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2 news January 31,2008 Research provides evidence showing bottled water can be unheaithy for people, environment IBYANNAEUSBIO Student Greensboro's prolonged drought provided strong material for the media in 2007, yet another issue deserving at tention remains a concern even after the dry spell has ended. Resource special ists have targeted bottled water as a pos sible, yet unlikely, source of harm to the environment. Although consumers con sider bottled water a seemingly harm less household item, the environmental and financial effecfs caused by fhe pro- ducfion and shipping of botfled wafer are significanf. According to the "New York Times," the United States imported 44 million gallons of water just last year. Such transportation does not come without a price; manufacturing and transporting a bottle of wafer across the U.S. creates almost one quarter of a pound of car bon dioxide. While this amount many not sound like much, the carbon diox ide created is equal to the carbon diox ide emitted when a car runs for 30 min- ufes. Natural Resources Defense Coun cil research also shows fhat the com bined tons of carbon dioxide released from fhe transporfafion of boftled wa ter for both the European Union and Fiji was the same as running 690 cars con tinuously for one year. These numbers do nof include the pounds of carbon emitted as bottled water ships across the U.S. to its final destinations. Bottled water not only contributes to the nation's growing carbon footprint, but also to its overflowing landfills. A plasfic boftle's journey does nof end when someone fosses if in a trash can. Plastic bottles are made from polyefh- ylene terephfhalate, a polyester chemi cal compound known as PET. While PET acts as a formidable plasfic mafe- rial because it is transparent, durable, malleable and resistant to damage from moisfure, many consumers do nof real ize if can never complefely break down because of its chemical composition. Therefore, if a water bottle is not re cycled and ends up in a landfill, if will remain there. Consumers assume they are helping to alleviate the local drought by pur chasing bottled water instead of using fap wafer, buf many are unaware fhaf when fhey buy one lifer of boftled wa ter, they are, in effect, buying six. Ac cording to Simran Sethi, an eco-advo- cate for fhe Sundance Channel's series "Big Ideas for a Small Planet," the manufacturing process for the bottled drink requires approximately five lifers of wafer fo cool fhe plasfic in one boffle, in addifion fo the one liter used to fill fhe drinking confainer. Choosing boftled water over tap wa ter cannot only harm the environment, but the price also dents one's wallet. In a comparison of boftled water and tap water, data from the Greensboro Water Department determines the following: Cify water costs $0.0022 per gallon per day, so the annual cost of drinking wa fer is only 80 cenfs if one drinks one gallon of water per day. On the con trary, bottled water costs approximately $2.56 per gallon, so if one consumes one gallon of botfled wafer per day, he or she will pay $934.40 over the course of one year, or almosf 1168 fimes fhe cosf of Greensboro tap water. ■' i *1 1 — f; December’s Stuffed Animal Drive of 2007 proved to be a great success for the fourth consecutive year because of Student Council’s leadership and tbe student body’s willingness to make donations. Accompanied by Annie Mack, Mary Nash, Stephanie Pittman, Michael Timmons, Mary Margaret Tourtellot, and Rebecca Webster, Student Body President Sam Hyman, transported tbe numerous cuddly gifts for every student to Hunter Elementary School on Wednesday, Dec. 19. Attending a Title 1 school, some of these children might otherwise not have received Christmas presents. Hunter Elementary School students showed their appreciation by sending Grimsley the thank you banner hanging in tbe front lobby. f'i- (SrWCRSE? i. jijBVitw Another misconception for many consumers involves water purity. They ssume bottled water is cleaner and safer than the water that flows from their taps; however, many bottled waters actually are filled with purified city tap water, which disproves the theory. Residents of Greensboro are fortunate to have A. hut'fnr-i trr-ifhK’ quality water avaliable. Information from the Greensboro Water Department shows the city's water quality ranks third out of the 99 major municipalities in North Carolina. Greensboro's tap water is an inexpensive and eco-friendly resource that should be "tapped into" more often. No Books, No Homework, No Classes .... Guaranteed!!! Sandcastle Oceanfront Resort at the Pavilion in Sunny Myrtle Beach Welcome Students!!! 1-866-857-4061 Oceanfront accommodations featuring indoor and outdoor pools, Lazy River, and hot tub WWW.sandcastleatthepavilion.com SAVE 10% BOOK BEFORE February 1, 2008 MYRTLE BEACH, SC STUDENTS WELCOME
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