Thursday, July 31, 2008

Thursday theme: Water

Bottled water everywhere. There seems something very wrong with these pictures, especially as they were taken in the local natural foods store.



Shouldn't we be reducing our use of plastics? And why so many brands of, well, water??



Shouldn't we be hip and happening, using these groovy contraptions??? Or maybe a boring old thermos?? We could use what is coming straight out of our own personal water sources: our taps.



These were on the "Reduced" table; does their shape mean they are damaged, or are they meant to look like that?? They contain water from Wales. How much did it take, in all senses, to get it here in the U.S. southeast to put it out for sale for a reduced price??



An outdoor cats' water bowl, refreshed every day:



The cats drink from it all the time . . .

27 comments:

mouse (aka kimy) said...

excellent! of course, I have many of the same thoughts!

it is crazy to think about all the resources that are being used to bottle water - and these boutique waters that come from far away, there seems to be something very, very wrong with that!

lovely water bowl for the kitties!

Linda said...

There is a book just out on how we came to start drinking bottled water. Looks interesting.

Anonymous said...

I almost did the same theme--bottled water, but your post is spectacular! I love the damaged bottles pic too!

I agree with your thoughts on this--Lettuce and I have simply been refilling our bottles from taps here and there. (great well water in some areas) truly ridiculous to buy it! and the plastics! grrr

Pecos Blue said...

Glad you are back. Hope all is well. We buy Kleen Kanteen bottles and they are great. Take care.

Anonymous said...

Bottled water ws quite the marketing coup! I occassionally buy a bottle if I'm out and need soemthing to drink, but I keep them and keep refiling them at the tap. Most of it is just municipal water anyway.

herhimnbryn said...

Tap water for me everytime.

Shammickite said...

Plastic water bottles seemed to happen so suddenly... everyone had to have them and I had never seen them before. It was a fad that everyone went crazy for. So what's wrong with the water that comes out of the tap... well, nothing as far as I can see.

DineometerDeb said...

I often wonder what we did in the olden days, when water wasn't sold in bottles in gas stations, when we wanted a drink of water while out and about. Didn't we usually beg the attendant for a glass of water?

R.L. Bourges said...

I go with the word "excellent", too. Plastic bottles for water are SO absurd it defies logic even to think about it. Plus, left out in the sun, after a little while the water ain't quite what it was...

Love the trough. gorgeous.

Anonymous said...

Many bottled water have hundreds time more bacterias than our municipal water! So, why to buy?
But when I am in the foreign countries, I drink only bottled water just in case :)

Have a happy weekend!

Coffee Messiah said...

Great shots and information.

In the 2nd shot, 3rd from left. That company, David Rio Chai etc, named the Metro Mint H2O after our store, but did not come out until after we closed.

We sold more of their Green Tea Chai than most business's at the time. ; )

Anyway.....you are right, for conservations sake, not much by any of these companies are helping matters. ; (

Reya Mellicker said...

Love the battered "seconds" bottles. lol.

Hey maybe you can drink tap water where you live, but here in Washington DC, the drinking water is so full of toxins and lead that the city distributed Brita filters and pitchers to every household a couple of years ago. That's a very clear message, eh? Our tap water literally stinks. It's like living in Mexico, or India. I filter the water my dog drinks.

Water water everywhere, but not a drop that's potable. Such a shame.

tut-tut said...

Reya: A VERY valid point indeed. I should have included more thoughts on alternatives . . .

angela said...

Oh excellent post...I'm from Wales and when I'm there I drink, guess what....tap water!

Betty Carlson said...

I so agree! And also people could just drink more water period rather than all of those soft drinks. I've noticed kids now drag sodas around in France, which didn't use to be the case. Just more waste...

Joanne said...

I've had a similar thought - for our recycling bin, we're supposed to clean the bottles/cans before putting in bin. I've thought, how much water am I actually wasting to recycle? Interesting post!

Gledwood said...

The reduced bottles looked like Modern Art to me...

meemsnyc said...

It's a crime how much bottled water there is! Incredible.

Betty said...

Escalating campaign going on here in the UK, and particularly in London, to encourage people to stop buying bottled water and to drink tap.
We're also being encouraged to ask for a jug of water in a restaurant rather than buying a bottle.
We're lucky, though, as our tap water is good to drink.
Didn't know about the water in DC, Reya, - yuck!

Betty said...

Forgot to say how much I like the pic of the bendy bottles!

deedee said...

Ha...It's funny seeing the european water on american shelves...with the price of transport, that's ridiculous.

Janelle said...

OH MY GOD!! YESSSSS! EXACTLY! perfect. serendipitous. message loud and clear!! HOORAH! xxx janelle

Kurt said...

Buy a nice big water cooler thingee, then take the jug to the store and fill it up at the water machine.

lettuce said...

i love the wobbly bottles picture

Merisi said...

Excellent essay!
I share your bewilderment in seeing so many bottles of water ferried across the oceans. Then again, why should drinking foreign water all of a sudden have such a bad connotation with energy waste, when other goods are routinely imported and exported (American goods are all over Europe, for example, many of them could also be considered superfluos). We live in free societies, thank heaven, and if people are willing to pay the price for transport, so be it. Anybody who ever had to live in the "good old days" in places behind the Iron Curtain in Europe, remembers what it means not having the freedom to choose. So, long live the freedom of choice! If the pursuit of happiness every now and then includes a bottle of expensive water from the other side of the world, it may be a luxury, but so is freedom itself.

Luckily, here in Vienna the tap water comes straight from high in the mountains. Easy for me to avoid lugging home water bottles! ;-)

In Italy, mineral water is available in so many varieties, and many have their own distinct taste. It is consumed in great quantities with meals. I see nothing wrong with it, sodas and beer etc. have the same weight when transported. Better indulging in the one or other special bottle of mineral water than drinking alcohol. The need of fuel for transport can easily be saved by walking to the store or at least driving a car with good gasoline milage.

Still, I agree, it is always desirable to not leave to large a footprint on this precious planet of ours! Thanks for the reminder!

Avid Reader said...

the damaged water shot is priceless!

Avid Reader said...

Plastic bottle appeared with women doing aerobics --that's my first memory of them. then Gym rats got bottles too. no more hitting the water fountain or juice bar, carry your own from machine to machine.