BACK TO THE TAP…..FOR A HEALTHIER PLANET.

Media Interest in Back to the Tap!


	Bottled water versus tap: Which is safer to drink? Those ubiquitous plastic water bottles have been increasingly vilified in recent years. Los Angeles, San Francisco and Santa Barbara, among others, have banned them from purchase with city funds. A few trendsetting restaurants, and even some markets and hotels, have banned them too. The trend has left many consumers wondering: Isn't bottled safer than tap? "Bottled water isn't any safer or purer than what comes out of the tap," says Dr. Sarah Janssen, science fellow with the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco, which conducted an extensive analysis of bottled water back in 1999. "In fact, it's less well-regulated, and you're more likely to know what's in tap water.". Read the Story


	Bottled water has contaminants too, study finds Tests on leading brands of bottled water turned up a variety of contaminants often found in tap water, according to a study released Wednesday by an environmental advocacy group. The findings challenge the popular impression — and marketing pitch — that bottled water is purer than tap water, the researchers say. However, all the brands met federal health standards for drinking water. Two violated a California state standard, the study said. An industry group branded the findings "alarmist." Joe Doss, president of the International Bottled Water Association, said the study is based on the faulty premise that a contaminant is a health concern "even if it does not exceed the established regulatory limit or no standard has been set." . Read the Story

Tap Water’s Popularity Forces Pepsi to Cut Jobs

The company, which makes Pepsi, Doritos and Quaker Oats cereal, announced on Tuesday that its quarterly earnings were down 10 percent in part because of declines in sales of soda and bottled water in the United States.

In response, the company is planning to eliminate 3,300 jobs and close as many as six plants to cut costs and to refocus its efforts on stabilizing its domestic beverage business.

“Revitalizing this business is a huge priority for us,” said PepsiCo’s chief executive, Indra Nooyi.

Pepsi reported net income of $1.58 billion for the third quarter, compared with $1.74 billion a year earlier. Excluding losses related to commodity hedges, the company’s earnings were $1.06 per share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting $1.08 per share. Read the Story


	How To Uncode the Hidden Dangers Of Plastic Bottles For years, glass has been out, and plastic has been in. Why? Because virtually unbreakable plastic makes drinking your beverage of choice at the office, gym, or nursery more convenient. But, before you take another sip, did you know there may be bacteria lurking in the bottle you are reusing? Fortunately, plastic bottles, and other storage containers, are assigned a resin identification code (that's fancy talk for the triangle circling a number on the bottom of plastic bottles). This system has been in place for nearly 20 years to help with recycling, but it can also help with consumption. How so? What do the numbers mean?. Read the Story

Feeling thrifty, the thirsty reach for tap water
Environmental concerns also play a role in bottled water slowdown

Tap water is making a comeback.

With a day's worth of bottled water — the recommended 64 ounces — costing hundreds to thousands of dollars a year depending on the brand, more people are opting to slurp water that comes straight from the sink.

The lousy economy may be accomplishing what environmentalists have been trying to do for years — wean people off the disposable plastic bottles of water that were sold as stylish, portable, healthier and safer than water from the tap. Read the story

Bottled water debate hits a boiling point

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A debate over water is boiling over in the United States and elsewhere amid growing environmental concerns about bottled water and questions about safety of tap water.

The US Conference of Mayors in June passed a resolution calling for a phasing out of bottled water by municipalities and promotion of the importance of public water supplies. Read the story


	Back to the Tap The U.N. estimates that 1.1 billion people around the world lack safe drinking water, a number that could reach 5 billion by 2025. Very few of them live in the U.S., however. Turn on a tap almost anywhere in America, and you'll get clean, safe water--a minor miracle on much of the planet. But you wouldn't know that from the giant plastic bottles of water that many of us haul around as if preparing for a stroll in the Sahara. Americans drank more than 8.25 billion gal. (more than 31 billion L) of bottled water in 2006, a 9.5% increase from the year before. We buy more bottled water than any other beverage except soft drinks, and soda's market share is fizzling fast. Water sales topped $10.8 billion last year--all for something you can get virtually free. "It's like marketing air," marvels Allen Hershkowitz, an industrial ecologist with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Read the Story

Nalgene to phase out hard-plastic bottles
Containers made with bisphenol A chemical linked to health risks

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Hard-plastic Nalgene water bottles made with bisphenol A will be pulled from stores over the next few months because of growing consumer concern over whether the chemical poses a health risk.

Nalge Nunc International, a division of Waltham, Mass.-based Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., said Friday it will substitute its Nalgene Outdoor line of polycarbonate plastic containers with BPA-free alternatives. Read the Story