 |
Where Every Issue is a Green Issue| Providing Wisdom in Building a Sustainable Future | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Following up on our popular story from July/August issue, "Time to Rethink Tap Water?", and in a related story on bottle water this month California takes action as reported by Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times. A Bill on the Gov.Schwarzenegger's Desk Clarifies Disclosure About Bottled H2O. Most companies that sell H2O hate the idea, but the California Legislature wants to make it easier for people to find out what minerals, chemicals or bacteria are in the water they buy and whether its provenance is a well, artesian aquifer, spring -- mountain or otherwise -- or municipal reservoir. "People pay a premium for bottled and vended water because they believe it is healthier," said state Sen. Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro), author of a bill that is on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk. "But in many cases, it is the same water that is coming out of the tap." The bill would impose labeling and reporting mandates on purveyors of bottled water and operators of commercial water-purification machines. The companies essentially would be required to do what the state compels water agencies to do: make details about their products' contents and sources readily available. The water districts do this with posts on their websites and inserts in water bills; bottlers would have to include contact and source information on their labels. "Consumers have a right to know and understand the quality of their drinking water," said Edgar G. Dymally, a senior environmental specialist with the Metropolitan Water District. "Frequently, there's confusion about where it comes from and what's in it." The bill's proponents complain that the FDA doesn't set very high standards. "FDA rules allow bottlers to call their product 'spring water' -- which seems to carry cachet with consumers as being especially natural and pure -- even though it may be brought to the surface using a pumped well, and even though it may be treated with chemicals," the Natural Resources Defense Council says on its website, which contends that "about one-fourth of bottled water is actually bottled tap water." Schwarzenegger hasn't taken a public position on the bill and as of press time, he hadn't made up his mind on whether he will sign it. The bill, if signed into law, would take effect Jan. 1, 2009. Link to the LA Times Archives for full story: http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes |
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Copyright © 2000-2007 GreenSage. All rights reserved.