The greenest cocktail around

"I'll have the fresh local tapwater, no ice, in a reusable glass please".

A line to send a date running? Perhaps for now, but might not be so far fetched in the near future.

Bottled water has been in the public eye of late, for a host of human and ecological health reasons - not that the two aren't intimately connected...

*People are noticing the global plastic bottle pileup, from city streets to "pristine" beaches - synthetic shite is EVERYWHERE. And thousands upon thousands of the plastic empties wind up at sea.

* Then theres the rip off factor: bottled water may just be tap water in an appealing plastic package. So essentially, you're buying the plastic. Which is made from petroleum, and may leach crap into your water anways, so.....hardly seems like a good deal.

From the 4 year NRDC study, "Bottled Water: Pure Drink or Pure Hype"?:

"According to government and industry estimates, about one fourth of bottled water is bottled tap water (and by some accounts, as much as 40 percent is derived from tap water) -- sometimes with additional treatment, sometimes not."

Comforting.

So instead of getting suckered in by "pure fountain of youth" marketing schemes, think outside the bottle. Love your tap - love your ocean - love your body - bring your own.

Plastic and female sexuality

Or more accurately, Bisphenol A (BPA) and female reproductive disorders, but that's a mouthful of a title, and less catchy.

BPA, a chemical found in hard plastics - water bottles, kids toys, baby bottles - may leach into human bodies via the water we drink, the toys we teeth, the food we eat....

And now scientists suggest a connnection between BPA and reproductive issues in women - endometriosis, cystic ovaries, fibroids and cancers.

Read more on Wired, and Treehugger.

I first learned about the plastics-chemicals-health issue through Captain Charles Moore and his groundbreaking research on plastic particles in the marine environment. Charles inspired me to read Our Stolen Future, about the sinister effects of synthetic chemicals on human reproduction.


Perhaps theres some poetic justice here, that we as a species ultimatly self-destruct....BUT taking other defenceless species down with us is not cool. So long as were here, we gotta keep being vigilant. And demand more from our spineless leaders.

Meantime, for all of us health conscious "8 cups of water a day" types, stop sipping synthetics and get yourself a reusable bottle ASAP - try SIGG or Klean Kanteen. More on plastic bottles to come......