Peter Gleick is an internationally recognized water expert, MacArthur Fellow, and the president of the Pacific Institute, an environmental think tank based in Oakland, CA. He released a great new book last month about the bottled water problem called "Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind our Obsession With Bottled Water" (purchase a copy here).
I was happy to be able to get some of Peter's thoughts about our bottled water problem:
William Schwartz: What did you find was the most alarming statistic about bottled water when you were researching for your book 'Bottled and Sold'?
Peter Gleick: There are many remarkable numbers and statistics about bottled water. Pick you own favorite from the book.
Among them: There have been over 100 bottled water recalls in the United States, and perhaps many more. Very few of them receive any public notice, and most occur long after the bottled water has been shipped to market and sold.
Americans buy, drink, and throw away 1000 plastic bottles of water every second of every hour of every day.
It takes the equivalent of 17 million barrels of oil to produce the plastic bottles used for bottled water in the U.S. each year
WS: Where do you see the momentum right now with the bottled water vs. tap water debate? Have bottled water sales been slumping because of growing consumer awareness or the poor economy?
PG: I believe that both the economic slump and the growing revolt against bottled water have contributed to the first decline in bottled water consumption in three decades. The bottled water industry would like to place the drop in sales on the economy, and hope that it picks up as the economy recovers, but I believe growing public awareness of the problems with bottled water may have turned the tide.
WS: We have seen towns such as Concord, MA in the US and Bundanoon, Australia ban bottled water sales. Do you think this is an effective or realistic method to solve the bottled water problem nationally?
PG: I do not propose a ban on bottled water in the book. I do not think such an approach is appropriate -- bottled water is a commodity, like many others. But I do believe strongly that there are things that should be done to reduce the demand for bottled water. In particular, we must restore national and local confidence in tap water, put water fountains back in public places, and forbid misleading and false advertising about bottled water. If we did these things, bottled water would once again become a luxury, not a necessity, in people's eyes.
WS: In certain areas of the country, tap water has taken on a lot of controversy. Whether it is boil warnings or the revelation that there has been elevated lead levels in the water that went unreported, it is easy to be doubtful of its safety. What would be your message to the public to help them regain trust in the public system?
PG: A key message in my book is that we must work to restore confidence in our tap water system. We must expand and upgrade municipal water systems to remove new contaminants and to ensure that the taste of tap water is good. We should be proud of our tap water system and do whatever is necessary to ensure that it provides the highest quality water.
WS: What do you think the single most effective thing someone can do on an individual level to help solve this problem?
PG: As individuals, buying bottled water is a choice. We can instead choose to carry refillable bottles and to use tap water whenever possible. In the end, the bottled water industry needs consumers, and if consumers goes elsewhere (i.e., back to the tap), sales will dry up and the environmental consequences of bottled water will be lessened.
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Make sure to check out Peters blog at the SF Chronicle. Also, don't forget to buy the book! You can find it at Island Press or at Amazon.com.
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