[Raptor235]

I drink tap water all the time here in Toronto it tastes great and it's nice and cold Not to mention free and good for the environment

[horselover]

Sometimes it isn't so good, but I can't complain when it's mixed with frozen juices. It's the best way to drink the water.

I only drink bottled water when I'm working and always recycle the bottles.

[bruceralph]

Bottled water NEVER HAS been a good idea. We know that a lot of this stuff is coming from springs that feed our rivers and ultimately watersheds. The high volumes that can be taken are ultimately destructive to the health of our watersheds. What this is about is making MONEY on the backs of our natural resources. Not to mention the waste of plastic and transportation of the product. Seriously folks, its a bad idea all around.

[justontime]

Originally Posted by bruceralph

Bottled water NEVER HAS been a good idea. We know that a lot of this stuff is coming from springs that feed our rivers and ultimately watersheds. The high volumes that can be taken are ultimately destructive to the health of our watersheds. What this is about is making MONEY on the backs of our natural resources. Not to mention the waste of plastic and transportation of the product. Seriously folks, its a bad idea all around.

I agree, stick with tap water, think how much money you will save over a year, it will be a significant sum.

[Simon47]

I've said it before and I'll say it again as others have. You pay good money for water out of the tap. Drink it and do the environment and your own health a favour. The cumulative effect of bottle water from plastic bottle production, landfill filling and toxic substances in plastic entering your system speaks for the negative effect of bottled water. Don't let a few isolated tragedies convince you to accept the marketing ploys of the water and soft drink industry that have a lot of people bamboozled into accepting convenience eve taking their own communities to task to ensure a safe drinking water supply and relieving yourself of the responsibility to determine the state of your local water supply. It's simple enough to get the information from your local council. It's in the public domain and you have a right to the test results upon request. You may be surpriseed to find out how much of that bottled water comes from municpal water systems and is only treated with a UV light or basic filters which you can acquire at minimal expense per year. A lot less cost to the environment and youself.


Bottled-water ban at U of W
Part of overall green strategy: Axworthy
By: Geoff Kirbyson
24/03/2009 1:00 AM | Comments (4)
PRINT E–MAIL SHARETHIS THE University of Winnipeg is putting bottled water on ice.
The downtown campus has banned the sale of water in plastic bottles, becoming the first post-secondary institution in Canada to adopt the eco-friendly policy.
In a referendum question put to the student body last week, nearly 75 per cent of voters said they supported the elimination of bottled water from the school's cafeterias and vending machines.
Vinay Iyer, president of the U of W Students' Association, said bottled water will be phased out over the next few months and the transformation will be complete by the start of the fall semester.
"Water has been commoditized. It should be free instead of corporations making money off it. (The sale of bottled water) undermines the public's trust in free water," he said, noting the U of W followed the lead of Washington University, which recently implemented a similar ban.
About 38,400 plastic water bottles are sold at the U of W each year. To encourage students to change their ways, reusable bottles will be provided to incoming first-year students this fall as part of their orientation package. (The costs will be shared by the student union and administration.)
Lloyd Axworthy, president and vice-chancellor of the U of W, said the school's administration imposed the ban because it wanted to reflect student concerns as well as continue to be a green, trail-blazing university.
"We have to examine every decision we make through the lens of how it contributes to a sustainable environment," he said. "We have a responsibility as a university to show the way and give our students facilities that walk the talk. We're not just teaching it, we're living it."
Aside from having to take care of their own water container, the transition should be relatively seamless for students, said Megan Fultz, an executive member of Oxfam Winnipeg. It has set up booths at both the U of W and the University of Manitoba offering the water equivalent of the Pepsi Challenge. The majority of taste testers haven't been able to distinguish between the bottled product and what comes out of the water fountain.
"The challenge has proven that there really is no difference. Commercializing water is really not necessary in a nation where we have such easy access to public water," she said.
Fultz said her organization wants to raise awareness of how the Western world is wasting money on unnecessary luxury goods while those in poor countries have to fight to find drinkable water.
"The bottled water is a $100-billion industry. One-fifth of that (cost) could provide access to clean water and sanitation facilities for the entire world," she said.
Axworthy said the water initiative is part of the U of W's comprehensive sustainability management system. It also committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with the short-term goal of making the school compliant under the Kyoto Protocol and a long-run objective of achieving zero net emissions.
geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca