Bottled Water - Water

· Types of scarcity

-Relative Scarcity: Consumption and perception of risk w/ bottle water is related to geographical location + relative abundance of freshwater Hydrological Scarcity: Climate, affluence and population lead to hydrological prominence. In these conditions desalinization is most likely to be utilized (Example UAE) -Techno-Economic Scarcity: Locations with underdevelopment exaggerated by rapidly urbanizing populations. Scarcity in clean water, yet abundance in natural water supplies (Example: Mexico) -Perceptual Scarcity: Even in places where clean water is abundant, the general perception that bottled water is safer will lead to its industrial growth (example: USA)

· Life cycle analysis

Analysis of environmental impacts of a product, service, or object from its point of manufacture all the way to its disposal as waste Total footprint for a bottle of water depends enormously on brand and location, so a full life cycle analysis of the product remains elusive

· Commodity/ commodification of water

Bottled water can easily be commodified and sold for a profit from private firms Private water companies are buying out municipal sources and distributors This will raise prices Some people can't afford water in less developed countries because of privatization Bottled water reflects an overall shift toward private responsibility and corporate profit in water provision

Social construction of bottled water, of scarcity

Bottled water is safer than tap water

Perceptions of water quality (risk)

Bottled water is safer than tap water Very false - tap water is more regulated

· Carbon footprint of bottled water

Bottles are made from plastics, which derive from petroleum 2 kilos of petroleum for 1 kilo of water Shipping More gas is used to ship the bottles to distributors/stores/etc Emits CO2 Landfill Small portion of bottles actually get recycled Most end up in landfills

· Primitive accumulation, accumulation by dispossession vis-à-vis water

Direct appropriation by capitalists of water Water is turned into a commodity because it is bottled

Reasons and problems with privatization of water systems

Improvements in efficiency and quality of service External influences Fiscal motives Problems: Tariff increases Turns public good into a private good "Selling back nature" Privatization can turn into monopolies

· Some reasons for banning plastic water bottles

Making bottles requires 17 million barrels of oil annually A lot of energy is wasted which can be used to fuel homes Average person uses 167 water bottles a year and only recycles 38 Antimony, which is found in PET plastic bottles, in small doses can cause dizziness and depression; in larger doses it can cause nausea, vomiting, and death

Risk assessment

Many bottled waters come from tap water 1999 report from National Resources Defense Council Concluded about ⅓ of all bottled water came from city water source, and many were not treated much further than that Water out of tap is judged by color and taste so overtime people overestimate the hazards in public water sources

Risk communication

Seek to convey technical information (about trace elements in water for example) in an intuitive way, and so lead to better informed decisions Misinterpretations

Political economy of bottled water

Selling consumers their water that has been expropriated (primitive accumulation) Creating demand Crisis of overproduction (inelastic demand) Commodification Free profits

· Water distribution/Desalinization

Taking salt out of water, process of taking lots of energy Uneven water distribution of water, some people with not enough to drink while others have plenty of access to water and are able to water crops, have excess amounts for recreational purposes, ect.

· Movie: Flow: for the love of water

Tap water in US is toxic from many number of pollutants raging from bacteria and other more natural pollutants to jet fuel and industrial pollutants that are very harmful for people Feeds off social construction of tap water being unsafe People in undeveloped countries that don't have a lot of power to fight for the rights to clean water that is being filled with toxins from big industries

Bottled water and its environmental costs

The packaging itself costs PET or polyethylene- are derived from petroleum Every kilo of bottles needs 2 kilos of petroleum Energy and material impacts of moving around water Bottled, trucked, or shipped from place to place requires consumption of petroleum and expulsion of more carbon dioxide Life cycle of water bottle ends in a landfill only a small proportion of bottles are recycled- 7%

· Production of scarcity

Water usage around the world with drinking, cleaning, toilets, etc varies - US very high