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> The slippery slope is if bottled water is a con, aren’t all bottled and canned drinks a con? No, obviously not, because orange juice and sodas aren't don't c

> The slippery slope is if bottled water is a con, aren’t all bottled and canned drinks a con? No, obviously not, because orange juice and sodas aren't don't come out of your tap. None of them are, as the article says, a "public resource [turned] into a private commodity.” Also, everyone knows you don't need juices but that you do need water, which is why one is a utility and the other is a luxury. The way that bottled water is a con is that it's packaging something you already have and don't need more of and in a not so environmentally-friendly way.

MichaelZuo 4y ago
Isn't the parent's point that we don't already have the safety, convenience, and quality of bottled water? Which is why the market demand exists? I do agree that a lot of municipal water sources taste really off.
- guerrilla 4y ago
  As the article says "chances are that the water coming from your faucet is perfectly fine to drink (though there are, of course, some exceptions)", so if that was their point then they should have argued it explicitly.
  - quickthrower2 4y ago
    My point is bottled water (and water filtration systems) is not a con because it tastes better than tap water (in many places) and that has value to a lot of people.
    - dmix 4y ago
      100%, I don’t use wasteful bottles but my house has those large water jugs with a dispenser that we get refilled weekly and there is a very noticeable quality difference in taste (even noticeable when making fancy loose leaf tea). People who say tap water is exactly the same aren’t being entirely honest. They do the same thing and a lot of people don’t care about how it tastes but plenty do and aren’t always hurting the environment.
    - Tempest1981 4y ago
      How does a filter, like Pur or Brita, compare, for taste? Far less resource use. Perhaps a way to wean people off bottled water.
      - quickthrower2 4y ago
        Not sure. I use an RO (reverse osmosis) and run that through alkaline filter and that is the gold standard for me I have not tasted better water, even evian or those expensive Zip systems. I don’t recall how good Brita is but I imagine similar to Zip in that it will get rid of most of that chlorine taste and filter out a lot of particles which is a big improvement. If I were renting I would consider Brita for the convenience of nothing to install and no ugly unit. I wouldn’t buy bottled water for home unless very low on choices! Because it seems wasteful.

MichaelZuo 4y ago

Isn't the parent's point that we don't already have the safety, convenience, and quality of bottled water? Which is why the market demand exists? I do agree that a lot of municipal water sources taste really off.

guerrilla 4y ago
As the article says "chances are that the water coming from your faucet is perfectly fine to drink (though there are, of course, some exceptions)", so if that was their point then they should have argued it explicitly.
- quickthrower2 4y ago
  My point is bottled water (and water filtration systems) is not a con because it tastes better than tap water (in many places) and that has value to a lot of people.
  - dmix 4y ago
    100%, I don’t use wasteful bottles but my house has those large water jugs with a dispenser that we get refilled weekly and there is a very noticeable quality difference in taste (even noticeable when making fancy loose leaf tea). People who say tap water is exactly the same aren’t being entirely honest. They do the same thing and a lot of people don’t care about how it tastes but plenty do and aren’t always hurting the environment.
  - Tempest1981 4y ago
    How does a filter, like Pur or Brita, compare, for taste? Far less resource use. Perhaps a way to wean people off bottled water.
    - quickthrower2 4y ago
      Not sure. I use an RO (reverse osmosis) and run that through alkaline filter and that is the gold standard for me I have not tasted better water, even evian or those expensive Zip systems. I don’t recall how good Brita is but I imagine similar to Zip in that it will get rid of most of that chlorine taste and filter out a lot of particles which is a big improvement. If I were renting I would consider Brita for the convenience of nothing to install and no ugly unit. I wouldn’t buy bottled water for home unless very low on choices! Because it seems wasteful.