Today we are not going to talk about solar technology.
We would like to share something that is related to your daily
life, and it can be easily found everywhere around you: The BOTTLED
WATER!
Do you always drink bottled water? Does bottled
water first come out in your mind when you feel thirsty? Do you
know that the innocent looking produt is a more than $10 billion
industry and it is
the fastest-growing beverage category in the U.S. ? And is it really
good for you? Here are the top 6 myths about bottled water:
Myth #1: BOTTLED WATER IS
BETTER THAN TAP.
Not necessarily. While labels gush about bottled water that "begins
as snowflakes" or flows from "deep inside lush green
volcanoes," between 25 and 40 percent of bottled water comes
from a less exotic source: U.S. municipal water supplies. (Bottling
companies buy the water and filter it, and some add minerals.)
That's not really a bad thing: The Environmental Protection Agency
oversees municipal water quality, while the Food and Drug Administration
monitors bottled water; in some cases, EPA codes are more stringent.
Myth #2: PURIFIED WATER TASTES BETTER.
The "purest" water — distilled water with all minerals
and salts removed — tastes flat; it's the sodium, calcium,
magnesium, and chlorides that give water its flavor. The "off" taste
of tap water is the chlorine; if you refrigerate it in a container
with a loose-fitting lid, the chlorine taste will be gone overnight.
Myth #3: BOTTLED WATER WITH VITAMINS, MINERALS, OR PROTEIN IS
MORE HEALTHY THAN REGULAR WATER.
"
Vitamins, color, herbs, protein, and all the other additions to
water — those are a marketing ploy," says Marion Nestle,
Ph.D., professor of nutrition studies at New York University. Plus,
the additives are usually a scant serving of the vitamins you really
need in a day, adds Amy Subar, Ph.D., a nutritionist with the National
Cancer Institute. Enhanced waters usually contain sugars and artificial
flavorings to sweeten the deal and can pack more calories than
diet soda. When it comes to providing fluoride, tap water usually
wins, though that element is increasingly being added to bottled
waters.
Myth #4: YOU NEED EIGHT 8-OUNCE GLASSES OF WATER EACH DAY.
The Institute of Medicine recommends about 91 ounces (a little
more than 11 8-ounce glasses) of fluid daily for women. But here's
the thing: It expects 80 percent of that to come from water,
juice, coffee, tea, or other beverages and the remaining 20 percent
from food. That means if you drink a 12-ounce cup of coffee and
a 12-ounce can of diet soda, you only need 48 more ounces (three
16-ounce glasses, or four soda cans' worth) for the day.
Myth #5: AFTER AN INTENSE WORKOUT, BOTTLED WATER IS BEST.
There's a reason volunteers hand out Gatorade during marathons.
If your workout lasts longer than an hour, you need to replace
the water and electrolytes, such as sodium and potassium, that
you've lost (that's what sports drinks generally do). For less
intense workouts, regular water is fine.
Myth #6: WATER BOTTLES ARE EASY ON THE ENVIRONMENT BECAUSE THEY
CAN BE RECYCLED.
Wouldn't it be nice? And it's not just the bottles. Eco-costs include
manufacturing, trucking, shelving, and marketing. And meeting the
annual U.S. demand for plastic bottles requires enough oil to keep
100,000 cars on the road for a year, says Janet Larsen of the Earth
Policy Institute. Sure, the 70 million empty water bottles the
U.S. produces per day can be recycled, but the sad truth is, about
86 percent of them end up in the trash. Hardly worth it, for what
flows out of the tap and into a reusable glass for free. Can't
imagine how terribly the plastic bottles end up in the trash? See
pic below:
Extracted from: www.webmd.com
Included here the video about the facts of bottled
water. You might not like how it is presented, but do learn the
lesson that it is trying to tell.
