When I was growing up, water was not for sale in bottles, it was free everywhere you looked in public water fountains.  As pollution became a bigger concern and pharmaceuticals (from human excretion and disposal of prescriptions medications down the drain) filled our water supply, a decision point arose: Do we build better public water purification systems or do we find another way to get people clean water.  From this decision point, the multi-billion dollar bottle water industry arose using water that is no better than that which we already get out of the tap.

When you look at this decision, it looks like many other government decisions – forgo the long term benefit of the people and the earth in exchange for minimizing short term expenditures (updating the purification plants) and turn a public service into a privatized cash cow.

In today’s Chicago Tribune there was the following article:

Loyola to ban sale of bottled water on campus

Environmental, fair-access concerns are cited

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/education/ct-met-loyola-bottled-water-ban-20120508,0,193174.story

I applaud Loyola’s decision and that of the other institutions who have already taken similar actions.

We are toxifying our inner and outer ecosystems in exchange for an on-the-go fast food lifestyle.

Why haven’t we been collecting from these corporations that are making all the profit, funds to improve municipal water purification systems and clean up the environmental hazards caused by all these empty water bottles.  Having profited so greatly, shouldn’t they be giving something back?

Let’s take control back over our own health and our earth.  Start making healthier, more natural choices that you know are “right” not just “easy.”