Image provided by: West Linn High School; West Linn, OR
About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2008)
8 October ^ 0 8 Bottled water presents health, environmental, pocketbook risks M ax H ays . Staff Reporter bottled water. Even though some of these chemicals are found in tap water, they should not be in water that we are often paying several dollars for. The best health, to them and to the environment according to Hartmann. Although water bottles are recyclable, they often find their way into the landfill. In 2006, the state of California It is a common misconception that bottled water is clean and safe when compared to water that comes from the tap. In fact, one fourth of the time, bottled water is just tap water in a bottle. If the label of the bottle says the water is "from a iere needs to be a real awareness municipal source" or "from about where to recycle and what a community water system" then the bottled water you goes in the recycling.” paid for is no more than tap Richard Craghead, custodian water. It may not even be as clean as West Linn's water and costs nearly 4,000 times environmental and money alone had 18 million gallons the price. saving option might be to of water shipped in from Fiji, Bottled water can also purchase stainless steel water creating 2,500 tons of global be a health risk. In a recent bottles or water bottles that warming pollution. In 2005, study by an environmental are bisphenol (BPA) free nearly two million tons of advocacy group, 38 different and refill them using West plastic water bottles were chemicals were found in the Linn tap water, unfiltered thrown into landfills instead ten bottled water brands or filtered according to Jim of being recycled. they tested. Some contained Hartmann, environmental At WLHS, only one caffeine, fertilizer and even science teacher. He does eighth of water bottles are the radioactive element caution, however, that you recycled according to Richard strontium. The plastic bottles know where your water is Craghead, custodian. The also pose a health risk. The coming from as Wilsonville majority of the water bottles plastic contains chemicals residents are drinking water that are thrown away are called phthalates that can taken from the Willamette disrupt testosterone and other River which prior to treatment hormones. contains a long list of According to the National chemicals and pollutants. Resource Defense In W est L in n , the Council a study found tap water comes from that bottled water stored the Clackamas River. for ten weeks contained If people knew about phthalates, leading where their tap water C hristopher E rbin researchers to believe was coming from, Staff Reporter that the chemicals they would be more came from the plastic willing to drink container. There are Gas prices are down at water from the tap regulations for the moment, but prices on as opposed to phthalates in a much more vital resource bottled water tap water, but are soaring upward. As if which strangely we didn't have enough to could there are worry about, it has become be more '#***( * -s m y ; - v ■■--■■m none for evident to research experts harmful around the world that the global supply of clean water is quickly running out, and soon, even the wealthiest countries such as the United States, will be paying ridiculous amounts of money for a resource we simply cannot live without. "Flow" is a documentary film that was screened in Portland during the first two weeks of October. Multiple classes took field trips to see the film to educate students on the worlds dwindling clean water supply. Among the classes that viewed the film were Jim Hartmann's AP Environmental Science and Jonathan Davies' biology classes. In short, the documentary is an investigation into what experts label to be the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century— the World Water Crisis. The film builds a case on the out of 8 are recycled growing problem of the world's dwindling fresh water supply with an found on the athletic fields and in the gyms, or in other places where there are no bins for recycling such as in the halls. Although the school has recycling bins in most classrooms, there is always more that can be done to improve the amount of water bottles that are recycled according to William Ray, Head Custodian. "There needs to be a real awareness about where to recycle and what goes in the recycling," Craghead said. In order to recycle water bottles, they must be cleaned out, the neck of the bottle must be smaller than the body of the water bottle and the cap must be removed and thrown away. If there were more recycling bins on the fields and in the gym's, it would help encourage students to use these recycling bins and reduce the amount of water bottles that find the trash. War over water? How water prices might start looking like gas pifces 7 out of 8 bottles are not recycled at WLHS unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a possible world water cartel. The film opens with a mm KOB Day Fundraising shot of various Middle East water pools, billboard images for polluted water, and information which relates that water borne diseases kill more people annually than any of the hundreds of wars being fought around the world. The film goes on to explain that these extreme water hazards are not only affecting developing countries, but also the more predominant world powers, including the U.S. "Flow " makes it clear that the war for water has already begun in many third world countries. The film examines the bitter, conflicts that erupt when major corporations have tried to privatize water in parts of Bolivia, South Africa and other countries. W hile "Flow " identifies m any concerns about the dwindling water supply, there is one subject matter that especially relates to W LHS students. One of the most intriguing aspects of the film is the concerns about bottled water, one of the most profitable global products. It is a liquid that turns out to be less regulated and possibly less safe than what comes through the tap. In addition, we're told, society could provide pure water for everyone on the planet for what we pay for the bottled kind. It's something to think about, as is this entire film. Beyond identifying the problem, "Flow " also gives viewers a look at the people and institutions providing practical solutions to the water crisis and those developing new technologies, which are fast becom ing blueprints for a successful econom ic turnaround. \
