April 2009 Archives

Housing Works is a wonderful organization that has been providing help to victims of AIDS and homelessness for nearly two decades. Their  bookstore and cafe, located in Soho, signed on with the TapIt network today. TapIt recommends you stop in for some water, espresso and a good book (all proceeds from books and coffee go to their causes). We promise you will want to lounge for a little while once you get there.

 

Canada's Inside the Bottle, a Polaris Institute campaign designed to stimulate awareness and action about the bottled water industry, put out a news release today. They claim that since April 2006, the Government of Canada has spent more than $7,296,738 of public money on 131 separate contracts to purchase bottled water.  They say that the same amount of money could have been used to pay for 2,918 indoor or 584 outdoor water fountains, or alternatively to upgrade a water treatment plant in a First Nations Community.  Read more about Bottled Watergate here.

video credit WCSH6.com

There is some noteworthy bottled water activity happening in Portland, Maine courtesy of Mount Desert Spring Water.  In an effort to stimulate sales, the bulk bottled water company has now created an individual size bottle of private label H-2-Obama water with, you guessed it, our President's image on the label. 

What is particularly interesting in this story, besides the WCSH6 newscaster's pronunciation of the word desert, is that Mount Desert's owner, Rick Evangelista, thinks that individual bottles will up his total sales.  More than likely though, this is innacurate. As we have been covering here at TapIt, sales are down down for individually bottled water for environmental and economic reasons.

Also interesting in this story, are the reader's responses to the piece.  It looks like some Mainers are 1) proud of their delicious spring water and 2) not yet completely digging our President's policies.

If you are near City Hall or the Wall Street area, the TapIt network has options for your water refill needs. Made Fresh Daily Bakeshop, a delightful cafe with great lunch options on Front Street has signed up. Also, My Daddy's Pizza has signed up on Pearl Street in the Wall Street area. If you are downtown for business or pleasure, feel free to stop in and fill up!

We know that in these summer-like days, being near the water is a perfect way to stay cool. South Street Seaport is a great place to enjoy the breeze coming off of New York Bay. Our newest partner, Cyber Cafe Cigar Bar is located right on Pier 17 at South Street. Stop in and fill up on some great New York water and enjoy the waterfront!

 

 Wednesday's Ellen DeGeneres show was particularly interesting for its Earth Day angle and awesome audience giveaways.  Not only did Ellen give each person a Specialized bicycle (such a sweet brand!), she also hooked each student audience member up with an Activeion Cleaning Device, something the comedian swears by in keeping her own home clean and toxin-free.

The Activeion Cleaner takes tap water and adds a slight electrical charge, which when passed through the nozzle becomes activated as negatively and positively charged Photo Credit: Activeion.com

ions.  These ions then work like a magnet to lift and remove dirt and grime from the surfaces in your home, all without the use chemicals.  Voila, tap water makes your house sparkle, for free!

When it comes to the future of business, it makes sense to look towards sustainable solutions for higher profit margins.  Similarly, when identifying future leaders in business, it is natural to look to Harvard Business School for the best and the brightest.  No surprise then that students at Gallatin Hall, Photo credit Harbus.org

Harvard Business School are incorporating sustainabilty in their education, both in and out of the classroom. 

Yesterday's article by student and "Green Living Rep" Garry Thaniel in the  B-school's Student Weekly Paper, The Harbus, outlined the ways in which he and another Rep raised awareness about excessive plastic bottle use on campus.  The two students placed 200 water bottles between school buildings and set out signs along the bottles which read, "With just 10 students in every section drinking one bottle a day, we are leaving behind a trail of approximately 54,000 bottles each academic year."

Beyond public displays of art/activism and having Green Living Reps (which, hello - how cool is that?) HBS students also held an eco-fashion show earlier in April. 

Major props to the students at Harvard Business School for their creativity and innovative ways to join the green revolution.

Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass Area is now on the radar for the TapIt network. The bountiful Foragers Market in DUMBO has become the newest TapIt partner. This once industrial and now art district is home to the famous Brooklyn Flea Market, countless galleries and an amazing park. On one of these nice spring days, we suggest stopping by the Foragers Market, picking up some sandwiches, filling up the water bottles and having a picnic at the beautiful Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park on the river. 

Photocredit: Rob Starling

Aquafina is touting its new, uber-thin plastic bottle, which reduces the Pepsico water company's plastic use by 50%.  This positive step comes after a shady history for the company who back in 2007 was forced to write on the bottle that their water source was public.   In other words, they had to clarify that  Aquafina has always been bottled tap water. 

There is a growing trend for less plastic use in the bottled water industry.   Nestle owned Poland Springs reduced its use of plastic resin in a one-half liter from 14 1/2 grams to 12 1/2 grams.  As reported by National Public Radio, CEO Kim Jeffrey said, "That move down saved us about 65 million pounds of resin a year and had about a 10 percent reduction in our greenhouse gas emissions."  

Also in last week's NPR's bottled water segment was information on consumer spending for bottled water. This year, after years of double digit increases in bottled water (last year, Americans spent $11 billion dollars on water)  bottled water sales have finally stopped rising.

With consumers realizing that commodities like tap water should be FREE and networks like TapIt to help them find the free tap water, bottled water companies can only expect a further drop in sales.

Do lunch: Eat at NoHo Mediterranean spot il Buco. During lunch on Earth Day you'll save 15 percent and il Buco will give the amount of your savings to International Union for Conservation of Nature, which will go toward restoring the Amazon.

Toast the planet: Stop by Gotham Wines on the UWS between 2pm and 7pm on Earth Day to taste organic and biodynamic wines. If you like what you taste, save 15 percent on your purchase.   

Spend Sunday in Central Park: The Central Park Conservancy is hosting a day filled with fun events for the whole family on Sunday, April 26. Learn how to compost, plant flowers, take a park tour, visit Greenmarket vendors, recycle electronic waste and help power the entertainment stage's sound system by pedaling a bike.

It looks like misbehaving celebrities aren't the only ones in need of a publicist to cover up their dark side. The Natural Hydration Council, an industry organization formed by Nestle Water, Danone Waters and Highland Spring in the UK, hired a PR agency in an effort to end bottled water to tap water comparisons. 

The good news: The deal was likely put into place because bottled water sales are suffering as more and more consumers see the drink as expensive and bad for the environment. In fact, market research firm TNS, reported that sales were down nine percent last year.

Daniel Goleman and Gregory Norris do a life cycle assessment of a stainless steel water bottle and ask the question, 'is stainless steel really better than plastic.' Theycome to the conclusion that as long as you're using the stainless steel bottle many times over, it is.  They also see opportunities for entrepreneurs to create new eco-friendly versions of products for the 21st Century - perhaps a stainless steel water bottle made from recycled steel.  And they reminisce about eco-friendly water fountains.

(Looking out on Norfolk and Rivington from Tiny's beautiful new dining room)

In a fight to make bottled water more appealing than tap water, manufacturers have infused H2O with all kinds of vitamins and flavors, claiming certain brews can do everything from improving your immune system to curing a hangover. Meanwhile, a cup of tap water and a healthy diet could provide the same benefits as these "super waters". Now, Willow Water has arrived in the UK boasting beautifying benefits. It comes from the so-called famous "Holy Well of Cartmel" and contains high levels of calcium and salicin from white willow bark. The company claims salicin has anti-inflammatory properties, can improve your complexion and improve acne-prone skin.

So can this bottled water make you beautiful? Probably not. Dr. Eric Berger, a New York City cosmetic skin care specialist, says there aren't any scientific studies supporting the benefits of salicin in skin care and he calls the research study supporting Willow Water's claims "unimpressive" as there were zero skin samples taken or analyzed. The participants drank 3 bottles per day, a cost that adds up fast. "My patients would be better off getting a deep facial for $150 each month and drinking Brita filtered tap water," says Berger.

It's true, drinking tap water alone is beneficial to skin. "Water is as essential for skin health and beauty as it is for internal health," says Dr. Jeannette Graf, Assistant Professor of Dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and author of Stop Aging, Start Living. Drinking water and maintaining proper hydration will ensure your skin is getting adequate blood flow while the lack of water can be seen as a decrease in skin elasticity. Graf also doesn't know of any benefits of salicin when taken orally and advocates food sources such as milk or dark green vegetables for calcium. And she says, "New York City has one of the most pristine reservoirs and the water quality is excellent so I would imagine that drinking water in sufficient quantities is the most important thing." So fill up your water bottle at TapIt locations. And someone might want to tell ex-Spice Girl Geri Halliwell to lay off the Willow Water since she's been named as an early adopter of the not-so-magical drink.

Researchers tested the fluoride content in more than 100 different samples of bottled water, including distilled, drinking/purified, spring/artesian, mineral, fluoride-added and flavor-added. Of the total 105 samples, the fluoride concentrations in all but five samples fell below the U.S. government's recommended range of 0.7-1.2 parts per million, which is the ideal range to prevent cavities.

'Receiving the appropriate amount of fluoride is critical to consumers' oral health -- especially children's oral health -- as it strengthens the teeth and protects them against cavities. Something as simple as drinking water from the tap is a no-nonsense and cost-effective way to prevent cavities.' Said Dr. Meredith.  Another reason to Go Tap!

TapIt is excited to announce the that it has passed the 100 mark for TapIt partners in New York City! Neighburrito in the Lower Eastside signed on as our 100th partner last week. We traveled to Neighburrito to celebrate this milestone in our growth. While we were there, Dave the owner, talked to us about the logic of being a TapIt partner, why he doesn't sell bottled water and the other great things that Neighburrito is doing to be green. Check out the Neighburrito blog for more and stop in for some great food if you are in the area.

In early March, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities asked Canadian towns and cities to phase out the sale and purchase of bottled water on municipal property.  The anti-bottle resolution passed by the federation board of directors carried no legal weight, but encouraged municipalities to speak out against bottled water and avoid distributing it whenever possible.   

The movement to phase out the sale and purchase of bottled water on government property has been gaining momentum in Canada and the United States for both environmental and budgetary reasons.  However, in Canada the movement is extending to educational facilities such as the Hamilton-Wentworth District’s 98 elementary schools.  Last week, the school board trustees voted to remove bottled water from school property by September 2009.  Students will still be able to buy soft drinks and fruit juice in plastic bottles.

I agree that government departments should not purchase bottled water (or water cooler water) for their employees at tax-payer expense.  Most government employees have access to a staff room with kitchen type facilities.  Clean, sustainable, tax-payer funded tap water flows there, and it is safe and healthy for government employees and their clients to drink.  Further, purchasing bottled water to sell to employees from vending machines encourages waste and the perception that municipal water is not safe.

Why is Banning Bottled Water in Schools Different?

Banning the sale of bottled water on school property is a different matter.  Students may not have easy access to water fountains on school property at all times and they may not always be carrying a bottle with which to make the water portable.  As a result many students may choose to buy soft drinks and sweetened fruit juices not banned from school property putting them at risk of becoming overweight -- before they may have chosen bottled water. 

Overweight and obesity are health problems that affect a large number of people in the U.S. and other western countries – particularly children.  To reduce body weight a person must decrease the amount of calories he or she consumes while maintaining or increasing physical activity.  In the U.S., the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion says that one of the healthiest ways to reduce caloric intake is to decrease added sugars which provide calories but almost no essential nutrients. 

One of the easiest ways to reduce added sugars is to reduce the amount of sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) one consumes.  A large proportion of added sugar in the American diet comes from SSBs.  After examining nationally representative data between 1994-1996, researchers found that about 40% of added sugar in the average American’s diet came from non-diet soft drinks and sweetened fruit juice. 

In America, the consumption of SSBs begins early.  In 2002, 44% of toddlers, 19-24 months of age, had consumed either sweetened fruit juices or soft drinks at least once a day.  Studies show that intake increases as children grow older, with the most dramatic rise occurring when children are around eight years old – in elementary school. 

What Should be Done Before Bottled Water Can be Phased Out?

Banning bottled water from school property but continuing to sell SSBs (which are also sold in plastic bottles) is not a panacea for our environmental problems. And, although well intentioned it may have unintended consequences for our children’s health.  But perhaps with integrated interventions, banning bottled water from school property might be an appropriate step to help reduce the number of plastic bottles in our landfills and recycling plants. 

We know that interventions can bring about behavioral change in children.  German researchers, recently showed that installing extra water fountains in schools, combined with a small number of simple educational modules to promote drinking water can increase water consumption and reduce the risk of children becoming overweight.  Further, in the U.S., the Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion cites a number of studies in which participants significantly reduced their intake of SSBs after participating in a variety of interventions. 

From my perspective, school based interventions would include 1) spending to increase water fountains on school property to an appropriate child-to-fountain ratio, 2) redesign of water fountains to allow for a reusable bottle to be more easily filled, 3) educational modules for every child in the school system every year addressing the benefits of drinking water (and not drinking SSBs) and 4) providing a reusable bottle for each child to make water from fountains portable.  Only then, should we consider banning bottled water from school property.

If you are in the Prospect Heights area of Brooklyn and feel the urge for a fresh baked rosewater french macaroon and a refill of cool water, stop by the lovely Joyce BakeShop on Vanderbilt Avenue near Grand Army Plaza.

 

But does this redeem the bottled water industry? Hardly. In fact, according to Dr. Allen Hershkowitz,  a senior scientist with the Natural Resource Defense Council, 90% of the environmental impact caused by bottles water is done before it even reaches the consumer. If you take into account the oil used in manufacturing the plastic bottles, and then in shipping and refrigerating the final product, recycling the bottle seems to be a meager counteraction. The NRDC released a report which stated that the 43 million gallons of bottles water received by the NYC area from the European Union results in approximately 3800 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year. That is the equivalent of 660 cars continuously running all year long. And that is only from the E.U. New York receives bottled water from many other countries around the world.

We congratulate Governor Patterson and the NY State Senate for passing the bottle bill. It is a commendable stride in the direction of sustainability. However, we need to find an alternative to single-serve packaged water. We must continue to TapIt!

This article was written by Natasha Paleau.  Natasha is a recent graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, where she received a degree in Cultural Anthropology.  She lives in New York and is interested in exploring networks and organizations of social impact and change.  She works with TapIt part-time to support a real alternative to bottled water in NYC.

Photo: Lillian's Body Parts in Jelly, avlxyz on Flickr used under Creative Commons Copyright.

The experts say it would be difficult to prevent blood and body tissue from being recycled as drinking water (Eww...Gross!) without proper regulations in place at hospitals. Professor Kearney, from the University of Sydney, accused the Queensland Water Commission of not having those regulations in place before the Government decided to permit the addition of effluent to drinking water supplies.

The Queensland Water Commission had said that hospital wastes would not be recycled as drinking water because strict regulations were in place to stop that from happening. But a Queensland Health audit discovered that four major hospitals in the Brisbane area had either faulty regulations or none at all. Adding insult to injury, neither the water commission nor Queensland Health will make the audit findings public.  Yuk!

Spring is undoubtedly upon us and for most women, the springtime is all about sassy sandals and liberated toes.  But before revealing those toes, a pedicure is never a bad idea.   

We recently covered a wacky pedicure treatment that included cuticle-eating Garra Rufa fish and now, here's another weird one: Evian bottled water spa treatments.  The first Evian Spa opened in France and a second cropped up in Shanghai.  The Evian experience recently traveled to LA for Oscar week, opening a Photo Credit: About.com

temporary spa there for 30 days, and it appears to be gaining popularity among luxury thrill seekers.

While offering guests a bottle of Evian with a pedi is one thing- though tap water with a hint of lemon would do just fine- filling an entire basin with bottled water seems to be taking lux pampering (read unnecessary hoo ha) to a whole other level. 

Go for the tap water pedi, ladies!  Your toes won't even notice the difference.

After your dog takes a long walk around the neighborhood, peeing on various objects and collecting all of that saliva in her mouth, what does she want most?  Perhaps a nice, cool drink of water... from a bottle! And Beef Flavored.  

Wait, what?

That's right: bottled water for dogs. And there's not just one specialty pet water company,  but a whole host of them. FortiFido  offers mineral water in flavors like Fresh Breath (spearmint) Healthy Bones (peanut butter) Healthy Joints (Lemongrass), and Healthy Skin (parsley) and advertises that their products were created by 'food and beverage scientists for the dog you love'.  Yes, loving Photo Credit FortiFido

your dog means buying her bottled water.  K9 Water has Beef, Liver, Chicken, and Lamb Flavored water.   Apparently there are some dogs that just can't tolerate the taste of plain water.  I personally know what those bitches are barking about - I always add Crystal Light powder to my water. 

Now if you'd excuse me, I'm thirsty for my Chicken water. 

It is important to drink plenty of water everyday. It is also important to treat yourself to delicious cookies and perfect cupcakes from time to time. Now you can do both at One Girl Cookies' beautifully designed cafe just off Smith Street in Brooklyn's Cobble Hill. 

 

See how easy it is to refill your reusable water bottle at a Tapit location

 Did you know that Americans pay up to four times as much per gallon for designer bottled water as they pay for gasoline? It's true according to dietitian Kate Geagan's calculations. In her new book, Go Green Get Lean: Trim Your Waist with the Ultimate Low-Carbon Footprint Diet, she reports that a gallon of Fiji water costs $7.90 a gallon! Meanwhile, the average municipal water supply only costs $0.01. Geagan's diet emphasizes drinking water, tap water that is. So she came up with a few fun ways to make tap water tasty. If you add one of these flavor boosters to your bottle before you head out for the day, it'll flavor every tap water refill, too. Three of Geagan's ideas to try:

1. Fill an ice cube tray with water and then add whole berries. They add gorgeous color, flavor, and antioxidants to your glass.

2. Stir in fresh grated ginger, a mint sprig and a squeeze of fresh tangerine juice for zing, vitamin C and digestive health.

3. Think spa water. Float sliced cucumbers or lime for a cleansing, refreshing change.

The rest of Geagan's diet plan is worth reading, too.  She says, experts estimate that it now takes roughly 7 to 10 calories of fossil fuel energy to bring 1 calorie of food energy to the American plate. This diet isn't a drastic detox or new vegan way of life though, instead the plan helps you move away from highly processed convience foods and red meat and towards locally grown foods and leaner proteins.

If the ancient Romans sold spring and well water, they didn’t bottle it, that’s for sure. In fact, its only been since the late 1970s that single-serving bottled water has even had a market in the States, and only in the last 15+ years has it been such a profitable commodity. According to Atlanta magazine, our consumption of the stuff has increase 300% since 1990. Wowza, that’s insane!

Anyone out there have any theories as to why the big jump in numbers? Because I’m somewhat bewildered by that statistic. Obviously, our on-the-go mentality has created an ever-increasing demand for quick fixes, and thirst is hard to ignore. Our obsession with weight, dieting, and gym culture hasn’t exactly helped the matter, either. Everyone wants their healthy alternatives to be just as quick and easy as everything else they consume. Which is part of the problem. Healthy, especially when defined by a larger interest in social and environmental ethics, is rarely cheap and fast.

Then again, maybe it all comes down to the savvy of advertising and packaging;“If you build it, they will come!” Has such manufactured need made  the health-conscious, multitasking individual feel bound to drinking bottled water? I hope not! What do you think? TapIt really wants to know! Please post your erudite thoughts and insights on this important issue! We need to understand why we’re chugging so much bottled water if we’re going to learn to stop, right?

The findings of a new study, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, shows that adding school water fountains, distributing water bottles to children and teaching them about the health benefits of drinking water can lower a child’s risk of becoming overweight. 

Over the course of a year, researchers studied nearly 3000 second and third graders from 32 German Schools.  The kids were weighed and asked about their beverage consumption.  In some of the schools, water fountains were added, the kids were given water bottles and teachers gave four classroom lessons to promote water consumption.  In the other schools the children went about their year as usual with none of the above interventions.

At the end of the year, the children from the schools that installed water fountains and promoted water were 30% less likely to be overweight.  The study is not clear why.  The kids with the water bottles drank an extra glass of water per day on average, so maybe they ate fewer calories or drank slightly fewer calories in softdrinks and fruit juices.  This may have stopped those children with exisitng weight problems from moving into an overweight category. 

The study doesn’t tell us much about drinking water and overweight prevention in school kids.  But it does tell us how easy it is to raise awareness and change behavior in young children with a few simple and inexpensive measures.  So next time your cutie asks for a drink, don’t reach for a bottle.  Grab a glass, fill it from the tap, and tell her about great tasting NY tap water and the fine health it offers.

Well, if you think that all the attention paid in recent years to the dubious quality of so-called “pure” or “spring” water, and the great environmental cost in producing the bottles that store it, is taking the steam out of this industry’s growth (or a bite out of its profits!), you’re partly right. The Guardian reports recently that in Britain, sales of bottled water in restaurants are down 63% (based on a study conducted to coincide with UN World Water Day). But the ever-crafty inventors of things we don’t need have come up with another angle on the bottled water game. Custom labels. Yep, there are now places where you can not only buy bottled water, but design their labels. Y’know, for weddings, and uh, Bar Mitzvahs. BottleYourBrand.com is one such example. Claiming to be “the leading online source for custom label bottled water, personalized wine labels and custom beer labels,” they insist as well that their water comes from Pacific springs, and is bottled in 25% recycled P.E.T. plastic. They’re so proud of themselves, they actually use the words good stewardship and consumer education in the same sentence - referring to themselves, of course. Uhm’k...