Blog Action Day

Today is blog action day. Bloggers around the world are asked to post about a very important topic: the environment.

"Our aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future."

I'd like to talk briefly about something that's been a 'hot topic' lately ... bottled water.

As a bodyworker, I can't stress enough the importance of staying hydrated. Roughly 60% of our body's total mass is water. (Blood approx 80% water, lean muscle approx 75% water, and bone approx 20% water)

So, while it is important to ensure adequate intake of water throughout the day, we should do so without taxing the environment which provides us our drinking water.

Plastic bottles not only contaminate their contents with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) but they also use large amounts of energy to produce them, and create tons of waste. Check out these facts:

• Worldwide, bottled water consumption nearly doubled between 1997 and 2005, with U.S. residents tipping back the largest share-nearly 26 gallons per person in 2005.
• Bottled water costs as much as $10 per gallon for bottled water compared to less than a penny per gallon for tap water.
• It takes three liters of water to produce a one-liter bottle of water.
• Worldwide, 2.7 million tons of plastic are used each year to make water bottles, but in the U.S., less than 20 percent of these bottles are recycled.
• The total estimated energy needed to make, transport, and dispose of one bottle of water is equivalent to filling the same bottle one-quarter full of oil.
• An estimated 40 percent of bottled water sold in the U.S. is just filtered tap water.

What to do?

Do NOT stop drinking water!
Instead look into reusable bottles like Nalgene which lower waste and PET in your water. (Check out Nalgene's Refill Not Landfill campaign - a great partnership with Brita to make change.)

Also check out Klean Kanteen and their line of earth friendly stainless steel products.