How Does Bottled Water Affect The Environment
Bottled Water and the Environment
Bottled water has become an important aspect of human lives. For some of us, it’s important to the point where we can say “I can’t live without bottled water!”. This is mainly because of its convenience and the idea of bottled water being more “healthy” than tap water. Bottled water may be easily accessible and maybe even tastier than tap water, but is it better for ourselves and the environment in the long run?
The consumption of bottled water has increased tremendously over the years and so have the problems that come along with it. Americans consume approximately 1,500 plastic water bottles every second with most of them not being recycled nor reused. Most of the lids to the bottles, which are not recyclable, and many of the bottles itself end up at the bottom of the ocean or imbedded in our soil. Ocean animals mistake this for food and it ends up …show more content…
damaging or impairing their bodies. A sperm whale was found dead on a beach in North America because his small intestines were clogged with plastics. When plastic is left or dumped on the ground, it can take an average of 450 years for it to decompose and the process of making plastic bottles contribute to global warming. Plastic is not digestible, decomposable nor healthy for any living being or earthly matter and this problem continues to rise.
Plastic from bottles of water not only affect the things around us, but us humans as well. Plastic bottles contain harmful chemicals like, bisphenol A (BPA) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) which have both been proven to have harmful effects on human health. A study conducted in 2011 found that 96% of women in America have BPA in their bodies. BPA, along with PVC can be responsible for some types of cancer, infertility, gender development issues and other major problems to the human population.
In conclusion, bottled water is not good for the health of our natural world.
Not only is it destroying our ecosystems, but it is destroying earth as we know it. The destruction of our planet continues to increase as the consumption of bottled water continues to increase. This can be changed by thinking of ourselves and our planet by simply putting the bottle down. Lights, Z. (May 8, 2012). What’s the Problem with Plastic Bottles? One Green Planet. Retrieved from http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/whats-the-problem-with-plastic-bottles/
Dell’Amore, C. and Barclay, E. Why Tap Water Is Better Than Bottled Water. National Geographic. Retrieved from http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/green-guide/bottled-water/
Hu, Z., Morton, L.W., and Mahler, R.L. (February 21, 2011) Bottled Water: United States Consumers and Their Perceptions of Water Quality. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3084479/
I abide by the UNCG Academic Integrity Policy. Taneya L.
Graham-Farrior
Bottled water has become an important aspect of human lives. For some of us, it’s important to the point where we can say “I can’t live without bottled water!”. This is mainly because of its convenience and the idea of bottled water being more “healthy” than tap water. Bottled water may be easily accessible and maybe even tastier than tap water, but is it better for ourselves and the environment in the long run?
The consumption of bottled water has increased tremendously over the years and so have the problems that come along with it. Americans consume approximately 1,500 plastic water bottles every second with most of them not being recycled nor reused. Most of the lids to the bottles, which are not recyclable, and many of the bottles itself end up at the bottom of the ocean or imbedded in our soil. Ocean animals mistake this for food and it ends up …show more content…
damaging or impairing their bodies. A sperm whale was found dead on a beach in North America because his small intestines were clogged with plastics. When plastic is left or dumped on the ground, it can take an average of 450 years for it to decompose and the process of making plastic bottles contribute to global warming. Plastic is not digestible, decomposable nor healthy for any living being or earthly matter and this problem continues to rise.
Plastic from bottles of water not only affect the things around us, but us humans as well. Plastic bottles contain harmful chemicals like, bisphenol A (BPA) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) which have both been proven to have harmful effects on human health. A study conducted in 2011 found that 96% of women in America have BPA in their bodies. BPA, along with PVC can be responsible for some types of cancer, infertility, gender development issues and other major problems to the human population.
In conclusion, bottled water is not good for the health of our natural world.
Not only is it destroying our ecosystems, but it is destroying earth as we know it. The destruction of our planet continues to increase as the consumption of bottled water continues to increase. This can be changed by thinking of ourselves and our planet by simply putting the bottle down. Lights, Z. (May 8, 2012). What’s the Problem with Plastic Bottles? One Green Planet. Retrieved from http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/whats-the-problem-with-plastic-bottles/
Dell’Amore, C. and Barclay, E. Why Tap Water Is Better Than Bottled Water. National Geographic. Retrieved from http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/green-guide/bottled-water/
Hu, Z., Morton, L.W., and Mahler, R.L. (February 21, 2011) Bottled Water: United States Consumers and Their Perceptions of Water Quality. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3084479/
I abide by the UNCG Academic Integrity Policy. Taneya L.
Graham-Farrior