<p>Left hand versus right hand. </p>
<p>A popular TV show claimed in a report that the biggest sources for germs and transfer of diseases in the school were the … water fountains. The report also stated that the typical water fountain was far dirtier than public toilets that are cleaned regularly.</p>
<p>So, we can expect a health scare to follow a plastic scare. :)</p>
<p>“They are in the business to SELL those things to people. The concession stands are often a contract company in the business to make money.”</p>
<p>Of course they’re in the business to make money. But they operate under a complex system of regulations to ensure that they make money in ways that are consistent with the public good. The laws against selling beer to intoxicated people surely cost the concessionaires money, yet most of us support the law because wasted-drunk people are a public nuisance. Same goes for the laws that prevent concessionaires from dumping used fryer oil into the street. That might be profitable, but it’s banned anyway for the good of society. Plastic water bottles and water-truck emissions are a public nuisance just like drunks, spilled grease, etc.</p>
<p>I could take it up with the stadium owners, but typically businesses don’t change their environmental practices of their own volition. They’re regulated because the government is better positioned than they are to determine which profitable practices are harmful to the public. Furthermore, a regulation applies to all the competitors in the marketplace, which means that a more responsible business owner doesn’t have to take a competitiveness hit in order to adopt the environmentally-friendly practice.</p>
<p>Do any parents still have their Bota Bags…? Looks like it’s time to pass them on to the next generation :p</p>
<p>I think the solution is for us to evolve camel humps.</p>
<p>Many of the schools that have banned bottled water have banned the SALE of bottled water on campus. A student will not be cited if s/he brings the bottled water from off campus. Although they may get indignant looks from their environmentally conscious peers.</p>
<p>Hanna - i think it depends on the stadium. At our stadiums here you can take an unopened bottle in (as long as it’s plastic, they won’t deal with glass because this could be smashed or broken or thrown.) and you can refill it at a water fountain. I always take an unopened bottle of water and then re-fill it depending on how hot and thirsty I am! You can also buy a bottle of water in the parking lot for 1 dollar or a bottle of gatorade in the parking lot for 2 dollars. Again, you can re-fill any bottle inside at the water fountain.</p>
<p>At my college, one of the Statistics classes designed a research project on the taste of bottled water vs. tap water. They set up tables across campus and had students sample a series of cups of water. The statistical data was interesting, but the bottom line was that most individuals were unable to distinguish between the two. As others have already noted, this is probably the case in many regions, and it would seem that if there were convenient bottle filling stations, then it would be that much harder to argue for the continuation of selling disposable bottles of water.</p>
<p>Many stadiums have only warm water flowing in the bathroom sinks, not exactly what you want when you are hot and thirsty.</p>
<p>*Given that tap water in the US is generally perfectly safe to drink, it seems like access to drinking water on campus should not be an issue. *</p>
<p>It depends on the source of water
[Toxic</a> Lead: Watch Out For Schools - Science News](<a href=“http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/40291/title/Science_%2B_the_Public__Toxic_Lead_Watch_Out_for_Schools]Toxic”>http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/40291/title/Science_%2B_the_Public__Toxic_Lead_Watch_Out_for_Schools) </p>
<p>[Keeping</a> Kids Safe: Test Drinking Water Fountains For Lead | New York State Senate](<a href=“http://www.nysenate.gov/report/keeping-kids-safe-test-drinking-water-fountains-lead]Keeping”>http://www.nysenate.gov/report/keeping-kids-safe-test-drinking-water-fountains-lead)</p>
<p>[Cocaine</a>, Spices, Hormones Found in Drinking Water](<a href=“National Geographic”>National Geographic)</p>
<p>^^^^^^
I agree. I drink bottled spring water precisely because I generally don’t have much faith in the quality of tap water.</p>
<p>The only thing I don’t enjoy about The Big Bang Theory is how the characters are always drinking from disposable water bottles and eating from throw-away containers. Have you noticed that Leonard and Sheldon have very nice dishes that they never use?</p>
<p>Bonnaroo music festival also discourages use of disposable water bottles and has water stations everywhere.</p>
<p>A single-use styrofoam plate or take-out container is a disaster for the planet, mostly the oceans. There doesn’t seem to be anything to do with styrofoam. I think it should be banned. Those plastic grocery bags too. They just break up into smaller plastic pieces that get ingested by animals. I hate it when produce departments wrap stuff in plastic and/or put it on styrofoam trays.</p>
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<p>If you are that worried, drink distilled water.</p>
<p>But if you are worried about the tap water, how do you wash your hands in it, brush your teeth with it, or consume food made with it or washed in it?</p>
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<p>I read that most bottled water is municipal tap water filtered again and packaged. It’s not like they set up bottling plants in the middle of nature right next to some idyllic mountain stream.</p>
<p>Get a Britta water filter if you’re so worried. Where I live the tap water tastes good and is good for you. I see many schools in Washington, Canada, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont etc. on this list. Either those places are “greener” on they just have better water quality control, maybe. I just don’t see what the stink is about choosing not to sell bottled water on campus. The OCD people I guess can make COSTCO runs to stock their dorm rooms, but I bet others learn to refill their reusable bottles if they haven’t already. Heck, my kids’ HS has a special bottle refiller station - it isn’t rocket science.</p>
<p>Yes. If you’re buying “spring water” you’re often just drinking a different community’s TAP water. There’s a graphic somewhere that shows which town’s water you’re drinking according to the brand you buy.</p>
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<p>Huh, what’s a Bota Bag? ;)</p>
<p>LOL sybbie, I thought I was being funny! Of course I know what a bota bag is. It is for carrying water only on a hike or for a camping trip, right? :)</p>
<p>The bottle fillers I have seen are filtered water dispensers.</p>
<p>All of us on the parent board are of the same approximate generation. Have any of you had problems back in the 60’s, 70’s or 80’s with plain ole tap water? When exactly did we think it wasn’t safe and we had to buy the “special” stuff?</p>