The Story of Stuff Project » The Story of Bottled Water

Hey America, do you support public water systems?

C. M. Samala — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 18:48:49 +0000

If so, please visit and sign up with Corporate Accountability International’s campaign to keep our public water systems healthy and appropriately funded!

Take action today and support World Water Day. Thanks for all you do!

Close, but No Cigar. Just Plastic Bottles…

C. M. Samala — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:40:57 +0000

February 12, 2012 UPDATE: Grand Canyon successfully bans bottled water effective March 2012. Yay!

Grand Canyon National Park officials came oh so close to banning on the sale of disposable water bottles, the biggest culprit when it comes to trash in the park. However, after some conversations with Coca-Cola, the plans to implement the ban fell flat. It just so happens that Coca-Cola has donated more than $13 million to the National Park Foundation.

Curious to read more about this story? Both the New York Times and Los Angeles Times have great pieces on it. Check ‘em out.

Want to do something about this bottled water business? Take Corporate Accountability International’s action and tell your Governor to think outside the bottle!

Rosa González: WATER WORKS

Allison Cook — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:41:38 +0000

Post written by Rosa González from Green For All

Every year, enough untreated sewage escapes into our waterways to completely cover the state of Pennsylvania in sludge an inch thick. Yuck.

So what if there were a way to fix that – while putting over 1.8 million people to work and adding more than a quarter of a trillion dollars to the economy? As you’ve guessed: there is.

Green for All, in partnership with Economic Policy Institute, American Rivers, and Pacific Institute, recently released a new report: “Water Works: Rebuilding Infrastructure, Creating Jobs, Greening the Environment.” The report looks at what would happen if we invested in America’s water infrastructure – and finds that an investment of $188.4 billion spread equally over the next five years would generate $265.6 billion in economic activity and create close to 1.9 million jobs.

With the side benefit of keeping sewage out of our streams.

We’re not going to claim that the report is casual reading, but we’d love to have you take a look. In addition to topline numbers, it reviews the workforce opportunities that would result from such an investment, analyzing a representative set of occupations in industries related to water infrastructure. It also argues that the use of green infrastructure – infrastructure that mimics natural water solutions — offers a means to meet the stormwater management needs of our communities while offering a number of other benefits.

Here’s the kicker: there’s no better time to do it.

We have a water and wastewater infrastructure in the U.S. that is outdated, overextended, and in crisis. As our infrastructure deteriorates, investment is not keeping pace. Total public investment in water infrastructure as a share of the economy has fallen by over one-third since peak levels of investment in 1975. But fixing it now lets us take advantage of three benefits unique to the moment:

Water infrastructure investments would create jobs now, when they are most needed.
The cost of financing this investment is at historic lows.
The current economic climate can reduce the costs of infrastructure projects.

Sounds great, right? Eliminate untreated waste, build greener, more sustainable water systems, put people to work and improve the economy. So what’s the hold up?

Politics. As always, politics. Making simple decisions hard since 1787.

At some point, we’ll be forced to address our aging water infrastructure – there will be an unprecedented leak, or a city will lose fresh water access. Then we’ll pay a premium to fix it. All we’re suggesting is – why not fix it before that happens?

And, as a side benefit, stop dumping millions of gallons of waste into our water systems.

Nestle rejects pumping from Wacissa for its bottled water plan

Christina M. Samala — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 18:11:36 +0000

Originally Posted by Mary Ellen Klas.

The headwaters of North Florida’s spring-fed Wacissa River has been the source of an intense local feud over whether to allow Nestle Waters North America to pump water from the spring for use in its Madison County bottling plant.

Grassroots lobbying groups mounted an educational campaign to prevent the pumping. Nestle ordered a scientific review. On Wednesday, the company backed off the proposal.

Kent Koptiuch, Florida Natural Resource Manager for Nestlé Waters North America said the company spent a year studying the spring to determine if the water discharge was “sufficiently abundant and sustainable to serve as a spring source for our company.” It concluded that seasonal low flows “do not meet our strict selection criteria for a stable, sustainable water supply.”

Here’s the statement from one of the company’s lobbyists, Associated Industries of Florida Vice President Jose Gonzalez:

“For more than a year, Nestle Waters North America has invested significant time and resources into a careful scientific evaluation of a spring source along the Wacissa River to support the operation of its Madison County manufacturing facility. After a thorough review of the data collected from the potential source, the science concluded this particular spring was not viable for the company’s use.”Nestle Waters has a strong record as a responsible steward of Florida’s natural resources and a committed community partner. As an organization that has long been committed to environmental sustainability issues and the future of Florida’s waters, Associated Industries of Florida applauds their methodical, science-based approach to determining the viability of this spring source, as well as their honest, transparent engagement with the local community.”

Images from the Story of Bottled Water

C. M. Samala — Fri, 20 May 2011 22:33:23 +0000

Help us spread the word! Feel free to use these images on your site or blog. We just please ask that you link back to us. Simply right-click on your PC or ctrl-click on your Mac to download a zip file of images from each film. This file is 1.6 MB.

Myth v. Reality for Story of Bottled Water

C. M. Samala — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 23:36:38 +0000

If you’re using Chrome or Safari,click the image below to view the annotated script in your browser. Otherwise, you can right-click the image to download it and open with the PDF-viewer of your choice.

Movie File for the Story of Bottled Water

Christina M. Samala — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 22:08:55 +0000

Our Creative Commons License permits you to download and share our films for free so long as you play it in its entirety for non-commercial use. And while sharing our films in full for non-commercial use is free, the production cost and hosting fees are not! Donations in any amount are always appreciated. You can make a secure, tax-deductible on-line contribution via our donation page and help keep this information free. Thanks!

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Press Release for Story of Bottled Water

C. M. Samala — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 00:16:40 +0000

Annotated Script for the Story of Bottled Water

Christina M. Samala — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 20:37:26 +0000

LA TIMES: "It’s a cartoon, but she’s serious"

Christina M. Samala — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:59:32 +0000

By Margot Roosevelt:

“Annie Leonard used to spout jargon. She reveled in the sort of geek-speak that glazes your eyeballs.

Externalized costs, paradigm shifts, the precautionary principle, extended producer responsibility.

That was before she discovered cartoons.

Today the 45-year-old Berkeley activist is America’s pitchperson for a new style of environmental message. Out with boring PowerPoints and turgid reports; in with witty videos that explain complex issues in digestible terms…”

Click here to read the full story!