Stop the Bottles - Save the Planet | SodaStream

Stop the Bottles - Save the Planet

"340 billion beverage bottles and cans are not recycled every year worldwide. That's a recycling rate of about 26 percent.1

141 billion beverage bottles and cans are not recycled every year in the United States. The recycling rate for all Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles is only 23.1 percent, so that 100 billion beverage bottles were not recycled in 2009.2

Carbonated beverage and sparkling water consumption is growing rapidly. The environmental cost to produce the plastic bottles and transport the goods to consumers is high.

With an average consumption of over 118 liters of carbonated drinks per capita annually, it’s time to consider an alternative to packaged carbonated drinks and sparkling water.

What it takes to  manufacture those PET bottles:

  • 2.7 million tons of plastic are used for the production of bottled water EVERY year. Most of this ends up as garbage or in landfills.3
  • 100 million barrels of oil. That's the amount of oil that is used to produce the plastic for bottled water globally every year.3
  • Each bottle produced requires nearly 5 times its volume in water to manufacture and may have caused the release of nickel, ethylene oxide and benzene during its production.3

 

1. Euromonitor 2009 - Beverage Packaging

2. Container Recycling Institute

3. Emily Arnold & Janet Larsen. "Bottled water: Pouring resources down the drain." Earth Policy Institute, Feb. 2, 2006"

 via sodastream.com

 

Shocking Water Contaminant

"New research shows that many people are unsuspectingly drinking sucralose every day in their water. A shocking new study found that the artificial sweetener sucralose, which is also known under the brand name Splenda, is now a widespread contaminant in surface water, ground water, and waste water.

Researchers took samples from 19 American drinking water treatment plants that provide drinking water for over 28 million people. They found sucralose in:

-The source water of 15 out of 19 drinking water treatment plants tested;

-The finished water of 13 out of 17 water plants; and

-8 out of 12 water distribution systems."

read more via care2.com

See Also...

What's in Cheyenne's Water ? 

and

The Water Quality Information Center (WQIC)  was established in 1990 to support the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) plan to address water quality concerns. As the focal point of the National Agricultural Library's water quality efforts, the center collects, organizes, and communicates the scientific findings, educational methodologies, and public policy issues related to water resources and agriculture.

 

Disappearing Aral Sea--A Hell Good Intentions Created

Watch time-series images of the the Aral Sea over the past decade.

It was once the fourth largest lake in the world. Fed primarily by snowmelt and precipitation from faraway mountains, the Aral Sea supported extensive fishing communities and a temperate oasis in a mostly arid region of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. 
But in the 1950s and 60s, the government of the Soviet Union launched projects that diverted the region’s two major rivers—the Syr Darya and the Amu Darya. The dams, canals, and other water works were built in order to transform the desert into agricultural fields for cotton and other crops. The Aral Sea has been slowly disappearing ever since.

via earthobservatory.nasa.gov

 

Bioluminescence Bacteria Combat Pollution

"Bioluminescence is an ability shared by creatures around the planet that allows them to generate light – in fact, 90% of life in the world’s oceans possess this characteristic. Whereas most animals use it to help them find food, attract mates, and defend against predators, a marine biologist is harnessing bioluminescent bacteria to save one of Florida’s most precious and threatened ecosystems – the Indian River Lagoon. By mixing bioluminescent bacteria with sediment from the 156-mile estuary, renowned scientist Dr. Edith Widder is able to determine how many toxic chemicals are present in the water."
via inhabitat.com

 

When Honey Isn't Honey, Just Follow the Money...

Tests Show Most Store Honey Isn't Honey
Ultra-filtering Removes Pollen, Hides Honey Origins

"More than three-fourths of the honey sold in U.S. grocery stores isn't exactly what the bees produce, according to testing done exclusively for Food Safety News.  

The results show that the pollen frequently has been filtered out of products labeled "honey."
The removal of these microscopic particles from deep within a flower would make the nectar flunk the quality standards set by most of the world's food safety agencies.

The food safety divisions of the World Health Organization, the European Commission and dozens of others also have ruled that without pollen there is no way to determine whether the honey came from legitimate and safe sources."

read more via foodsafetynews.com

 

See also the in-depth story
"Honey laundering: The sour side of nature’s golden sweetener"  

"As crime sagas go, a scheme rigged by a sophisticated cartel of global traders has all the right blockbuster elements: clandestine movements of illegal substances through a network of co-operatives in Asia, a German conglomerate, jet-setting executives, doctored laboratory reports, high-profile takedowns and fearful turncoats.  

What makes this worldwide drama unusual, other than being regarded as part of the largest food fraud in U.S. history, is the fact that honey, nature’s benign golden sweetener, is the lucrative contraband..."

Water Bottle Pollution Facts

"In 1976 Americans drank an average of 1.6 gallons of bottled water every year. Roughly 30 years later consumption increased to 30 gallons per person, according to the Earth Policy Institute --- despite the fact that bottled water can cost anywhere from 240 to 10,000 times more than tap water, which is brought right to your home for pennies a gallon. Bottled water also creates its own share of pollution --- the production of plastic bottles requires millions of barrels of oil per year and the transportation of bottled water from its source to stores releases thousands of tons of carbon dioxide."
more via greenliving.nationalgeographic.com