Environmental Organizations ask Governor Strickland to Cut Bottled Water Spending
The swell of criticism for buying bottled water is reaching new heights. In Ohio, Corporate Accountability International’s “Think Outside the Bottle” campaign calls on Gov. Ted Strickland to cut state spending on bottled water and asks for federal monies to finance water infrastructure projects.
Bottled water corporations are assaulting our tap water from all sides. Misleading marketing would have us believe that the only safe place to get water is out of a bottle. The mountains and streams plastered on Aquafina and Dasani bottles imply the water is somehow better for our health. But the fact is, bottled water has social and environmental impacts: It’s bad for taxpayers, it’s bad for our public water systems and it’s bad for the environment.
Corporations like Coke, Pepsi and Nestlé are transforming water from a human right to a high-priced commodity to be bought and sold next to laundry detergent and cereal. And as the industry undermines our confidence in tap water, our economy and our democracy suffer.
More than a century ago, the creation of municipal water systems in the U.S. boosted people’s health and standard of living dramatically, in turn spurring a period of rapid economic growth in the U.S. Now, addressing Ohio’s water infrastructure needs could create more than 35,000 jobs. However, Ohio faces a funding gap of more than $750 million to keep our water systems strong.
People all across the world, including the U.S., are confronted daily with the fact that access to water is scarce. We might be able to survive without energy, but we can’t survive without good old H20. That is why Corporate Accountability International and our allies across the state are working to defend the human right to water. Already tens of thousands of people have pledged to “Think Outside the Bottle,” making a commitment to opt for tap water over bottled and to support our public water systems.
For the past two years, the Think Outside the Bottle campaign has catalyzed mayors, the public officials most responsible for our access to water, to reduce their bottled water consumption. In 2008, the U.S. Conference of Mayors passed a resolution encouraging cities across the country to phase out taxpayer spending on bottled water and promote the importance of strong public water systems. More than 60 major cities have responded to this resolution by taking action to protect the environment, save money and restore confidence in our public water supplies.
As cities and states across the U.S. save hundreds of thousands of dollars through this common sense move, resources are freed up for more beneficial uses, including re-investment in public water systems.
In Ohio, Mayor Frank Jackson has begun investigating ways to go bottled-water free. The Ohio Environmental Council, Sierra Club, EarthWatch Ohio and hundreds of people across the state are joining Corporate Accountability International in calling on Strickland to eliminate the state’s spending on bottled water and calling for federal investment in public water infrastructure. Public water systems have long been the backbone of our country’s public health and economic prosperity—it’s time we start nurturing them.
For more information, contact John Stewart at 617-447-2517; jstewart@stopcorporateabuse.org;
www.thinkoutsidethebottle.org.
Take the Pledge today
and Opt for Public Tap Water Over Bottled
Water
by visiting
www.thinkoutsidethebottle.org
Support efforts to reduce the social and environmental impacts of bottled water and to prioritize public water systems.