Jennifer Anderson
BI 112
Case Study 1
February 11, 2011

But It’s Just Bottled Water

Part I-Moving In

1. Should Sally’s mother buy the bottled water? Why or why not?

There were many facts provided in this paper to support why people should not buy bottled water. They included arguments against the quality of bottled water, information on the harmful effects of bottled water on the environment, and the negative implications of water extraction. Sally’s mother should not buy the bottled water at the Mega-Store. She had previously insisted on buying bottled water because she believed that it was more sanitary and clean than tap water. There are many facts that oppose this argument. One such piece of information …show more content…

It would be beneficial if the population consuming the most amount of bottled water could be targeted, for they are the consumers which are most likely to contribute the most waste. These facts can be made available through seminars and workshops, as well as with visual aids such as posters or billboards.

2. What will be the future impact on the environment if we continue to use bottled water like we do today?

There are many statistics which indicate that if the rate of consumption of bottled continues to increase as it has for the past 30-40 years, the environmental impact will be incomprehensible. In just five years, from 1999-2004, global consumption of water has increased by 100%. The number of gallons estimated to be consumed in 2004 was 41 billion. At a rate of a 100% increase every five years globally, this would amount to 82 billion gallons in 2009, and 328 billion by 2019. Considering that the ratio of water used during production to water available in final end product is approximately 6.7:1, it is easy to see that one of our most precious natural resources is facing an immediate threat. This increase in bottled water production also creates an enormous amount of pollution for the atmosphere. The amount of fossil fuels required to produce just one bottle of water is roughly 81g. The amount of harmful greenhouse gases emitted through factories and transportation costs, among other polluters in along the production line, is 153g per