Government Officials: Water Bottles Should Be Banned

Government officials are sparking a huge debate. Officials in New York City, Minneapolis, San Francisco and Salt Lake City have started campaigns to get people to stop drinking bottled water. They want to get people off the bottle craze and drinking tap water instead. A huge cry from the public of those in a favor and against the plan has created quite the story.

The bottle backlash stems from the fact that manufacturing plastic containers consumes energy and creates pollution. This is yet another move from the government to help us become good stewards to the environment. They want to halt the manufacturing of bottled water to stop the harm it is doing to our environment. Plenty of people think this thinking is in good nature, but not well thought through.

Some say the move misses the mark, especially since plastic bottles are among the most recycled packaging in the nation. In a formal statement, the International Bottled Water Association said, "It would make more sense for our government officials to focus on improving recycling rates for all consumer packaging."

Yet others point out that an outright ban will reduce pollution. This could save consumers money in the long haul. Experts say that the key is to change the way we think about and use water in our daily lives. This will include the way in which we consume the water. Studies have shown that 1 bottle of Fiji Natural Water emits 1.2 pounds of greenhouse gases during the manufacturing process. That is a lot of gas to emit from only one bottle. Imagine how much gas is emitted daily, when nearly a million bottles are produced on a weekly basis.