I can see the point, but....

... mini margaritas do NOT need to be in plastic bottles.

On top of it all, these are ridiculously tiny. So you drink a lot of them in your quest to get shitfaced.

And so of course it's safer to have plastic instead of glass because by the time you have had 15 of these, they start falling to the ground. If they were glass, they would break. So naturally you need plastic.

These are one of those things that if I ever see anyone drinking them, it will be hard for me to resist slapping the damn thing out of their hand.

Every other fun froofy beverage has the self-respect to come in a glass bottle. Why oh why the plastic here? Because they are better for tailgating? There is NO REASON for this.

People who bring these to your home, picnic, or event need to be sent away immediately. People who buy these for their home enjoyment need to be stopped from adding to the gene pool. Immediately.

Tell me that after a 4-pack of theses, that the said consumer is interested in making sure the bottles are going into the recycling.

"But what am I supposed to drink at places where I can't bring glass bottles?"

You. You who just said that. Out of the gene pool. We don't need you. And take your red Solo cup with you. I can just see that, too - this little bottle suddenly isn't cold enough, so they pour it FROM this plastic into one of those horrors. At that point, I really do just give up.

Apathy

Me. It's me, I'm the one with the apathy today.

I was looking over some articles on the green sites... "10 Ways to be Green"... "5 Ways to Go Green Without Spending Money"... "20 Things to Do to be Green".... and on and on ad nauseum. I say ad nauseum because they are pretty much all blathering on about the same old thing. And if in 2013, they are still blathering on about the same old things that SOME of us have been saying for YEARS, then we have a problem.

Here are some suggestions from these *new* articles, posted this month, March, 2013...

• "Stop Buying Water." Really??? No shit???? And, wait, I would actually SAVE money by not buying bottled water, too??? YOU DON'T SAY!
• "Refuse to Waste Gas." So glad you say, I never thought of more gas efficiency before.
• "Put and End to Paper Towels." Damn, I wish I'D said something like that before now!
• "Lighten You Laundry's Load." Don't use warm or hot water? WOW! I could have sworn that has been said for, oh, 10 years at least, but thanks for the amazing information!

And from an article about how to go green in 2013....

If you want to be kinder to the planet and save some money at the same time, here are 20 ways to go green in 2013.

1. Buy fresh, local food this summer
2. Bring your own bags when you shop for groceries. You can often buy reusable bags at the stores you buy groceries. 
3. Shop at consignment stores
4. Rip up some lawn and create new garden beds this spring, and then grow your own food this summer.
5. Ditch those dreaded plastic sandwich bags and get some washable containers or bags.
6. Cut down on car trips and run your errands on your bike or on foot.
7. Pack cloth napkins instead of paper towels in school lunches.
8. Plant a tree. 
9. Dump your bottled water costs. You could save hundreds of dollars by buying snazzy metal water bottles for everyone in the family and a personal filter for your kitchen faucet.
10. Organize a Halloween costume swap in September.
11. Replace your old light bulbs with LED bulbs. They last 15 times longer and use 75 percent less energy.
12. Expand your hand-me-down circle. Organize a clothing swap for your kids’ preschool or a group of friends. Everyone brings gently used and clean kids’ clothes to your garage and parents can take as many items as they donated. The rest goes to charity. You can also swap toys and books.
13. Replace your showerheads with low-flow models. Low-flow showerheads can save you up to 15 percent on water heating costs and reduce your water usage by as much as 20,000 gallons a year.
14. Save up to 30 percent on your monthly heating bills by having a home energy audit done by a professional.
15. Give service and experience gifts this year instead of stuff. Make homemade gift certificates for services and experiences that could include tech support, dinner and a movie, yard work, pet walking or babysitting, or a day of organizing support for the clutter challenged.

And now you are asking, "Why the ire, Rhonda? These are good things! Things you yourself recommend!" Yup. Been sayin' 'em. For... years? And people been sayin' 'em for years before me. Good stuff. Damn fine ideas. What I want to know is,

WHY ARE WE STILL HAVING TO SUGGEST THEM?????

Reusable bags as a suggestion in 2013? Why do we even have to say that AGAIN? Don't most people who aren't living under rocks realize that they should be bringing their own goddam bags by now?  And if not, if we have to keep saying it, what's it going to take? If people haven't gotten it yet, are they ever going to? What's the point of it all? Avoid bottled water. This is not new news. It's not even sort of new news. It's old news. Very old news. Yet, how many millions haven't gotten around to it?

So, why the ire? Maybe it's just my mood today. Maybe I'm sick of being nice. Maybe I've never liked to have to repeat myself, so realizing that there are so many deaf ears out there really gets to me. Just, just get it, people. Quit making us repeat ourselves.

It's enough to make me give up and leave everyone to their own hell. I'm having an apathetic day. Hopefully, it is fleeting. Sometimes, I do wonder why the hell I care. Days like today... maybe I just don't.

Committed - One Plastic Bottle at a Time

I cannot get over what companies will do to trot out how responsible and eco-friendly they are when their product IS ALL IN PLASTIC SINGLE-USE BOTTLES! It never ends!!!! 

A friend pointed out that they received samples of bottled water WITH their newspaper. Meaning, they really couldn't refuse it, it just came to their home. The kicker was on the back, on the BACK of the PLASTIC BOTTLE, it said, "Carbon Neutral Product." Great. I'm so relieved, here I thought there might be something environmentally inherently BAD about your product, in a single-use plastic bottle. But since it says carbon-neutral right on the label, I sure feel SO much better.

This friend did not want to out the brand. I have no such compunction, so I asked her, she told me, I'm outing them. 

And here's what they have to say about being a concerned, eco-friendly bottled water company (my comments, of course, are in parenthesis after each scintillating statement):

ICELANDIC GLACIAL IS COMMITTED TO PROTECTING & PRESERVING THE ENVIRONMENT (uh huh) This commitment is evident throughout our company and every aspect of our supply chain including raw materials, energy usage and distribution of product to consumers, including all ocean shipments. (Oh DO go on...) SUSTAINABLE SOURCE The Ölfus Spring is naturally replenished from mountains in the north of Iceland. Using less than .1% of the overflow to the sea of the Ölfus Spring in its bottling operation, Icleandic Glacial is a careful steward of this precious resource. As a result, Zenith International, Europe’s leading food and drinks consultancy, has declared the Ölfus Spring certifiably sustainable. (You don't say?) POWERING THE PLANT Our facility is fully run on naturally green energy (hydro and geothermal). (Well, that's actually pretty cool. Go on! I'm listening.) PACKAGING Our commitment to the fight against global warming is also reflected in our packaging, which is 100% recyclable. The outer case packaging of Icelandic Glacial is made from 75% recyclable packaging. Consistent with our initiatives to further reduce our carbon emissions, we have also achieved a 10% reduction in our PET preform weights since 2008. (Recyclable, you say. Please show me the percentage of your bottles that YOU are collecting as a company and thus ensuring this is happening. Just because you say it can be done doesn't mean it's getting done. You have passed that responsibility on to the consumer. The Bottled Water Association claims that in 2011, 38.6% of bottles were recycled. http://www.wasterecyclingnews.com/article/20130220/NEWS02/130229987/plastic-water-bottle-recycling-rate-jumps-almost-20 1) I'm not sure I believe them, consider the source and 2) that still a hell of a lot of bottles out there. Billions, still. So please tell me again how this is OK.) SHIPPING Once bottled, we utilize space on cargo vessels that would otherwise be returning to the US and Europe empty. Our low emission shipping policy allows us to get our water into your hands while leaving the smallest carbon footprint possible. (The smallest carbon footprint possible would be to NOT drink water from thousands of miles away. If we were meant to drink your water, we would already live there.) CARBON NEUTRAL After working with the CarbonNeutral® Company in 2007, a leading carbon emissions consultant, Icelandic Glacial was certified as CarbonNeutral® for both its product and operations – an unprecedented move in the beverage industry. We have made a commitment to assess our CO2 emissions and reduce them wherever possible on an ongoing basis. Only once this full process has been carried out and a net-zero carbon footprint achieved, can a company carry the CarbonNeutral® Company stamp of approval. Our efforts have been rewarded with international recognition, most notably winning the 2007 Bottled Water World Design Awards for Best Sustainability Initiative presented at the Global Bottled Water Congress. (Blah... blah... blah... To me, that sounds like, let's compare which nuclear waste is better and give it awards for being less nuclear waste-y.)   Forgive me if I don't do backflips over how wonderful your product is. And tell me I'm wrong about single-use plastic bottles. And tell me again how this doesn't sit in trucks and warehouses after it was so lovingly shipped in already-coming cargo containers, in heat, only to leach something other than BPA that we don't yet know about into the water. Oh, and above all, please tell me what chemicals DO comprise your plastic bottles. You can't, can you? Because THAT'S a proprietary secret that only the plastic manufacturers know, and we won't find out there is something just as FUN as BPA still in there until... when? The truth of the matter is, once this leaves you plant, which I'm sure is wonderful, you get to pretty much wash your hands (heh little water joke there) of the whole thing and don't really have to care about what happens anymore.  Right? Right.

Time to Change Habits?

Actually, that's not a question, that's a no-brainer.

But let's talk about WHY.

Inspired by this article on the Mother Nature Network, a site I've been crawling over the past few weeks - great articles... http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/stories/9-habits-that-may-do-more-harm-than-good ... I don't actually have a problem with any of these things, myself, personally. Not one of these things is a habit of mine. (Hmmmm.... )  But I sure as hell know a lot of people that do have them. Let's do them one at a time, shall we? My take on them is just a little different... check out what they say, come on back.

1. Compulsively using hand sanitizer.
Seems to me I have spoken on that one already. Oh yeah - triclosan is bad. People who do this make me despondent. You've got the whole germ thing on top of the stupid plastic thing. Double whammy. Don't go away mad. Just go away. I don't do this and I am rarely ever sick. But, thanks to you and your ways, we ALL have to face bigger badder worser deadlier bacteria in the future. MRSA? Thanks for that.

2. Experimenting with skincare products.
I shudder to think of the people (women) who buy something and then don't like it and then just throw it away and try something else. Or just have a cupboard/cabinet full of plastic bottles. And chemicals. Just... don't. Find something good and natural and use it. 

3. Wearing flip-flops.
The only problem I have with this one is people buying cheap flip-flops that break after a month and then get tossed and a new cheap pair comes along. Buy a fricking good pair that costs a little more and has support, for crying out loud. My pair has lasted for I think 7 years now. Flip-flops don't have to be at the height of style. You don't need a new gaddam pair every season. Quit treating them like they are disposable. Treat them like a real pair of shoes. 

4. Brushing your teeth after every meal.

I know, you'd think I'd be all about this one with my teeth. Nope - I'm a twice-a-dayer. I'm gonna go out on a limb to say I bet these compulsive brushers are the kind that replace their plastic toothbrush ever month or so. Look, if you feel the need to change out your brush more frequently than really needed, please at least get a good eco-friendly brand? Please?

5. Doing only cardio when you work out.

First World Problem. I got nuthin'.

6. Skipping meals to "save up" for later.

People are dumb. I got nuthin'.

7. Drinking only bottled water.

Do I even need to go there. No, that wasn't a question. Of course, their reason kind of boggles my mind. Flouride? For real? That's what you got? How about the CRAP that's in bottled water, how about the PLASTIC... oh never mind. Ad nauseum. That this is even still an issue - and it is, huge one - blows too many circuits in my brain. 

8. Cleaning with disinfecting products.

Another ad nauseum. I saw a commercial for Dow Scrubbing Bubbles by SC Johnson, A Family Company, with the commercial protagonist gleefully coating all surfaces with that shit. I have no chemical cleaners in our home. My home doesn't stink and we are not constantly sick. It's a little dustier (and cat-hairier right before the vacuum) than some homes, but we are not germier. Oh - dish detergent. I have that. For now. Can't lie. 

9. Loading up on nutritional supplements.

Eat better. Period. You're just peeing this stuff out. Along with your Prozac and your Lexapro and your other medications that wouldn't be half as necessary if you just ate right. And let's not forget to mention the bajillions of plastic bottles, once again, you are putting out there with your habit. Because that's actually a big thing to consider. That shit ain't gettin' recycled, much as you want to tell yourself it is.

Habits. Break them. Don't look at me, I don't have kids. I actually should be gleefully trashing the planet without a care. Whoa, but look, I'M NOT.

Harmless is Apparently Subjective

Only recently did I jump on the coconut water train with a vengeance. I mean, YUM. I love that stuff. I really just want to buy coconuts and drill right on into them to avoid the middleman.

Like these guys: Harmless Harvest. From all I can see, they are a great company, try to do everything sustainably, have a great attitude and a good business, and their water is supposedly the best-tasting, hands down. It's not heated, it's pressure processed for a good shelf life, totally organic, raw.

But, I'm sorry, guys. You can't call yourself harmless if you are using plastic bottles. Just can't be. Glass is harmless. Plastic is almost never harmless in the big picture. I understand their process requires the use of plastic bottles, with the pressure and all. But, no. Plastic in the environment, plastic bottle, is not harmless. I have NO shades of grey on that one. They look like nice guys. They seem to want to do their best. But I will avoid any product that is in plastic. I e-mailed their company to try to get some information from them. They were not terribly responsive. I gave up. I am sure this is delicious. But I would rather just flat-out buy the darn coconut than add more plastic to the planet.

Just don't call yourself "harmless" unless you are, completely and totally. No excuses. Wonderful Harvest? Tasty Harvest? There are lots of Adjectives. Harmless, however, is not the one you should be using. It's catchy, sure, but it's false.

I'll maintain this position until I hear otherwise from Justin and Douglas. Sorry, guys. None shall pass.

Hmm... there's some Mamma Chia on the shelf right nest to it... I'll buy that.

It's in glass. And I love me my chia seeds.

How Many Little Plastic Drinks?

How many little tiny plastic bottles does Society want us to use a day??

Let's see... we wake up in the morning and drink Yakult to balance our digestive systems for the day - because, you know, we eat crap - so that's one little tiny plastic bottle. Multiplied by the millions that our sold daily. Daily.

Through the morning and during lunch, we have the little stuff we add to water or soda bottles or sports drinks or vitamin waters or other Styrofoam cups or single-use cups. Those aren't little bottles but they do add up to the trash.

But then in the afternoon, we have those cute little bottles of 5-Hour Energy Drink. We should drink those every day at 3pm or so... every day... millions of us. Because instead of the natural way our bodies are supposed to work with a siesta like the entire rest of the world does, we have to keep work-work-working so we can buy-buy-buy more plastic things. Go home too tired to cook so get stuff in take-out packaging and serve on paper plates and plastic forks because it's to hard to wash dishes.

All these products are not only packaged so poorly that we should run screaming, but they are completely unnecessary. We don't need to chug probiotics daily if we would just eat better. We can bring a coffee mug to work to use at the desk or the travel mug to transport coffee. As for the "needed" energy boost in the mid-afternoon? I guess it's too much to hope we can change Society to realize that a nap would raise productivity to amazing heights...

Yeah, that'd make too much sense. Makes much more sense to pollute the ends of the Earth til we kill everyone and everything. Including ourselves.

Say It With Me, Again

Say it slowly, because we didn't get the memo last time.

A plastic bottle made with less plastic is still PLASTIC.

A friend of mine pointed out what Nestle has been up to with their new and improved Poland Spring Eco-Shaped bottles. I guess the bottle is super-crazy thin and the cap is tiny. I don't usually catch this stuff because bottled water is way off my radar. Maybe if I pretend it isn't as prevalent, it won't be? No? Darn.

The new bottles use less materials and therefore fewer resources, and they weight less so they are easier to ship, and less material goes into the waste stream. Good, right? Is it still plastic? Yes. Then, no, not good. I read that the company's machines produce 1200 bottles every... hour? NOPE. MINUTE. Can you conceive of that? Because I cannot wrap my brain around that.

Now, are the good people at Nestle doing this because they care SO much about the environment? Of course not. Less plastic and less materials and less shipping cost while charging the same amount or more for the same amount of product (which they pretty much pump free out of communities that would otherwise be USING that water for, you know, themselves) means a better bottom line for their CEO and shareholders. That CEO, Kim Jeffery, in case you wondered what his name is, would have you believe they are doing some great service by giving people something bottled to drink other than soda. He would have you believe they are superior because their bottles are more eco-friendly than the heavier soda/juice/sports drink counterparts. Look - the only reason they care about the environmental impact is because they can use it as a selling point. Bottom line again. (See how that works?)

Did I mention that they have to have a warning on the label about the caps being a choking hazard for babies and small children? Lovely. If your kid gets your hands on this cap and chokes on it, you have no one to blame but yourself. Seriously. I don't want to see one single lawsuit come up about that. I would actually have to side with the Corporation on that one. And that makes me despondent.

Here is the long and short of it... let us ask, "Is this still a plastic bottle?" Why yes it is.

That is all we need to know. Thank you. Move along, please. Nothing to see here.

I Scream for Ice Cream...

I discovered the reason I stay off Pinterest. I'm sure there are a million wonderful things on there, but knowing me, they would be overshadowed by things that piss me off. Like this...

"what a great idea! such a time saver for birthday parties- scoop the ice cream into lined cupcake pans & put them in the freezer. then just pull them out when you cut the cake & serve!"

And someone's comment: "oh I LOVE this idea....no more expensive single servings needing to be bought!!"

Where to start. I almost do not know. I guess I'm wondering why it's OK to create more garbage for a little time saved. I'm wondering what lessons we teach children by these actions. I'm wondering why no one stops to think about the resources wasted by manufacturing these little paper liners in the first place, not to mention the resources to get them to stores, etc.

Most of all, I am wondering who the hell buys "expensive single servings" for a birthday party???

I consider this a Lazy Fail, and the wasteful use of resources for something that isn't really necessary. I know, I know, the hardship of actually scooping ice cream during a party is truly heartbreaking. But I think we can get over it.

You just KNOW these went straight onto paper plates, too. Better yet - Styrofoam. With Red Solo plastic cups and plastic forks. And spoons. And knives. You just know. You know you know. I know. I'm dead sure of it. Add the little plastic crap party favors Made in China and the scads of wrapping paper - OH! and probably bottled water, too, I am sure, because if you are too damn busy to SCOOP ice cream DURING the party, then you sure as hell are the kind of household that uses bottled water - add all that up and you have the PERFECT 21st Century Kids' Birthday Party.

You enjoy that. I'm sure they will when they are adults with their own kids, looking around at what we have left them. Enjoy.

Better Bottle? Nope - Still Plastic

BPA-Free. Part plant material. LESS plastic than our competitors.

No, it's still toxic.

This has been discussed here before. Of course, nothing has really changed. Oh, wait, yes, it has. Now the cool kids have bottles without BPA. You know what? They are still plastic bottles. I don't get it. It's like, "Oh, we fixed it, plastic's all better now, you can safely use it!" - until they figure out which OTHER chemical in plastic is leaching out into everything, now that they took the BPA out. Why are we so easily fooled? Lulled back into our little cocoon?

IT'S STILL PLASTIC, PEOPLE! It still does not get recycled (rarely), it still does not break down (ever), it still ends up in the oceans. It will still be here for your grandchildren's children to see. Are we that easily distracted from the real issues? It's still made from petroleum. It's still harmful. Remember not so long ago when BPA was EPA approved? What next? What lovely little chemical will come out of plastic next? How about we just ditch the single-use plastic altogether? Will society fail? Will we lose progress? Will we revert to cave men?

I think we're safe.

There's that new ultra-slippery stuff out of MIT they are now talking about putting in ketchup and mayonnaise bottles, that lets everything slip right out. That has all EPA-approved things in it. Um, see above. I can't wait to see what we say about that stuff in 5 years. It might not matter so much in 10, when we are so caught up in how much cancer and behavioral/developmental issues are all over our kids.

Go ahead and ask why, in 10 years. Why do our kids have cancer? Why are our kids dying? Why are our oceans dying? Or, we could think about it now and try to keep it from happening (as fast).

I know. It wouldn't be convenient to do that. Carry on.

Because Water is So Un-Awesome On Its Own

In the world of unnecessary and silly products comes this gem: MiO Liquid Water Enhancer. (Opinion? Of course, But then it's my blog.) I felt it was harmless enough when I first saw it, but I finally looked it up and found it particularly useless on a number of fronts. Or just annoying. Or pointless. I haven't decided its strongest offense yet.

I think they got me right out of the gate by saying, "Water is superb. Except in your glass." Obviously, I am not their target audience, because this whole campaign loses me completely. We have to denigrate water to sell our product? Water? Now, we've been flavoring water for years and years. Kool-Aid? Powdered lemonade, powdered teas, etc. This stuff is a liquid in a tiny little container that is all super-trendy and so easy to carry in a purse, etc, and you squeeze as much as you want into your water.

I guess that's fine. It makes people drink more water, I suppose, and that is always a good thing. Unless they are adding it to plastic-bottled water. And really, it's just a tiny little container. Can you recycle the container? Sure. It's a #7. Except no one really recycles that yet. And oh goodie - there's no sugar in it either. No, it has artificial sweetener in it. Yay! Cuz darn that natural stuff sure is bad. Sure, great for people who have to watch their sugar intake, but do you see what it has in it? Here, let me pull it right out of their FAQ's:

"MiO is sweetened with acesulfame potassium and sucralose, a calorie-free, artificial sweetener that is 600 times sweeter than sugar.Sucralose? Acesulfame potassium? They sound frightening. Don't let the long names scare you. Sucralose is a calorie-free, artificial sweetener that is 600 times sweeter than sugar. Both sucralose and acesulfame potassium, the sweeteners in MiO, are recognized as safe by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the general population, including pregnant women and children."

Hmmm. I chuckle. Everything is fine, until we find out it's not. Who knew what BPA was for years and years? "It's fine!" No, it's not. I try to keep it a rule to not ingest things I cannot pronounce. Sucralose? Sure, I can pronounce it, but what the hell is it??? "Recognized as safe by the FDA"? Uh huh. Somehow, I am not entirely reassured on that count quite yet. Call me cynical.

Whatevs, you know? I just hope it doesn't catch on. Maybe we can all ridicule people who use it? Just PLEASE do not give it to kids. They have enough things happening to them already. We don't need to discover in 20 years that Acesulfame potassium causes the F1 generation to have 11 toes and no hair.

Dig?

Water, Water Everywhere

There were SO many water companies at the Natural Products Expo. Healthy water, fun water, Artesian water, mineral water, flavored water, coconut water... that was just the water, not the juices and teas and everything else. So much water, so many plastic bottles. Natural does not equal green. But shouldn't it?

My favorite beverages were in glass or cans. In this post, though, I will touch on the plastic people. The great glass beverages deserve their own individual posts.

I liked some of these people very much, and I liked their product, and I wish I could get behind them. But I cannot. I just cannot, never, no, ever justify these plastic bottles. Yeah, so it's a sticking point for me. Do I think we can be healthy  without drinking all these froufy fancy waters? Yeah. Do I wish I could drink them? Sure. They are very tasty! But it's just not worth it.

Take Crazy Woman Water. I loved these guys. And, ironically, though it is Crazy *Woman* Water, and the company founder is a woman, there was nary a woman in the booth. But the guys were fun! And informative. CWW is premium Artesian water, naturally rich in minerals, from Wyoming's Bighorn National Forest. It was yummy. Yes, you could really tell there was something special about this water. Made me want to live right there so I could walk out my door and go to this spring and sip from the Crazy Woman Mountain Spring. But do I want it captured and dragged out from the aquifer and put in plastic bottles and delivered to me wherever I am so I can enjoy it? Call me a crazy woman, but no. I want it to stay right there where it was meant to be and never exploited.

Then there is Real Water. These guys really crack me up in their quest to get you to buy their plastic bottles. I get their point that negatively ionized water is good for you, and I understand their point that the water we end up drinking becomes positively ionized on its way to us, I see what they are saying about alkaline water being healthy, but AT WHAT COST to the planet??? There are such things that make your water alkaline in your own home; you don't have to ship it into your mouth via a plastic bottle. I DON'T CARE if the bottle is suddenly BPA-free. It still ain't goin' anywhere when yer done with it!!!! And - here's the really funny part, I mean the real screamingly HIGH-sterical kicker... they want $36 a case for this! 36 bucks! Thirty-six smackers! REALLY??? So, only really rich people with seriously disposable income (dispose everything?) can drink healthy water? Sigh.

U'a Water was another. Now, I really liked the lady at the booth, but I couldn't get behind the product. U'a Deep Sea Hawaiian Water. I don't even think you can buy it yet. It is extracted from the ocean depths, desalinated, and remains rich in nutrients blah blah blah. Was it good? Yes. Do I feel the need to have it delivered to my mouth in - again, you guessed it - a plastic bottle? NO! I don't need this stuff and neither do you. Is it delicious and healthy? Yes. Should we be trashing the planet for it?

I think you know how I would answer that one.

This is some kind of insanity to me. I'm going to talk about a filter system for your home that gives you alkaline water right there and then, no millions of bottles wasted.

Because, repeat after me, just because we throw it in the bin, doesn't mean it gets recycled. It just. Goes. Away.

Sorry, guys I met along the path. I liked you, I did. But I cannot fall in line with you. Talk to me when you have glass bottles.

One Pallet in One Store in One Town...

My grocery store of choice, Sprouts, is fairly cool. Sure they have their things I would love them to change... plastic bags at the bulk area, for instance. Why not have a scale to tare the containers we can bring in ourselves? And I can't wait for them to stop offering plastic bags altogether at checkout, or at least charge for them. But generally, they offer great prices on cool things, not at all like the prices at Whole Foods (and nicers employees and cooler clientele), and their butcher case with responsible, sustainable product is wonderful. (That's how I got my husband hooked on going there!) I'll miss it when I move away.

But then, standing in lined to check out, I just have to shake my head. Here sits a pallet of water. Pricey water in plastic bottles. Pointless water in plastic bottles.

This stuff is called Hint, because it has just a hint of fruit flavor. Great. Fine. It's not soda, it's not fake-tasting, it's all good stuff. Like WAA-TAH but for adults. Because, you know, we just have to have water to drink and that stuff from our own filters just isn't chic enough. Or something. This is so convenient. $18-22 for a 12-pack??? GIVE ME A BREAK. We PAY this much just for the great pleasure of polluting the planet?

Yeah yeah yeah, you throw the bottles in recycling bins. I've covered that. Yeah yeah this is much lighter to ship therefore saves fossil fuels. Uh huh. And how about the fossil fuels that go into making the plastic? Hmmmmmm????

I was unaware of this brand because I never go down that aisle of bottled stupidity. But here it was in front of me. Look at that picture. I took it with my phone. It is the actual stack in Sprouts. That is one pallet in one store in one town in one county in one state. THINK about it. Think about how this stuff sat in warehouses and shipping trucks etc, in the heat, leaching plastic chemicals. I fail to see any sense or logic in purchasing any of this, especially considering the price tag. What is it going to take to stop this madness? How much do we have to know before we stop?

If you have an answer to that, I sure would love to know.

Drink WAT-AAH Part 2

Yeah. I did it. I was at the Natural Products Expo West, and, walking about, I spied a company I had previously pretty much trashed in a blog entry 2 years ago. (http://goodgreenwitch.blogspot.com/2010/07/trick-kids-into-drinking-more-water.html) Sure, I had a moment when I thought I would just sneer and walk past, but then something came over me, and I walked right up to the lady there at the big colorful booth for WAT-AAH and flat-out stated, "Hi. I trashed your product in my blog." She exclaimed, "WHY would you do that??" We laughed (because I really actually AM a nice person), and had a very nice talk for the next 10 minutes or so.

I told her that I did not think bottled water aimed at kids was necessary, and that it set a dangerous example for later in life. She pointed out how their company attempts to get kids to get excited about drinking healthy water over soda or sugary juices and sports drinks. Valid. Going back to my original post, I did actually give them credit for that. (Shocking - I DID research before writing. Ha!) She pointed out their Healthy Hydration Program. I went to their site to read more about it, but the immediate noises that come up when you get there sets me off every time. And then my computer hung up anyway. Seems Google Chrome wasn't fond of the site either. It's a valid program. Good ideas. Kids SHOULD drink water instead of crappy sugary high-fructose-corn-syrupy things. I agree. She said their product has no flavor, sugar, or color, and they rely on fun colors on the bottles and fun to attract kids. She told me a bit about their Juvenile Diabetes Event. OK, they are a pretty into-it company, for sure. Good stuff.

They have great intentions. And the woman I spoke with, Carol (the owner, it turns out), was a very nice very lovely lady. Do they get a pass?

Mmmmm.... no. Sorry, Carol. I know you tried.

I cannot get behind any single-use plastic bottle usage. Are there situations when they are a necessity? Probably. But the 'fridge at home is not one of them. Running around with the kids is NOT one of them, much as parents like to say it is. Sporting events? No, not really. Why don't kids have reusable bottles with their names on them on the sidelines? How many half-empty bottles of this stuff gets picked up at the end of the game, how many kids grabbed another and half-drank it because they lost track of their original one? How much waste??? "Well, we recycle them." Um, no, we don't. We throw them in a bin and feel great about ourselves, but in reality, it is a giant crap-shoot that any of them actually get recycled, or really, down-cycled. More likely, they are contributing to the Giant Plastic Problem we have. Should we be avoiding plastic bottles as much as possible instead? Heck yah. Just because bottles no longer have BPA in them, does that mean there are not still unknown chemicals leeching out into that water that your precious angels are drinking? Mmm hmm. Remember a few years ago when we were ignorant of BPA? Think that can't happen again with another chemical? Mmm hmmm. It is seriously short-sighted to not think about that.

I also went back to read the comments from that earlier post. Apparently, bottled water strikes a nerve when it hits parents in the Big Convenience. I'm including here most of what a Dad said (not edited):

"I read you're blog because Im a Dad with a child that drinks WAT-AAH! all the time. I also make sure to re-use the bottles we buy whenever we can - and of course, we also recycle them.
Im as environmentally conscious as the next guy but I gotta say, reading this blog, Im betting you dont have kids. Nieces and nephews maybe, but not your own. I dont say that as a dig, but when you're running around town and your kids really thirsty and he or she can pick from one of the 400 bottles (plastic bottles) of sugary syrup or this water brand, I'm more than happy to throw down to encourage that decision."

I replied very nicely and with a conciliatory tone, but you know what? I've changed my mind. I already covered the part where throwing them in a bin does not recycling assure. And when you are "running around town," did you NOT think ahead that perhaps at some point your little joys would perhaps, oh, I don't know, get thirsty and plan accordingly? Or do you find yourself having to BUY stuff, because you couldn't be bothered to plan ahead? How about getting your kids in the habit to grab their own reusable bottles as you all head out to go buy stuff? (Wow, Green Witch, what a good idea!) No, I don't have kids. And hey there! Your having kids, by the way, is NOT an excuse to trash the planet I also happen to enjoy. If anything, you should be even more careful and more responsible. Heck, I should be the one gleefully trashing it. But lookit that: I am not.

I pointed out to Carol (who really IS a great lady, I felt good about meeting her, and I really did digest all the things she took the time to tell me) that perhaps giving young kids these throw-aways was setting them up for bad habits into adulthood. She disagreed, feeling that kids who drank WAT-AAH grew up to be more responsible. Meh... I have to think I might be closer to the mark. Yes, WAT-AAH is a better choice than the other things in this picture here, but we SURE as heck do NOT need bottled water in the fridge or cupboards at home. There are no Earth-shattering emergencies that come along every random day that require this. A typical Summer day does NOT need the child running into the kitchen and grabbing a bottle like this. Run in and grab your personal bottle, great. But not this. Not the regular size, not the cute little size, no, this is not remotely necessary. While "running around" is not necessary. It really just isn't. Period.

Plus, they were downing them at the booth during the Expo. I know, it's all about showing how you use your own product... but yeah. Not so much. How many empty bottles after a weekend... and for what?

For what?

Convenience.

Yup.

I'm pretty sure we had sports and run-around days way back before the plastic bottle craze. And, funny, we're still here. We didn't die of thirst. Oh - and how funny, we didn't have nearly the obesity and diabetes that we have in kids now. How ever did we manage, you know, with Life being SO darned... inconvenient?