Dear Miss Liza,

I plan on drinking lots of bottled water this year and stop drinking so many sodas! I heard my professor say that bottled water is just repackaged tap water. Is that true and what do you drink, Miss Liza?

Jon

Dear Jon,

It ain’t none of your business what I drink! I grew up drinking “Boones Farm Strawberry Hill”. You probably never heard of this “classic” wine… but we’re talking water versus sodas, right? (Sorry… had a flash back from back in the day.)  You should drink more water, Jon, from the faucet, fountain or in a bottle! Water is essential for digestion, nutrient transport and waste removal. Human intake of water is second only to the need for oxygen. Just so you know, most bottled water IS NOT from the pristine lakes in the Swiss Alps that you see on TV or in online commercials, nor is it from the “untouched” lakes in beautiful North Carolina! In the U.S., most bottled water comes from municipal water systems… that’s city water! There are companies that use underground wells and springs for their sources of bottled water. Regardless of the source, the concern in environmental health are the plastic bottles (made from petroleum… fossil fuel… greenhouse gas) that aren’t recycled and lead to energy waste, resource waste and pollution.  Ever heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?  Google it!  So if you drink bottled water, please… please recycle the bottle. We must protect our rivers and streams, which in most cases are our sources of drinking water.  I’m getting thirsty… wish I had some Kool-Aid… red!  Bye!

Miss Liza