🚀 go-pugleaf

On Thu, 28 Jun 2007 15:05:56 -0700, "Gatt" <gatt@juggerFUbot.com>
wrote:


>Why don't the whackjob righties understand, no matter how many times you 
>tell them, that the expense of gasoline is the least of its problems?

It's something to bitch about endlessly that folks will understand.

>Next time one of 'em goes to New Orleans or LA or Vegas, I DARE THEM to 
>drink straight from the tap.

Meanwhile:

http://www.itemizerobserver.com/DIOColumn1.shtml

"We sell water, so we've got to be clever," said an executive of
Nestle, the world's leading producer of bottled water. 
   The latest cleverness of the bottled water industry is "enhanced
water." The best-known enhanced water brand, Glaceau, produces such
brands as VitaminWater and SmartWater. World beverage giant Coca-Cola
just purchased Glaceau for $4.1 billion. 
   We who grew up being encouraged to "eat our vegetables" are now
being encouraged to instead supplement our families' diets with
vitamin-enhanced water. 
   But does such water enhance consumers' diets, or is it, as the
Nestle executive predicted, merely a clever way to enhance corporate
profits? 
   Vitamin water commonly sells for $1.39 for a 20-ounce bottle. If a
family of four were to consume daily the 64 ounces of water per person
that the bottled water industry recommends for proper hydration, that
family would consume 89 bottles of bottled water each week at a cost
of $124.17. A similar amount of tap water would cost less than a dime.
   I recently took a trip to my neighborhood food market to see what
sort of nutrition I could get for my family for $124.17. With one cart
full of 89 bottles of vitamin water, my other cart contained more than
65 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables.
   In one cart I had over 10,600 calories worth of sugar water (ounce
for ounce, VitaminWater products have more than half as much sugar as
Coke Classic) laced with sufficient doses of B and E vitamins to meet
daily requirements. In the other cart I had enough vitamins, minerals
and fiber - all with no added sugar - to sustain not only my family's
health for a week, but that of several neighbors as well.
   While the claims that bottles of water can enhance our nutrition
are far-fetched, there is no doubt that taking our water (often city
tap water) and placing it in expensive bottles is greatly enhancing
the profits of big corporations. Americans spend billions on bottled
water.
   And each year, more than 18 million barrels of oil are used
worldwide simply to produce the plastic for the bottles for that water
- most of which will spends the next 1,000 years in a landfill.
   Smart water consumers buy one container, fill it with tap water
that is regularly tested and certified pure by their local water
district, and carry it around with them. If they add an apple or an
orange, they're way ahead of the game.
   Coke, Nestle and others are betting that there aren't enough smart
consumers to turn the tide. More's the pity.
   --
   Scott Klinger is the research director for Corporate Accountability
International (www.stopcorporateabuse.org).