (22 billion) will end up in a landfill.
- 1.5 million barrels of oil is used annually to produce plastic water bottles for America alone – enough to fuel some 100,000 U.S. cars for a year.
- Imagine a water bottle filled a quarter of the way up with oil. That’s about how much oil was needed to produce the bottle.
- Like all plastic, these bottles will be with us forever since plastic does not biodegrade; rather, it breaks down into smaller and smaller toxic bits that contaminate our soil and waterways.
- Bottled water is big business. It’s labeled the “Blue Gold” of our time.
- Along with plastic bags, plastic bottles are one of the most prevalent sources of pollution found on our beaches. These bottles kill marine life because birds and fish mistake our trash for food.
For some reason, Americans have this obsession with water in a bottle, and in reality, many studies have shown that the quality of bottled water may be no better than that of your tap. So let’s stop this insane addiction of buying and throwing bottles away! Make a commitment to yourself to use less and refill more. It’s a simple thing we can all do to help.
Bottom’s up!
