- Canadians have access to 20% of all fresh water
- Canadians consumed 344,79 litres EACH in non-alcoholic beverages (tea, coffee, bottled water, pops, and juice) in 2001
- Industries use 94% of all the water that is consumed in Canada.
Considering the last number, I was very happy to learn that the Québec administration was getting ready to tax water bottle companies and other industrial businesses that use water to make profit. Charest is doing something that pleases me, at last!
As good as this may be, the Edmonton Journal informed me that Canadians rank 21st in their daily drinking of bottled water. Canada also supplies more than half of the United States’ need for bottled water, a neighbour that is, as we all know, very thirsty in general, and for water in particular - it’s the 10th largest consumer of bottled water. And our obsession for “pure” water, here and abroad, is threatening the planet’s ecosystem.
Think about it in economic terms. How much does one pay for a bottle of 500 ml of water at his favourite convenience store? A dollar? People get mad because the price of oil is above a dollar a litre! Don’t get me wrong: I’m all for alternative energy sources. If oil prices can encourage people to swap their SUVs for a bicycle, I’ll be happy to share the paths with more bike users. In any case, would SUVers still be willing to pay that much for fuel if there were a free alternative?
For those who claim that tap water is not safe to drink, or not as good as… 40% of all bottled water is actually…. tap water! And the Earth Policy Institute points out that there is no actual health benefits in bottled water.
Beyond these consumer alerts, what this consumption of water is doing to the environment is outrageous. Consider this (info by Earth Policy Institute published in the Edmonton Journal):
- In India, water extraction by Coca-Cola for Dasani bottled water has caused water shortage for over 50 villages.
- Tap water is distributed through energy sufficient infrastructures, but bottled water delivery consumes oil to produce plastic for packaging and fuel for transport… Making bottles for the American demand requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually.
- Globalization means more fuel… if you’re really into sparkling water, why buy Evian or Perrier when there is Canadian Clear or Canada Dry?
- Non-recycled bottles take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade. In addition, 40% of the plastic bottles collected for recycling in the US are shipped to China, causing more fuel consumption.
Are you still thirsty? Get tap water!!!
6 commentaires:
I have a Brita. Does that count?
I agree. I think Lewis Black said it best:
"But then we decided that every town and every village that had water coming to it, and all they had to do was clean it, so we'll save money, we won't clean the water so much, and with the money we can save, we can then buy the water at the supermarket. Try to go through the logically with me. Our country, had water coming to our homes. And even if we were locked out we could still get it. Clean water. And we said 'NO! F**K YOU! I don't want it to be that goddamned easy and convenient! I want to drive and drive and drive and look for water like my ancestors did.'"
As scary as the listed stats, and even these from Canadian Geographic, the major problems remains that, even if individual water consumption were reduced drastically, that would only account for a meagre six percent of all water consumed. That leaves ninety-four percent of all water consumed in Canada in the hands of industry. And what is industry doing with it?
I think the best (or perhaps it's moe appropriate to say 'worst') industrial consumer of water at the moment is the Alberta Tar Sands project. According to the Polaris Institute Report, it takes more than three barrels of water to extract (since tar sands are mined with steam, not drilled like conventional crude) to produce one barrel of synthetic crude. Current daily oil production is around 300,000 barrels (total production being pegged at 175 bil. barrels with existing technology, 315 bil. total, with tech advances - being the single largest petroleum resource in the world) - so that pegs daily water usage at 900,000 barrels of water. One barrel in this instance is equivalent to 159 litres, so that is 143 million litres - I think that needs to be said again 143 MILLION LITRES - of water used each day. It is claimed that 75% of water used is recycled, but even if we can believe that, that is still nearly 36 million litres of water being consumed by a single project - not even a single industry - in a single day. This doesn't even account for the total water spent daily by the petroleum extraction industry, not to mention water usage for other industries like mining, pulp and paper, light and heavy manufacturing, etc. etc. etc.
Makes individual water consumption seem like a drop in the bucket, no pun intended.
Jen:
Wow, the stats you quote are indeed depressing! There is some talk (at least in Québec) to tax the "thirsty" industries, but I doubt that would reduce their consumption... it would only increase their prices!
One question that I often ask myself is this: what do I do with that information? Fighting against industrial consumers is such a huge entreprise! Being a global citizen starts in our kitchen, so I think that sticking with tap water and educating our acquaintances is a start (with or without Brita, AP - although I threw mine away because I think it's simply another way to make money on perfectly fine water). Thanks for your comment, Jen.
No problem - spread the knowledge. I agree with you that it's definitely something that has to start at home: the more we are individually conscious of our water use, the more that will translate to industry, because, after all, it is individuals running industry in the end. At least, that's one theory I've heard. Another one would suggest that a corporation or organization has, in a way, a mind of its own, that mind usually being related to 'the bottom line', and perpetuates loyalty of its members by sheer ethos. Both theories have merit. So while it's nice to work from the individual and have it seep up to the corporate, I think that the best solution is strict legislation. What I do with that sort of information is vote for the NDP! ^_^
I'm with you!
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