Pure, Cold Water

Would you pay $55 for a bottle of water? I suppose it would depend upon the size of the bottle and how thirsty you were. But at a new “water bar” in New York, you could spend that much for a swig of Bling H20, a “designer” water.

Johnny Ramirez links to a video and a New York Times editorial about bottled vs. tap water. From the latter:

Instead of consuming four billion gallons of water a year in individual-sized bottles, we need to start thinking about what all those bottles are doing to the planet’s health.

Not to mention your wallet.

… if you choose to get your recommended eight glasses a day from bottled water, you could spend up to $1,400 annually. The same amount of tap water would cost about 49 cents.

And the environmental issues?

Water bottles, like other containers, are made from natural gas and petroleum. The Earth Policy Institute in Washington has estimated that it takes about 1.5 million barrels of oil to make the water bottles Americans use each year. That could fuel 100,000 cars a year instead. And, only about 23 percent of those bottles are recycled, in part because water bottles are often not included in local redemption plans that accept beer and soda cans. Add in the substantial amount of fuel used in transporting water, which is extremely heavy, and the impact on the environment is anything but refreshing.

This reminds me of an old Adventist song by F. E. Belden: “Pure, Cold Water.”

Pure, cold water! We would recommend cold water;
‘Tis the best of drinks for ev’ry son and daughter.
On the valley, or the plain, or the mountain,
There’s no other drink compares with the fountain:
Cold water, cold water;
There is health in pure, cold water,
There is wealth in pure, cold water.
Bear away your wine and beer, and your cider;
Nature’s right to rule must never be denied her.
We would recommend cold water….
We would recommend the pure, cold water!