Welcome to a world where millions of Americans choose to spend thousands of dollars yearly on something they can acquire absolutely free, a world where Americans litter the landscape with 30 million tons of plastic as a direct result of something they don’t even need.
In this world, Americans waste their precious earnings on bottled water, the scourge of not only our pockets but also our only Earth.
Think about this statistic: If a bottle of water costs an average of 1 dollar, and approximately 304,000,000 people live in the United States, how much money do citizens waste daily on something we already pay a utility bill for?
That’s right; you’re paying for water, your glimmering necessity two times, logical correct? In a random survey of Leesville students, 85% of the student body could not taste a difference between bottled water and tap water.
Why then, do teens as well as adults continue to figuratively set their pockets ablaze by purchasing more water annually than both milk and beer combined?
Morgan Papanestor, junior, shed some light on the situation: “I only drink Smart Water, other kinds of water won’t do; they’re not purified enough for me.”
A single bottle of that precious water costs Papanestor $ 1.50, or a little more than a pack of gum, to put things in simpler terms.
Yearly, that is about 400 dollars she could be saving by sticking to the tap; that amount of money could pay over half the rent on a one room apartment in North Carolina for a month.
Convenience is an argument many bottled-water guzzlers use for their platform, claiming that water is too difficult to transport without the plastic bottle. However, a much more affordable, environmentally friendly alternative is the Nalgene bottles that are becoming a common trend.
A 32 oz. Nalgene bottle that can be reused for many years costs only 10 dollars, which is vastly cheaper than the more harmful alternatives.
“I use Nalgene bottles because I heard the plastic kills dolphins, and I really like dolphins. Also, I’m not trying to ruin the only environment I’ve got,” said Kyle Gorman, sophomore.
Although it may appear a minor reason to stop drinking bottled water, scientists claim that 100,000 marine animals a year die from plastic rings, certain types of water bottle packaging contain.
Again, if this was a necessary risk to take, the controversy would be a much grayer area, however these bottles of water are useless.
Matt Greenhaw, junior, also consciously chooses to abstain from bottled water. “I drink the equivalent of 8 glasses [of water] a day for football, but it’s in a reusable bottle.”
Greenhaw helps prove that even without a fancy Nalgene bottle, one can still make a frugal, environmentally friendly choice about their drinking utensils.
Additionally, if a bottled water drinker complains that Nalgene bottles are too small they should consider that a standard sized water bottle is only 16 fluid ounces. while water containers come in a plethora of sizes including 8, 16, and 32 oz bottles.
As if there were not enough reasons to quit using plastic bottles already, it is also worth noting that the bottles are not biodegradable. The decomposition of a single plastic bag can take up to 1,000 years.
Further contributing to our environmental woes is the statistic that to produce the amount of water Americans do yearly, 50 million barrels of oil go into the energy processing. In essence, for every bottle of water one drinks, they also use a quarter barrel of oil – one of our most precious resources.
So when it comes to cracking open another bottle of water, put it back down and do the world a favor. Welcome to the conversation.
Will Bennett is a remarkable staff writer who was recruited from his early days. In fact, before Bennett could even speak, the Mycenaean took serious interest in him. While many consider this practice to be unethical, the Leesville editors disagree. Alex Stewart claims that his contributions to the staff have been “Pullitzer Prize” worthy.
In addition to his writing, Bennett enjoys animals, Freshberry Frozen Yogurt, Hip-hop music, and long walks on the beach. He can often be found on his seaside estate composing original music, writing moving poetry, and balling with old basketball greats like Larry Bird and Michael Jordan.
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