The Telegraph thinks so. And the fact that bottled water generates up to 600 times the CO2 emissions maybe they’re right. The fact that we’re so willing to pay for something that is free is either genius marketing, incredible stupidity, or some combination of the two. That said, since I’m suspect as to the benefits of fluoride and the health impact of chlorine I hedge bets with the bottled water. Sometimes. The World Land Trust has a website for those concerned where you can check carbon offsets based on your lifestyle.
Two in-directly releated bits which this article brought to the front of my mind.
This amazing article about plastic pollution and how wide spread it is. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7316441.stm. it scares me to think that most of this damage has been in the last 20 to 30 years. mainly due to cheap disposable packaging and a failure to recycle in a benifical way.
And the fall out of Dasani in the UK.
(source: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/editors-choice/2008/03/29/bright-ideas-that-didn-t-quite-work-86908-20366570/ )
When Coca-Cola launched Dasani water in the UK in 2004, they expected it to be as successful here as it had been in the US since 1999.
But within weeks, the revelation the “pure” water was nothing more than purified tap water brought the brand’s image into disrepute – even though Coca-Cola never implied the water was from anywhere else.
Just two weeks later, they were forced to recall all bottles of Dasani water in the UK after levels of bromate were found to exceed legal levels. It was never seen or heard of again.