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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Town Bans Bottled Water Sales |
| 2010-05-05 |
| The town of Concord has banned the sale of bottled drinking water in town beginning in 2011. "We only have one planet and I just don't want to see it spoiled," said Jean Hill, who introduced the measure at Concord's Town Meeting. Everyone knows bottled water spoils planets. Just look at Mars! Hill said that New York, Illinois and Virginia, as well as more than 100 cities, have taken action to cut spending on bottled water. The measured passed by Concord would allow the sale of refillable containers of water, which could still be sold and delivered in town. Only plastic bottles that companies cannot reuse would be banned. "Water is something we can get from the faucet. You can't turn your faucet on and get soda," said Selectwoman Virginia McIntyre, explaining why other plastic bottles would not be banned. That's one of the most stupid comments I've ever heard. Try getting water from the faucet when there is no electricity. What happens if your water supply is contaminated by e-coli? Supporters say the production of plastic water bottles uses 17 million barrels of oil each year. The beverage industry opposes the measure. Where I work we make the plastic from coal as do most other US plants. "If you think about the fact that our bottles are getting smaller and if you think about the fact that our bottles are going into the recycle bins in Concord, it's a crazy policy," said Ralph Crowley of Polar Beverages. What do you expect from clueless, pasty faced shrubnibblers? The ban on plastic water bottle sales may be largely symbolic. Town officials aren't sure they have the power to enact the ban without approval from the state. |
| Posted by:Deacon Blues |
| #17 The best bet is to have some Zero Water filters around for emergencies. Unlike the typical filters, they have an expensive five filter system that can get out really nasty contaminants caused by a chemical or radiological disaster. They are not cheap and they don't last terribly long. But if there is a disaster that contaminates the local water treatment plant, or something like a medium sized Middle East nuclear war that dumps strontium-90 via the jet stream, that is the filter you want to use. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-05-05 17:02 |
| #16 So they'll go to Maynard. Or Acton. Or Lexington. And Jean will probably need rotator cuff surgery from patting herself on the back so much. If time travel ever comes to pass and a Minuteman comes back to Concord, he's gonna think he landed on Mars |
| Posted by: tu3031 2010-05-05 15:32 |
| #15 they can have my plastic bottles when they pry them from my cold dead fingers. ;) |
| Posted by: abu do you love 2010-05-05 13:17 |
| #14 Tempest is a teacup. No doubt Concord has public drinking fountains all over the place, so that the citizenry and visitors don't pass out from dehydration at random intervals... and the opportunity to refill sports bottles or get a fast-food cup-with-lid-and-straw filled with water instead of soda at all the places that sell the bottled stuff. We lived without bottled water for a long time, guys, and except for emergencies there's no reason why we can't again. Remember canteens? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2010-05-05 13:04 |
| #13 So when I'm out for the day and I get thirsty in Concord, I can't stop and buy a bottle of water at the quick stop? Guess I'll just get a six pack and keep on truckin. |
| Posted by: bigjim-CA 2010-05-05 12:10 |
| #12 If you want to piss off green/enviro/lefties ask them what invention in the last 50 years has saved the lives of more children? Answer = the plastic bottle Of course, to enviros, that's exactly the problem. |
| Posted by: charger 2010-05-05 11:22 |
| #11 "The ban on plastic water bottle sales may be largely symbolic." Whenever you hear about municipal officials wasting time passing measures beyond their authority remind yourself of the bang up disaster planning the city of New Orleans did prior to Katrina. |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2010-05-05 10:02 |
| #10 I love the irony of this coming on the heels of the Boston-area water main break that left 2 million people with boil water recommendations. But it doesn't surprise me. Concord is packed full of the smug, patronizing, holier-than-thou liberals that give Mass a bad name (deservedly, IMO). |
| Posted by: xbalanke 2010-05-05 09:03 |
| #9 where usual drinking water is unsafe. Anguper Hupomosing's link mentions the problem of turbidity in the water. Silk sari fabric is a very effective filter. Just make sure it was made in India, and isn't that poisonous Chinese stuff that makes people go blind when merely touching it. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2010-05-05 07:05 |
| #8 plastic bottles allow distribution of cheap safe water I remember reading somewhere that, before Semmelweis, upper class women were dying in childbirth much more often than lower class. The rich were attended by doctors, while the poor had midwifes who had a silly, anti-scientific, supperstition involving washing hands, boiling bandages, etc... The more things change... |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2010-05-05 06:02 |
| #7 There's also an elegant method of solar water disinfection which requires the use of plastic bottles in places where usual drinking water is unsafe. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2010-05-05 01:28 |
| #6 Only plastic bottles that companies cannot reuse would be banned. If you want to piss off green/enviro/lefties ask them what invention in the last 50 years has saved the lives of more children? Answer = the plastic bottle This is because diarrhea is the main killer of children worldwide ( 2 or 3 million a year) and plastic bottles allow distribution of cheap safe water. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2010-05-05 01:04 |
| #5 The bastids. The REAL target hier is me Chevas! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-05-05 00:47 |
| #4 We have a few stainless steel thermos bottles we fill with filtered water. Works great. But still - banning sales of bottled water? It just means that people will be motovated to shop out of town. I'm sure your business community will love you for their drop in sales. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2010-05-05 00:42 |
| #3 If you need portable water, buy nalgene or other bottles and fill it from your tap. SO much cheaper, especially if you're like me and find that you can drink 3L in less than 4 hours while surveying a rock face. |
| Posted by: Silentbrick 2010-05-05 00:36 |
| #2 I personaly wonder just when the People started distrusting tap water, and no a power outage will NOT hurt Municipal water, there's millions of gallons in those Storage/pressure tanks, it takes several days to drain out. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2010-05-05 00:27 |
| #1 Methinks Jean needs a hobby |
| Posted by: Cheaderhead 2010-05-05 00:19 |