Bottled water a church concern (Canadian Church starts boycott)

[Robbien]

TORONTO (Aug 26, 2006)

The United Church of Canada plans to ask its members to stop buying bottled water.

Delegates at the national meeting of the church's General Council in Thunder Bay, Ont., adopted a proposal recommending the step.

"The main thrust is our concern about the privatization of water,'' said Richard Chambers, the church's social policy co-ordinator, adding that the church supports municipal water sources wherever they exist.

Chambers said there are both "economic justice questions as well as environmental questions'' related to bottled water. "If you've got $100 to spend on groceries each week, we don't want people buying into some subliminal message that the water in their taps isn't safe and that . . . they have to be spending $10 to $15 on a couple of cases of bottled water.

He also said most water bottles end up in landfill sites, "so we now have tonnes of plastic slowly decomposing and seeping toxic substances into the soil, which is eventually going to threaten our own water tables.'

http://www.therecord.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=record/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1156542614068&call_pageid=1024322088745&col=1024322217916

and in a related article

Cancer alert over tin can and plastic bottle chemical

A gender-bending chemical found in babies' bottles and tin cans may cause breast cancer, scientists have warned.

Bisphenol A, used in the manufacture of CD cases, lunchboxes, sunglasses, water bottles babies' bottles and tin cans, has been linked to health
problems ranging from cancer to miscarriage and infertility.

Industry has previously claimed the chemical is broken down by the body, making it safe to use.
But new research casts doubt on this, with experiments showing the chemical remains carcinogenic.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23364693-details/Cancer+alert+over+tin+can+and+plastic+bottle+chemical/article.do

[acmavm]

1. I never thought about the ties of bottled water to water privatization

(other than the incredible problems in India between the people and Coca-Cola).

I know about the cancer-causing agents in plastic leaching into what we eat and drink.

This is a two-for-one deal. Make them richer and more powerful and they can lobby to take over the all water rights and then kill everyone while they're drinking their product.

[The Backlash Cometh]

9. Yes, but a good companion article would have been the dangers

of city water. There's got to be a balance somewhere.

[cally]

11. The standards for city water in the US are higher than

for bottled water. I know some city water tastes bad but it is not always the case that it means it is less safe. Often it is much less contaminated.

[The Backlash Cometh]

12. Standards and regulation are two different things.

No way do I trust the state regulatory agencies in a state run mostly by Republicans, like Florida. No way. Wouldn't take that kind of chance with my health.

[cally]

13. It is a dilemma...big corporations or corrupt government

I think the government is still more trustworthy since we can independently verify whether water meets the standards.

[The Backlash Cometh]

14. A dilemma that seems to be working quite well for them.

Cut back on public regulation and it will ensure that your private business cronies will find profit in the loss of confidence.

[Matariki]

2. Thanks for posting this.

It is something worth considering.

[Spazito]

3. Interesting...

I had not made the connection re bottled water and privatization but it makes eminent sense. I will stop buying bottled water unless it is an emergency rather than a convenience.

Thanks for posting this.

[Robbien]

16. Usually bottle water companies buy land and drill wells

which pump up public water from underground water reservoirs which is then bottled and sold. That is privatization.

Then there are the companies which buy water from municipal sources, bottle it and sell it to the public at the marked up prices. Tap water which would cost a few pennies is sold to the public in a bottle at a buck and a half.

Then there are the companies who are around the Great Lakes which are granted pumping rights to take water from the lakes and filter/bottle it. More privatization.

Many of these companies are given grants by the municipalities to set up their plants in the municipalities.

So we pay them to take our water; they take our water and sell it back to us in a very pricey bottle.

There is only one person in the government department which is supposed to oversee the quality of bottled water, so that department relies on the bottled water industry to police itself.

Bottled water is not our friend.

[Benhurst]

4. This has been a concern of mine for some time. Recommended: #4 NT

[Taverner]

5. Get a Reverse Osmosis system installed NOW

Honestly, I'm surprised everyone in the US and Canada doesn't have these already.

[NMDemDist2]

15. I have one and refill by bottles over and over until they are thrashed

I don't recycle them until they are worn out

but I need to be able to carry water in the car. I use a liter sippy bottle next to the bed too

[MrPrax]

6. Great long unexamined issue...

but it's too bad it's the United Church doing it.

Problem: the corporate opponenets will change the debate into whether or not churches have a right to comment on 'political' issues.

But long overdue and has been a little more like the organic movement -- elite consumerism wrapped around a fake social conscience and bogus health claims.

[TheFarseer]

7. Interesting reasoning, but I'm with them

I've thought for some time that bottled water is mostly unecessary and a waste.

[cyberpj]

8. GOOD. Privatized water is right. And the plastic trash is a disgrace.

Good for them! I hope it catches on. We need the general public to wake up to the extent of privatization of everything in the world. We need to FIGHT BACK.

[Kickoutthejams23]

10. Most bottled water is just repackaged tap water anyway.

[Rainscents]

17. Bingo!

I have counter top filtration to get ride of chemicals, so, I never have to buy bottle water. I heard somewhere, most of the bottle water come from tap water. Bottle water is nothing but, one big SCAM.