In this day and age, it is no surprise that humans try and take the easiest, most available route when it comes to pretty much everything in their everyday lives. People tend to want the fastest, most convenient things, and this is one reason why bottled water has become one of the most popular drinks. Despite being free is almost every person’s home, people still tend to spend their money on large bottled waters in an attempt to get their suggested daily water intake, rather than investing in a reusable water bottle.
Although people may think that buying one water bottle isn’t the end of the world, some may argue that this is what is leading to our planet getting into such bad shape. In an article written about the harm that water bottles have on our environment, entitled, “Why You Should Give Up Bottled Water for Good”, the author states, “Did you know that, every year, the equivalent of 17 million barrels of oil are used to produce plastic water and soda bottles in the U.S.—not including transportation? Or that bottling water produces more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide per year?” This just goes to show what our country is willing to do for convenience.
I would estimate, on average, that each Union College student drinks between 1 or 2 bottles of water a day, since I have noticed reusable water bottles have become more trendy. With around 2,200 students at Union, I would argue then that there is around 4,400 bottles of water being used every day. For such a small campus, that number is truly terrifying.
I agree with you that the amount of bottles used is alarmingly high, but I have to admit I am one of the people who does use plastic bottles. Even though I always recycle those bottles and usually reuse them at least once, it is still contributing so so much oil usage and carbon dioxide emissions. Personally, I know that I need to start remembering my reusable water bottle when I leave my house to cut down on my carbon footprint.
I too agree with your statement that the water bottles we use is outrageously high. Also, the amount of oil we use on a yearly basis is also monumental as well as the Carbon footprint that is created by creating water bottles. It really is scary that something that is made to be convenience is abused to the point that it is destroying our environment.
I liked your approach to this topic, and how you brought in CO2 emissions as well as oil usage. Perhaps we can use the method we learned in class today to compute the numbers. I came to about the same estimate of bottled water consumption on campus, and I agree that for such a small campus this seems like a big number. Could you imagine the bottled water consumption rates at a larger university? Wow!
Wow Sophie! Your post raised a lot of interesting points. I definitely try to bring a reusable water bottle wherever I go, as I am someone who drinks a lot of water throughout the day and do not want to waste multiple plastic bottles per day, nor do I want to spend money on them. However, there are definitely a ton of plastic bottles consumed on campus, and for those who do use plastic bottles, I would highly recommend that they make sure those bottles are recycled, which can minimize one’s environmental waste.