One of the ironies of the Milken conference was that in front of dozens of
panelists talking about climate change and the need to reduce our carbon emissions
were prominently-displayed bottles of Fiji water, one of the conference’s sponsors.
Fiji water, of course, is an environmental
absurdity, one liter of which, according to Pablo
Päster, "consumes nearly 27 liters of water, nearly a kilogram
of fossil fuels, and generates more than a pound of carbon dioxide emissions".
So it’s good news that, as Dan
Gross reports in Slate, high-end Californian restaurants are now making
their own water, rather than offering foreign brands. Doing so is not only more
environmentally friendly, and much cheaper, it also means much purer water.
Spring water stored in plastic bottles, such as Fiji, will see rises in the
concentration of DEHP, an endocrine-disrupting phthalate and a probable human
carcinogen. Which isn’t necessarily unsafe, but is still something to think
about.
If this development catches on, it might be bad for the bottled-water manufacturers
and distributors, but it will be good for people making reverse-osmosis charcoal
filtering systems and the like. Imported bottled water was always a silly trend,
and it will be good to see the end of it.