Imagine getting your power supply from big 220-volt cylindrical batteries that are charged at power generating plants and then delivered to you every week by truck to be hooked up to your home’s wiring. You then load the spent battery from the previous week onto the truck which then hauls it back to the nearest power plant to be re-charged.
Doesn’t this sound like a ridiculous way of being supplied electrical power?
Next time you buy a bottle of drinking water, think of how we’ve been so completely suckered into a dependency on this “product”. It is a product that commands prices that are anywhere from a ten- to 100-fold premium over a more readily-accessible alternative — tap water. Yet the industry is now worth billions.
As a wise man once said:
You can start a lucrative business with a bullshit product. All you need is a few million suckers to sell it to.
Indeed, selling bottled water has proven to be profitable, more so because manufacturers of bottled water do not have to bear the cost of storage and environmentally-sound disposal of the empty plastic bottles. Furthermore the bottles, like most plastic products, are petroleum-based. Let’s also not forget to mention the fuel burned by delivery trucks moving the “product” about.
Bottled water is the biggest scam of the last several decades. How long is it going to take for the sensibilities of humanity to catch on?
Maybe to get a sense of humanity’s track record of coming to its senses, consider that other billion-dollar industry — tobacco. Smoking began to be banned in public buildings and then in enclosed areas only in the last two decades of the 20th Century – thirty years after its grave risks to peoples’ health were discovered. Nevertheless, it is quite remarkable how cigarette smoking has gone from being the über-cool prop it used to be — a la James Dean and his Lucky Strikes — to the stigmatised disgusting habit it is seen to be today.
Why not a similar fate for this modern-day mass insanity? Just like the sight of a full ashtray today elicits revulsion once considered bizarre half a century ago, perhaps we will one day walk into a museum and get a few laughs viewing an exhibit dedicated to that old turn-of-the-century relic of humanity’s victimisation-by-clever-marketing — the Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottles used for selling drinking water to an entire generation of suckers.
There is hope:
THE Southern Highlands village of Bundanoon is poised to become the first town in Australia, and quite possibly the world, to ban commercially bottled water.
A town meeting tonight – bearing the almost irresistible slogan “Bundy on tap” – will ask for a formal show of hands on the proposed ban.
All Bundy’s shops have supported a ban, agreeing to lose over-the-counter income in order to combat the hefty carbon footprint associated with bottling water and trucking it around the state.
“It’s also a moral thing, in that it has just been such a wonderful marketing job by the beverage industry, selling people something they can have for free,” said Huw Kingston, who owns a combined cafe and bike shop in the town.
Beverage companies truthfully maintain that bottled water is a healthier alternative to fizzy soft drinks. But the plastic bottles are made from crude oil and most are thrown away rather than being refilled.
See the full article here.
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I have to agree with you mate! Bonzer! A litre of bottled water produces more greenhouse gas emission than a litre of petrol due to the energy intensive process needed to produce one.
It is criminal water not mineral water!
There’s bottled mineral water and bottled distilled water.
Mineral water contains certain properties not found in tap water, unless your barrio water is spring-fed.
Distilled water does not contain certain properties found in tap water, things like e coli bacteria, poisonous contaminants like lead etc. etc.
Both types of water taste better than tap water because neither has to travel through pipes that are never cleaned.
Your rant is misplaced. You rant against the water when its really the packaging and the delivery system that causes problems. And people will revert to tap water if you can guarantee that it’s sanitary and safe.
You just did my job for me and highlighted the Pinoy situation that makes the market for bottled water there even worse than what are mere suckers in the First World — Pinoys lack options and are therefore imprisoned by this marvel of clever marketing.
iPinoys lack options. That means they have no choice. So how can they be imprisoned by clever marketing?
You don’t need to market, you don;t need to convince any one to buy something that he has to buy.
It’s the old pwede-na-yan mentality at work there. Because there is a more easy but more expensive (in the long run) alternative, that addresses the pwede-na-yan standards of Da Pinoy, the more sustainable infrastructure for delivering water efficiently is left in its pwede-na-yan state.
Parang jeepney syndrome yan e. We go and get all comfy with the pwede-na-yan option to a more efficient mass transport system simply because the thinking involved in building and running one totally escapes our atrophied faculties.
What about that news that the C5 extension got stalled by the Supreme court because it will cause contamination of the water source of 8 million people (the project will pass through the balara mwss).
The curse of lack of urban planning ala Paris where the aqueducts were built in anticipation of roads is beginning to haunt us.
That is just for metro manila folks.
Dr Phil the problem in this specific case is not the pwede na yan mentality. It’s you barking up the wrong tree.
If you had understood, from the very beginning, that the problem is delivery of safe drinking water then the title and the whole theme of your post would have been on that and not on some borrowed idea that people drink bottled water because they are suckers for clever adverts.
Now you go off on the pwede na yan attitude to explain why Manila like many cities in the developed world is unable to provide water safe enough to drink. I wonder what is the equivalent of pwede na yan in the language of those places where people are also forced to drink bottled water.
No one was “imprisoned by this marvel of clever marketing” except you.
Let’s fry them on the barbie, Benign0!
how is this a filipino problem? the developing world has got loads of bottled water…
mb is right, its he packaging and delivery (and recycling) that is the problem…
@manuel:
The logic is simple. If “pwede na yan” weren’t the norm in infrastructure, there are a number of implications:
[1] You’d be drinking doubt-free clean water off the tap;
[2] Which means you won’t even be drawn to retail-bought bottled water because you could drink it from home or pack it with you with your own jug;
[3] Which means unless you choose flavored drinks when you eat out, it won’t cost you anything to choose water as beverage;
[4] Which gives you more savings – perhaps more disposable income becomes available for you – so you get to spend a little more on other things important to you; so
[5] If the bottled water industry weren’t so big, then we’d have that much carbon footprint removed from our day-to-day impact on the environment as a national collective.
If you can’t imagine how skillful marketing comes into play, you only need to see the range of varying prices different brands of bottled water have. Seeing how Evian and Perrier peg their prices, have you ever asked yourself whether those who drink them are better off than those who pick cheaper brands? Don’t you wonder, despite the presence of so many brands in the market with rather similar prices (you can graph them in clusters), why more and more manufacturers are drawn to introducing more brands in the market without offering anything different (in terms of perceptible product quality or attribute)? The bottomline is, these manufacturers capitalize on existing questionable tap water safety and at the same time match your demographic and market segmentation with the highest possible pricing they could implement without you balking (yes, that’s the very principle of pricing: determining the greatest possible amount you’d be willing to part with in a single transaction). This has less to do with production cost and everything to do with profit.
So the rant is valid, and you can’t oversimplify the problem to merely include the environmental impact of business operations. The money you spend on bottled water might mean little to you, but to lots of less privileged Filipinos the cost of safe drinking water has to compete with what little money they have for food, shelter, medicine.
Brita filters anyone?
http://logicalecology.wordpress.com/2008/02/18/bottled-water-vs-tap-water-which-is-better/
Bottled Water vs. Tap Water–Which is Better?
February 18, 2008 in Drinking Water, water | Tags: bottled water, Drinking Water, tap water, water regulations
Bottled water was all the rage for a while. Many people thought it was safer or better tasting. Health conscious people were sure bottled water was an improvement over what comes out of the tap.
Now the tide seems to be turning. People accuse bottled water fans of not caring about the environment! Though all water bottles are recyclable, the majority of water bottles end up in the trash instead of the recycle box. Shipping the water uses tons of energy. And guess what–about 25% of bottled water is really just municipal drinking water, treated and bottled. Even some brands with fancy names like Dasani and Aquafina.
Plus, there’s the issue of cost. You can get a thousand gallons of tap water for the same amount you pay for a pint of bottled water.
I admit to having a couple cases of bottled water in the pantry. It’s convenient, and I’m sure not going to fill up a bunch of bottles from the tap to get ready for hurricane season. And it does taste good.
But is bottled water really healthier than tap water? Is it worth the extra cost? And what is the effect on the environment?
According to the International Bottled Water Association, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and state agencies regulate bottled water. FDA’s standards are just as stringent and protective as the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) are for public drinking water supply.
The National Resources Defense Council(NRDC) conducted a four-year review of the bottled water industry including a comparison of national bottled water rules with national tap water rules, and independent testing of over 1,000 bottles of water. They concluded that bottled water is not necessarily safer than tap water. About 22% of the brands tested contined chemical contaminants at levels greater than state standards. (BV sez – TOINK TOINK and DOUBLE TOINK)
According to NRDC, in 2006 the equivalent of 2 billion half-liter bottles were shipped to the U.S., a big hit to the carbon footprint. Yet only about 13% of those empty bottles were recycled, meaning millions of them ended up in landfills.
So now, bottled water is the “bad guy.”
In reality, we’re fortunate to have both. Having worked in the public supply area for many years, I have to agree with the American Water Works Association’s (AWWA’s) campaign, Only Tap Water Delivers. For pennies a gallon, public suppliers provide safe drinking water to protect the public health, enough volume and pressure for fire protection, and support for the economy right to the doorstep. AWWA has some great consumer information on their DrinkTap website as well.
But it’s great to have bottled water available for our convenience–and for natural disasters or other times when the public supply might not be available or might be susceptible to contamination.
Obviously you are out of touch and sooooo conyo. The maglalako of bottled water calls this as “mineral water”. The term ‘criminal water” comes from the masa who consume this costly commodity. Next time buy criminal water at the bus station, OK?
I am conyo because I drink tap water?
Who is out of touch – tell that to your imaginary friends.
Why will I buy bottled water when I have clean tap water and I have a cooler?
You are not making sense. Who’s the conyo now? :P
I have always drank tap water in Davao (and in the US). I will only drink bottled water if tap is not available.
Davao City’s tap water has been tested internationally for quality against all the major bottled waters sold in the market and was adjudged the best in terms of cleanliness, safety, mineral content, and taste. No need for boiling, distilling, purifying, adding of minerals. It is absolutely perfect. And no less than the World Health Organization has certified that it is the best in the world.
As to Manila’s dirty tap – tough luck :P
Viewed differently, since the industry is encouraged to thrive as more taxes for the government accumulate in the process, it now contains de-criminalized water.
Back when the industry was yet young, MWSS pipelines suspiciously got busted with regularity and water coming out of the faucets were turning brackish. I suspected collusion.
Interesting thought. After all, the bottled water industry used scare tactics to get people to switch away from tap when it came to drinking water. It’s rather too convenient for the scare to actually be true, but we’ve been cheated because it’s only fair that we the citizens be provided truly clean tap. Water safety is supposed to be something that the government fully shoulders. And it’s possible too, like they do in Singapore. But there the issue is moot, because people’s earning potential is vastly greater than here.
Hey tap in Cebu is really clean. I heard from a retail insider that bottled water doesn’t sell as much there than it does in Manila (per inhabitant, not absolute sales volume).
Bottled water was one alternative to our dirty tap water which we seemed to have been that way ever since… yeah, ever since.
My mom told me that when MWSS got under Manila Water recently, the latter immediately replaced the distribution pipes to the outside. They didn’t use bigger pipes; it’s the same size as before. The water pressure suddenly got stronger for consumers.
WHAT was in those freaking old pipes! :O
I have always drank tap water in (and in the US). I will only drink bottled water if tap is not available.
Davao City’s tap water has been tested internationally for quality against all the major bottled waters sold in the market and was adjudged the best in terms of cleanliness, safety, mineral content, and taste. No need for boiling, distilling, purifying, adding of minerals. It is absolutely perfect. And no less than the World Health Organization has certified that it is the best in the world.
As to Manila’s dirty tap – tough luck :)
Yeah… it is tough luck. There is such a thing as tough luck. Life isn’t fair. :/
Well, that occasional feces coming down from the Mindanao mountain that waters most of the village next to my place through two spigots serving maybe 1,500 people, and courses through my pipes for showers and toilet, is not going to be fed to my kid.
Methinks there are indeed those at the other extreme who use the bottle when they certainly need not, percentagewise probably more in Australia than in the Philippines, and awareness of the ecological damages is a good thing.
However, in the Philippines, this issue resides somewhat lower than the “pissing in the street” commentary I read in another FV blog thread today.
And getting real water piped to the villages ranks somewhat higher than a Michael Jackson burial, but you would never tell that from the allocation of media coverage.
Joe
Tsk tsk, Mr. MB. It seems it is you who didn’t get it. In case you hadn’t noticed, I make no reference to Pinoys in my blog article.
Kaya nga I said, you did that job for me by, probably unwittingly, making the Philippines the proverbial bato-bato sa langit to the proverbial stone that is this blog post.
Tough luck. :p
Tsk tsk Dr Phil. Where in my initial comment did I mention the Philippines or Pinoys?
You were the one who brought up Pinoys first.
That’s why I had to screw your head straight and remind you that unsafe tap water is a global problem
Dr Phil you wanted to make a point about the marvel of clever marketing but the example you used was wrong because clever marketing is not needed to convince people that bottled water is safer to drink than tap water.
I’m surprised you have not been invited by Oprah or Tyra Banks to share your wonderful insights and simple-minded get real solutions to everything and anything that reminds you of the Philippines and Filipinos.
Dr. Phil Benigno. Pweh!
you were the one who mentioned pinoys first! weird…
Consumerism is like “shabu” addiction. You have to buy, in order to
get high. Next time, try bottling grains of sands. Sell it to someone
else. See, if it gets the same result as selling botled water.
mismo
‘Doesn’t this sound like a ridiculous way of being supplied electrical power?’
No. That will be more cost effective because there is no need to maintain transmission lines and no more transmission losses. The consumer also has an option on where to buy the charged battery. It will be cheaper to buy locally.
You saved on transmission lines – but you are spending vastly more on transport – fleet maintenance, driver payrolls and benefits, fuel prices. Your Total Landed Cost will be lower had you stuck with the transmission lines. So, NO it is not cost-effective.
Now, if you were using solar power, you generate power at home, and sell the excess power to the grid – that’s cost-effective in the long term. The roll-out cost is recovered within a year.
This is a possibility. As Lithium Batteries are being developed in
miniturized versions. They are also developing Batteries that can store more Electrical Energy. Lithium minerals will play the same role as Oil in the future. Because they store electrical energy.
I think this will paved way for interplanetary vehicles. Run by
stored energies in batteries. Other than Solidified fuels, like
solid oxygen fuels.
check this site out – http://www.homepower.com/home/
Lithium batteries developments are more sophisticated that Solar
and Wind Turbine powers. Batteries are portable and developed as
ultralight. Solar Panels and Wind Turbines are fixtures.
An Israeli Research Company just developed a Hybrid Solar and Helio
Turbine Energy Electrical Gennerator. More energy researches are
being developed thruout the world. Oil era is coming to an end. As
the coal era ended, so will the oil era.
‘you are spending vastly more on transport’
Nope. Even with transmission lines you still pay for fleet maintenance, driver payrolls and benefits. No need to invest in a big fleet because consumers will buy locally charged batteries. It will be stupid for local power utilities to charge batteries with power from thousands of miles away. Local power plants can now run at full capacity because they can store power. No need for peak power load plants. All power plants becomes base load power plants.
Nope.
With transmission lines, you pay less with fleet maintenance, driver payrolls and benefits because you are only maintaining transmission lines.
In contrast, loading, routing, and transporting locally charged batteries will mean expanding the fleet, hiring additional people for loading, routing, not to mention meeting delivery service levels. Plus battery storage areas, and the reverse logistics involved for failing batteries.
You wind up killing the dog to kill the fleas.
In maintaining transmission lines you don’t need storage buildings, service vehicles, helicopters, cranes, new cables, new towers?
storage buildings, service vehicles, helicopters, cranes – the capital has already been recovered – hello
volume of fleets – transmission line maintenance versus fleet-based direct door to door delivery – entire population hello uli – need more resources for your fleet
The cost of the transmission lines have already been recovered many times over.
The consumers will buy locally charged batteries – and the batteries get to his house by magic? How many trips in a year? Fuel expense/year? Carbon emissions from cars? hello?
Transmission lines do not last forever. Cables are always replaced. Less carbon emissions if you have a fleet of electric vehicles. Hello din?
Check your electric bill. There should be an entry for transmission charges or whatever they call it now. Hello ulit!
Fact is – you don’t have electric trucks in the philippines helllo
you are charged for use of transmission line – does not mean you are charged for setting up the transmission line – hello ulit
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/lithium-ion-battery.htm
* They start degrading as soon as they leave the factory. They will only last two or three years from the date of manufacture whether you use them or not.
* They are extremely sensitive to high temperatures. Heat causes lithium-ion battery packs to degrade much faster than they normally would.
* If you completely discharge a lithium-ion battery, it is ruined.
* A lithium-ion battery pack must have an on-board computer to manage the battery. This makes them even more expensive than they already are.
* There is a small chance that, if a lithium-ion battery pack fails, it will burst into flame.
BongV,
And who pays for setting up the transmission line? How do you recover that? Ililista mo sa tubig? Hello ka rin?
‘Fact is – you don’t have electric trucks in the philippines helllo’
And who said that I’m talking about the Philippines?
ah yun pala… hindi pala pilipinas
ok.. since you are not talking about the philippines – which country are you talking about? a fictitious country?
in case you didn’t notice, the transmission lines are already existing – how do you get electricity in your house nowadays? mind power?
Guess again, dude. You brought up a Third World situation here by saying this:
Safety of the water supply is guaranteed, dude. There may be the occassional snafu, but heads roll when things fail in some places. Something that can’t be said in the Third World.
Of course you living there don’t naturally break free of that frame of mind of not trusting any kind of infrastructure.
Tough luck. :p
pweh!
Very articulate Mr. Buencamino. :-D
actually, its not even a question of safety. its taste of the water. some people don’t like the taste of tap water…
Two giant firms can now fold tent and close – Meralco we don’t need your electricity and Manila Water Company we don’t need your tap water.
Enter the new batteries, the new bottled waters. And life goes on.
now that the u.s. legislature is investigating the safety and drinkability of bottled water, watch out for its philippine counterpart to do the same as if on cue. of course, if another allegation of “scandal” breaks out, the matter will surely fall by the wayside.
one thing i read is that we cant reuse bottled water bottles. they become toxic. anyone else read that?
Those bottles with the number 7 at the bottom are not food-grade reusable (reported by Fox News around Q1 2009), but the rest are okay. Those numbers mean something in the industry, but nobody bothers to tell the public. The email spreading around that says all plastic bottles shouldn’t be reused is a hoax, and believing in it would only benefit the companies we buy bottled water from.
I love it,nice article.I am decide to put this into use one of these days.Thank you for sharing this.To Your Success!