In Praise of Tap Water – New York Times Editorial

As a follow up to the May 27, 2007 article in the NY Times on the subject of bottled water and to my related blog post, Wednesday’s  editorial reinforces  the ecological inappropriateness on this consumer good. Here is an excerpt:

In Praise of Tap Water:

On the streets of New York or Denver or San Mateo this summer, it seems the telltale cap of a water bottle is sticking out of every other satchel. Americans are increasingly thirsty for what is billed as the healthiest, and often most expensive, water on the grocery shelf. But this country has some of the best public water supplies in the world. Instead of consuming four billion gallons of water a year in individual-sized bottles, we need to start thinking about what all those bottles are doing to the planet’s health.

Here are the hard, dry facts: Yes, drinking water is a good thing, far better than buying soft drinks, or liquid candy, as nutritionists like to call it. And almost all municipal water in America is so good that nobody needs to import a single bottle from Italy or France or the Fiji Islands. Meanwhile, if you choose to get your recommended eight glasses a day from bottled water, you could spend up to $1,400 annually. The same amount of tap water would cost about 49 cents.

Click HERE for a link to the online article on NYTimes.com (free registration required).

Cheers to ordering iced water in restaurants and to packing your own when you head out the door.