One of the advantages of having a whole house water filter is that it allows you to virtually eliminate bottled water from your life.  The environmental issues regarding bottled water are outlined in two recent books, Bottlemania by Elizabeth Royte and Bottled and Sold by Peter Gleik.  Both do a great job analyzing the history and economics of the bottled water phenomenon.  There are also two fascinating documentaries, Tapped and Liquid Assests that discuss the overall issues of clean water around the world. 

As I am out talking to consumers and businesses, it comes as no surprise to me that people look at the environmental issues of bottled water through their own world view.   Many people are ardent environmentalists, and others are free market conservatives that do not want to be told what do.  I love talking to all of these people, and I find that most people agree that they would like to have great tasting, healthy water for themselves and their children.  They also agree that polluting the earth is a bad thing, and finally, no one likes to waste money.
 
In order to get all people to see the absurdity of bottled water, I will quote my good friend Ed Begley Jr., who says that people need to be “conservative” in the old fashioned way….by “conserving” things.   I was recently sent an article that pointed out that the recycling of many items is not environmentally efficient because of the energy needed to collect and recycle material.  Without debating the economics of that issue directly, it is clear that not producing the things like plastic bottles in the first place is the “greenest” thing we can do.
 
Think of the absurdity of using energy to build a plant in Fiji, using energy to pump the water into plastic bottles that are produced by oil, shipping those bottles to the west coast, trucking them to a supermarket, and finally driving your car back and forth to get the water to your home. Compare that to walking to your tap and enjoying mineral rich, great tasting filtered water.  Since Fiji bottled water costs between $4 and $10 per gallon, the 2/5 of a penny per gallon cost of LifeSource filtered water seems like a pretty good deal.  Lastly, there are no plastic bottles to be recycled, saving time, energy and money for everyone involved.

And, as an added benefit, you get to shower in bathe in water that makes your hair and skin feel great.  (That will be the subject of a future blog)

In this contentious political environment, I love to find common sense ideas that everyone can agree upon.  With LifeSource, you can save money, be healthy, consume a luxury product, eliminate time and hassle from your life, and do something good for the planet.

This seems to me to be one issue that everyone can get behind.