Recent allegations against the Coca-Cola Company and its brand name of bottled water, Dasani, have publicly highlighted one of the biggest misconceptions about the quality of bottled water. Coca-Cola, advertising its bottled water as “pure, still water” is now being investigated for misleading consumers about the true nature of the contents of its bottles. Rather than deriving its water from natural springs, Coca-Cola had actually been filling its Dasani bottles with purified tap water.

Of course, this problem of reconstituted tap water in Dasani bottles would not be so large if it was an isolated incident. Unfortunately, the process of bottling tap water is not limited to the Coca-Cola Company. In 1999, the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) published the results of a four-year study in which researchers tested more than 1,000 samples of 103 brands of bottled water. These researchers found that,

“An estimated 25 percent or more of bottled water is really just tap water in a bottle—sometimes further treated, sometimes not.”

In one case, a brand of bottled water, advertised as “pure, glacier water” was found to be taken from a municipal water supply while another brand, flaunted as “spring water” was pumped from a water source next to a hazardous waste dumping site. While “purified tap water” is arguably safer and purer than untreated tap water (depending upon the purification methods), a consumer should expect to receive something more than reconstituted tap water for the exceptional prices of bottled water.

If bottled water does not necessarily offer purer water than tap water, surely it provides a better tasting water product, right? The answer to this question is no. Bottled water does not always taste better than tap water.

In an interesting study conducted by Showtime television, the hosts found that 75% of tested New York City residents actually preferred tap water over bottled water in a blind taste test.

While taste is certainly highly subjective, this study shows that bottled water essentially holds nothing over tap water. In many cases, bottled water is no purer than tap water, and it may not even taste better.

Water Ionizers currently provide the best and healthiest solution to the problems of both bottled water and tap water. Find out more:

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Tags: Bottled Water, Ionized Water, Reconstituted Tap Water, Water Ionizers

Bottled water is not only illadvised for its water quality but also for the PET bottles it is packaged in and shipped from hundreds of thousands of miles accross the globe to reach us. This hurts the environment in every possible way. The carbon burnt as fuel, The amount of garbage that such ships litter the oceans with but above all its PET Plastic bottle that is not bio degradable. Trashed at beaches world wide and dumped in the ocean in coastal cities, this PET bottle wrecks havoc to the environment.

As humans we have responsibilities not only towards ourselves, our immediate families but also to the overall environment… to the Earth. It is our home. Environmentalists and concerned citizens accross the globe are raising their voices against the extensive use of PET Bottled water. This is with all the more reason because things such as water purifiers and water ionizers are available as a much healthier and environmentally freindly alternatives.

A Dying Ocean

California-based sea captain and ocean researcher Charles Moore discovered what is now known as the Eastern Garbage Patch—an aggregation of plastic and other marine debris occupying some 700,000 square kilometers in the North Pacific Ocean—during a crossing of the North Pacific in 1997. In a 2003 article inNatural History Magazine, Moore reported being astounded that he couldn’t be further from land anywhere on Earth yet he could see plastic bags and other debris coating the ocean’s surface as far as the eye could see.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also described as the Eastern Garbage Patch or the Pacific Trash Vortex, is a gyre of marine litter in the central North Pacific Ocean located roughly between 135° to 155°W and35° to 42°N estimated to be twice the size of Texas. The patch is characterized by exceptionally high concentrations of suspended plastic and other debris that have been trapped by the currents of the North Pacific Gyre.

The area is frequently featured in media reports as an exceptional example of marine pollution.

Formation

Like other areas of concentrated marine debris in the world’s oceans, the Eastern Garbage Patch has formed gradually over time as a result of marine pollution gathered by the action of oceanic currents.The rotational pattern created by the North Pacific Gyre draws in waste material from across the North Pacific Ocean, including the coastal waters off North America and Japan. As material is captured in the currents, wind-driven surface currents gradually move floating debris toward the center, trapping it in the region.

The Size

The size of the affected region is unknown, but estimates range from 700,000 km² to more than 15 million km², (0.41% to 8.1% of the size of the Pacific Ocean). The area may contain over 100 million tons of debris.

Sources of pollutants

It has been estimated that 80% of the garbage comes from land-based sources, and 20% from ships at sea. Currents carry debris from the west coast of North America to the gyre in about five years, and debris from the east coast of Asia in a year or less.

Plastic photodegradation in the ocean

Unlike debris which biodegrades, the photodegraded plastic disintegrates into ever smaller pieces while remaining a polymer. This process continues down to the molecular level.

As the plastic flotsam photodegrades into smaller and smaller pieces, it concentrates in the upper water column. As it disintegrates, the plastic ultimately becomes small enough to be ingested by aquatic animals which reside near the ocean’s surface. Plastic waste thus enters the food chain through its intense concentration in the neuston.

Impact on Wildlife

The floating plastic particles resemble zooplankton, which can be inadvertently consumed by jellyfish. Many of these long-lasting plastics end up in the stomachs of marine birds and animals, including sea turtles, and the Black-footed Albatross. Besides the particles’ danger to wildlife, the floating debris can absorb organic pollutants from seawater, including PCBs, DDT, and PAHs. Aside from toxic effects, when ingested, some of these are mistaken by the endocrine system as estradiol, causing hormone disruption in the affected animal.

We urge you through this blog, to stay away from bottled water and be a responsible human. We owe this to Earth and to our future generations. Use a good water ionizer. It is much healthier and environmentally freindly.

Tags: Bottled Water, Eastern Garbage Patch, Environmental Hazard, Health, Ionized Water, Marine Life, Pacific Ocean, Pollutants, Unhealthy Bottled Water, Water Ionizers, Water Pollution, Wild Life