Some reading about recent ban on bottled water (london ON) prompted further surfing on the topic.
Was shocked to learn that, based on calculations at Queens U, the electrical requirements alone (for each refrigerated vending machine and the associated cooling load on the HVAC system) cost the university $1178 every year (at 9.5c/kWh). The total electricity consumption (for 150 machines) in 2002 was calculated to be 1.86 GWh.
In comparison, Thunder Bay Generating Station (coal-fuelled) produces typically 1,500 GWh annually. Merely 0.12% of one power station - but that's just one vending machine contract with one institution. How much carbon emission does that represent, over and above the emissions related to the bottle-making, bottling, packaging, distribution, retail storage and consumer transportation of bottled water (assuming the extraction and filtering costs of bottled and municipal waters cancel each other out)?
On top of that, the total electrical load for the vending machines at Queens amounted to 2.3% of their annual electricity spending. That's a 2.3% tax the student population and government subsidies have to pay for the convenience of those rich (or stupid) enough to pay $2 a 500mL bottle for something that costs 50c per 1000L.
The bottled water fad also hurts tap water by taking away public support to improve and protect it, will disproportionately hurt those who can't afford to buy their water privately. Clean water is essential to life - cleanses the spirit and the temple - it should be a right, not a simple commodity!
All this because big marketers created a need (based on a 1960's study that said you need 1mL of water for every calorie of food you eat - but they omitted the inconvenient next sentence that most of that was already present in the food that carries those calories).
Not to mention, of course, the environmental costs of recycling (energy and effort consumed in the collection, sorting, melting and re-processing) these bottles that good people send back for recycling, and the pollution caused by the whopping 40% of bottles that aren't.
References:
http://www.polarisinstitute.org/files/utility%20calculator,%202.pdf
http://www.opg.com/power/fossil/thunderbay.asp
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/story.html?id=b4392be6e338-4206-8817-592210089ea2&
No comments:
Post a Comment