Brooklyn Nets to Sell "Brooklynized" Bottled Water, Test Bounds of Human Gullibility

When the Nets basketball team moves to its new arena in Brooklyn, it will sell its fans "Brooklynized" bottled water. You see, apparently people from New York City, not unlike the parents of Lake Wobegon's entirely-above-average children, have convinced themselves their tap water is exceptional.

But this is not Brooklyn tap water put into bottles - no, that would make too much sense for the nonsensical business of bottled water. A company in Florida will take Florida tap water, do little more than play Jay Z's Empire State of Mind for it, then declare it "Brooklynized" and sell it to Nets fans for god knows how much:

The water comes from a new but rapidly growing Florida-based, Larry King–approved franchise, the Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co., which claims it's found the secret to making great bagels: "Brooklynize" the water via a custom filtration process so it resembles "Brooklyn" water, which of course is actually just New York City water. (The company says the water itself comes from "regional bottling facilities.")

At least one person is already going after "Brooklynized" water. The Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reported last week that a franchise buyer in Florida sued the company, claiming that "the water filtration system is not unique and does not render water equivalent to Brooklyn water." And, yes, the buyer is going after Larry King, too. The company, unsurprisingly, denies the allegations.

As Norman Oder points out at the New York Magazine blog, "arena operators could simply turn on the taps and fill empty bottles with authentic Brooklyn water. But we guess a move like that would lack a certain capitalist zeal."

To repeat: There is no evidence bottled water will make you any healthier or happier than tap water. However, there is plenty of evidence it will make you significantly poorer than if you just brought a refillable mug or bottle with you.

We are all dumber for having heard this idea. Nets owner Bruce Ratner, I award you no points, and may god have mercy on your soul.




Via Deadspin

Bottled Water Blitz Wastes Money & Ignores a Real Risk

Was the DC region's mad rush for bottled water ahead of Hurricane Irene a necessary evil of disaster preparation or a waste of money? As with many questions like this, it's an environmental concern, sure - but the bigger issue is what an unnecessary waste of money it is, along with the real risk we're ignoring.

Yes, bottled water is worse for the environment and might be worse from a health perspective than tap water. But considering Americans drink nearly 9 billion gallons of bottled water last year requiring millions of gallons of petroleum to produce, the Irene surge is a drop in the bucket.

If there's a storm coming and you don't already have backup water, there's absolutely no need to waste money on buying it from the store. Any household has plenty of pitchers, bottles, Tupperware and pots that can serve as temporary tap water storage. For free! Putting those containers in the fridge or freezer can then keep your food cold longer in case you lose power. (Side note: I think people take "water" too literally. Just looking in my own fridge right now, I have a case of Sprite Zero that could sustain me for few days in a pinch. I guess waiting in long lines to purchase items specifically to ward off this threat gives people a sense of security.)

But the whole mad dash to prepare shows just how unprepared most people really are for sudden disaster. It's the unforeseen catastrophes that are the real danger, like if Tuesday's earthquake had been stronger. Ready.gov advises you to keep a disaster kit with three gallons of water for each person in your household. Ideally, you'd buy three gallon jugs of water, stick them in your closet, and forget about them until you needed them. Unopened bottled water doesn't go bad, so these jugs could literally last a lifetime. You could also just get a battery-powered UV water sterilizer, as my friend Every Day Father points out.

I don't say "a lifetime" by accident - it's extremely rare for the DC area to lose both safe tap water AND the ability to travel for three consecutive days. The only recent example I could find of a disaster knocking out drinking water was after the remains of Hurricane Isabel hit the DC region in 2003. Fairfax County issued a boil water order, but lifted it just two days later and even then, free bottled water was distributed. And since then, Fairfax has worked to upgrade its water facility's backup power system.

My concern is that obsessing over canned goods, water and flashlight batteries ignores a huge gap in our emergency response system. More than a quarter of American households now rely only on wireless phones. As the earthquake reminded us, our cell phone system can't handle disasters.

Even if the system survives, how long would our cell phone batteries last without electricity? When I woke up Sunday morning, there were 118,000 customers without power in Northern Virginia. My Blackberry battery sometimes lasts less than a day. How many people paid for bottled water, yet would've relied on only their cell phones for emergency calls during an extended power outage - a much more likely storm outcome than losing water?

Fortunately, there's an easy solution available for under $30. Ready.gov recommends keeping a solar cell phone charger in your disaster kit. And when you're not riding out a storm, you can use it to charge your devices while camping.

As for upgrading our national wireless infrastructure, cell phone companies say it's not their job. "For cell phone carriers it really doesn't make sense from a cost perspective for them to be building their networks for the highest demand," CNET's Maggie Reardon told CBS News.

Would the federal government be willing to invest a few billion dollars putting people to work making sure our wireless networks are ready for the worst? Not while Rep. Eric Cantor's running the House - for him, not even earthquake response is worth funding without simultaneously laying off other government workers.

How Much Will McDonnell's Petty Poke at Enviros Cost You?

UPDATE: The Washington Post is picking up the story, now asking if McDonnell lifted the ban on bottled water at the behest of the industry.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch details how Gov. Bob McDonnell is reversing Gov. Tim Kaine's ban on state agencies buying bottled water except in emergency cases. Republican bloggers giddly applauded the move -- that'll show them treehuggers!

McDonnell's move reveals he puts petty politics over small government or conservatism. His move will waste tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars.

Corporate Accountability International, citing Virginia government's state spending tracking database, reports that in FY09 cash payments from Virginia agencies to at least several bottled water vendors were estimated to be at least $158,677. And whaddya know -- bottled water companies are thrilled McDonnell is going back to shoveling taxpayer dollars their way:

Chris Saxman, a former member of the House of Delegates, works for his family business, Shenandoah Valley Water Co., which distributes beverages, including water. He says they encourage recycling and balks at Kaine's singling out of water bottles over soda bottles.

According to Corporate Accountability International, Virginia taxpayers paid Shenandoah Valley Water Co. over $100,000 for bottled water in FY09. Somehow, Olympia Meola of the Times-Dispatch didn't see fit to mention that. Seems relevant, no?

If state agencies have a choice between using tap water & bottled water, every dollar spent on bottled water is taxpayer money wasted. Even though Americans spend $15 billion a year on bottled water, there's no evidence it's better for you than tap water (in fact, it could be worse). 

The petroleum needed to make the plastic bottles hurts our energy security -- the 1.5 million barrels of petroleum used to make water bottles each year could fuel 100,000 cars. The gas needed to fuel trucks to deliver bottled water wastes energy and pollutes our air & water. And on & on. You can learn more at ThinkOutsideTheBottle.org.

Better Living Through Chemistry

Here's an example of why we treehuggers get so riled up about bottled water. It's not just that bottled water trucked in from a remote location has a a huge carbon footprint. It's that bottled water may not be any better for you than tap water.

I'm reminded of all this because the American Chemistry Council is celebrating 100 years of clean drinking water:

If Democrats Won't Green Their Events, Who Will?

Former Virginia Governor and current candidate for U.S. Senate Mark Warner held his "almost annual" pig roast at his farm in King George this weekend. You can read a full review over at VirginiaDem.org.

This note from Not Larry Sabato's Twitter feed caught my eye:

No recycling at Mark Warner Pig Roast.

Whenever I see Ben, the blogger who writes Not Larry Sabato, he never fails to rub it in The Green Miles' face that he has a smaller carbon footprint than I do. (I have to carpool to an office out in Reston two days a week while Ben doesn't even own a car. Although I wonder how many flights a year he takes? We may need to do a The Green Miles vs. Not Larry Sabato carbon weigh-in. Where was I?) Anyway, I'm not surprised Ben was watching out for a green faux pas.

I saw some half-hearted eco-efforts myself at the Arlington Democrats Chili Cookoff on Labor Day. There was recycling and several of the cooks prepared vegetarian chili or used locally-grown ingredients. But there were also plastic forks, styrofoam bowls and napkins and fliers not made out of recycled material. Eco-friendly alternatives are available at just about every grocery store in the DC area these days, so there's no excuse for not buying green.

Most hypocritical -- ice chests of bottled water. The Cookoff took place at the Lyon Park Community Center, which has a kitchen with running water. Democrats on the Arlington County Board have pledged to avoid bottled water whenever possible and county agencies have done a great job of following through. So why is bottled water unacceptable at county events, but made available at virtually every Arlington Democrats event?

I don't want to sound like a nattering nabob of negativism. National Democrats certainly broke new ground on holding a sustainable event with their extensive efforts to green the Democratic National Convention. And if we're going to pass legislation to slow climate change and make America more energy independent next year, it's Democrats like Mark Warner who are going to make it happen.

But here's the thing -- consumers don't change habits easily. They need to be shown that going green is both important and hassle-free (which is one of the reasons I started this here blog). Every time you bust out the bottled water, you're sending uncertain consumers a subtle message this all that green stuff is just a fad -- it's OK to fall back into those old habits at the first sign of possible inconvenience.

The bottom line is, if you're going to talk the talk on going green, you have to walk the walk. If Democrats won't take every reasonable step to green their events, who will?

Doonesbury on Bottled Water

Video: Aqua Colbert

Is the Tide Turning Against Bottled Water?

Americans have long been sold on the idea that bottled water is healthier than tap water. I remember back in the mid-'80s there was a scare about lead water in Boston's drinking water, and despite the fact that you'd have to drink something like 10 gallons of tap water a day to have gotten lead poisoning from it, The Green Mom sent The Green Miles to the doctor for a blood test (I was fine).

But isolated incidents aside, our tap water is just as healthy for us as bottled water. In fact, more and more bottled water companies are admitting their bottled water is tap water:

PepsiCo Inc. is the latest company to offer some clarity about the source of its top-selling bottled water as it announced on Friday it would change the label on Aquafina water bottles to spell out that the drink comes from the same source as tap water.

Last month alone, a barrage of news hit the industry: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom banned city-funded purchases of bottled water; New York City launched an ad campaign called “Get Your Fill” to promote the benefits of tap water; and the U.S. Conference of Mayors adopted a resolution to bring attention to the importance of public water systems and the negative impact of bottled water.

Even the Arlington County Board is getting into the act:

County Board members have a new environmental mission: Limiting the use of disposable, plastic water bottles.

Board member Jay Fisette is spearheading the effort, and has the support of his colleagues.

“Whenever possible, we're going to be drinking tap water,” County Board Chairman Paul Ferguson said.

Why the sudden swing against bottled water? Because while tap water and bottled water are a wash (no pun intended) when it comes to our health, bottled water is vastly worse for our environment.

Think about it -- there's environmental damage at every step of the way:

- The bottles themselves are made out of plastic -- a petroleum product
- The bottles are then placed on ships or trucks and hauled thousands of miles to your local store, burning gasoline all along the way
- Once the water is consumed, 90% of the bottles end up in a landfill

You can read more about the environmental impact of bottled water here.

So what should you do? Drink bottled water as little as possible. It's not hard. At home, fill your glass from the tap or use a filtered pitcher. If you're heading to the coffee shop, bring a reusable mug. At work, drink from the fountain (if your office cooler has a big plastic jug on the top, it's bottled water -- ask your boss to switch to a filtered cooler). If you're heading to a softball game, fill a reusable bottle.

You won't just be saving the environment, you'll be saving yourself money, too. Considering how much joy I get over saving 50 cents here and there at the grocery store, you can imagine how satisfying it is to save $4 on bottled water every time I go to a Nats game by bringing my own bottle and filling it up at the fountain.

And if you're out and about and you need to buy a bottle of water, that's fine. Just make sure the bottle gets recycled, even if you have to throw the flattened empty in your briefcase, backpack, or purse until you find a bin.