Plastic Water

Just in case any of my loved ones out there are still drinking bottled water out of plastic bottles - DON'T! Again another study came out regarding both the unhealthy chemicals that leach into the water from the plastic and the fact that the water in the bottles is no better (and often worse) than what comes out of your tap. In addition, tap water is free and doesn't necessitate any transportation costs or contribute to the pollution made from the gas to drive it to your store or from the manufacture of the plastic.

In 1976 Congress passed The Safe Drinking Water Act and then in 1996 amendments were added to 1) require utilities to notify the public about any detected regulated contaminant and any water quality violation, and 2) the public's right to know what's in their drinking water with an annual water quality report that comes out about July 1. This report lets you know what contaminants, if any, are in your drinking water and how these contaminants may affect your health and lists all the regulated toxicants that were detected in your water over the preceding calendar year.

Some great links:

* CCR (Consumer Confidence Reports): http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ccr/index.html

* How to read your water quality report in a pdf file: http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water/chemical-contaminants/How%20to%20Read%20Your%20Water%20Quality%20Report.pdf

* a consumer watch organization called Food and Water Watch: http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/

So what do you carry your tap water around in? A stainless steel bottle. They're lightweight, virtually unbreakable, have non-leaching caps, and last a long time. They're also the "in" thing, so you'll look good too! I'll have to take a picture of my fine self and my new stainless steel bottle and post it for you... something to look forward to :-)