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As someone who lives in a county where Nestlé plans to tap a spring and use trucks to haul water -- about 65 million gallons a year -- to a bottling plant 125 miles away in Denver, I'm certainly getting familiar with all the arguments about bottled water.
But as Emily points out, bottled water is often an attraction when you're on the road, and that brings up a point that sometimes gets missed in the discussion.
When thirst struck on the highway, I used to get pop -- usually Pepsi. The same held when I got dragged into attending some big event.
Pop with sugar (or high-fructose corn syrup) rots your
teeth. Artificial sweeteners are easier on your teeth but
harder on your liver. And the natural
flavors often
have a small percentage of real fruit juice and a high
percentage of artificial stuff.
So bottled water doesn't look quite so bad when we compare it to soda pop or the like, rather than to tap water.
Any more, I travel with my deluxe Camelbak 1-liter BPA-free portable personal hydration system, or whatever fancy term gets applied to a water bottle these days. It was a gift, and even if it seems like a pretentious device, I like it very much.
However, it does need refilled on longer trips, and that can be tricky at many roadside convenience stops. As it is, it's not in their interest to make it easy -- they make money from selling bottled water, after all.
But suppose some convenience-store chain set up an easy water refill, along with ice, and charged a minimal but reasonable fee. I'd gladly pay a quarter for a cold liter -- cheaper than bottled water, healthier than soda, and presumably profitable for the merchant, who would also be creating some good will that would encourage me to patronize its stores when I was on the road.
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