Let's discuss......bottled water, cell phones, etc.

[Miss Mary]

In light of Cajun Mama's "sooooo" topic, let's get some good discussions going. I just saw two articles online that would be worth discussing.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,389362,00.html
Bottled water? Worth it or a waste of our money (not to mention adding to our landfills and/or recycling centers, that is if consumers recycle the bottles)? Here at our house we occasionally buy it, but save the bottles. We then fill them with tap water and use them about 5 or so times each. But lately we've been using better plastic bottles to drink from while bike riding or in the car (Rubbermaid sells them). I realize that in times of crisis (Katrina) bottled water is necessary, I'm just talking about in our homes. When you could in theory turn on the tap. My husband has always said that bottled water is one huge scam.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25821899/
Could the over-use of cell phones cause cancer some day? A leading cancer expert cautions it could. Another good reason for me not to have one (yes, I've never owned my own cell phone, out of the 4 of us, only 1 uses a cell on a daily basis).

Feel free to add a topic to discuss of your own.

I would like to ask that we try and keep this civil and not post content S2K frowns upon (political, etc.).

Post away.....and wake up! (how was that CajunMama? LOL).

Mary

[JonathanBelles]

Story #1....In my household I rarely use plastic bottles. I use tap water and aluminum for soda. I heavily dislike the use of plastic bottles and I tell everyone not to use them. When I take water out I use my STS thermos/cooler. My parent both use very large cup around the house, but refuse to stop buying bottled water.

Story #2....I believe that cell phones could cause cancer, but over a very long time. I think the rate of cancer via cell phone is very low. In the future, there will be technology to stop any chances of cancer. Im not worried by the recent studies.

[Dionne]

1) I always use bottled water. Seldom drink from the tap. We keep 1/2 gallon plastic jugs for emergencies. We buy the smaller bottles by the case. Our small community water system has a long history of failed water quality tests.

2) Cell phones do put out an electro-magnetic field. Whether this causes cancer.................I dunno? Reports worldwide vary. I use a cell phone everyday.


If we're discussing cancer.....I seriously doubt either bottled water or cell phones play any significant role in the development of cancer cells. Most of you know that my wife is a breast cancer survivor. For awhile we considered environmental factors as the cause, we now know it was genetic.

We grow our own veggies. Several years ago we stopped eating red meat and switched to fish. It is not uncommon for us to have a dinner consisting entirely of veggies.

There is a lot more a person can do to promote over all good health. If you smoke...quit. If you use alcohol....limit your consumption. Say good-bye to the fast food restaurants. Regular daily exercise. Get a physical every year.

[Miss Mary]

Dionne - I agree with you. I am also a cancer survivor. I've cut out red meat as well (there is a direct link now to colon cancer). Out of 7 home cooked dinners a week, we may have 2 or 3 vegetarian meals. When I make spaghetti, we never have meatballs (which to be honest, I've always thought were kind of gross!). After a trip or vacation, I'm known to make an all fresh produce/veggie meal. I always feel like we've been eating somewhat unhealthy and need to get back to basics.

But there are a lot of things people can do to avoid cancer - eat healthy, exercise, stop smoking, drink moderately. I have a 62 year old brother with congestive heart failure. He's on 8 daily heart meds and now has a pacemaker/defibulator. He's hanging in there but this damage is a direct result of 40+ years of heavy partying (not my measly 2 or 3 bottles of beer a month). He has admitted to splitting a fifth over a weekend night with buddies (he's been a long time boater and now has a motorcycle). I asked his wife (who's more in line with me, moderate drinking, etc.) if he's regretted his past partying, she quickly said - oh no, he had the time of his life. Anyway, we fear losing him someday but for now, he is behaving (we think), he no longer drinks, he has low fat meals, takes his meds. But, he still smokes. None of us can convince him to stop. Sometimes you just have to let people go when they will cooperate only so far.

We don't have to turn this topic into cancer discussions. I just read both articles last night and thought they'd be good for discussions. Bottled water usage in this country is at an all time high. We've actually ordered water in restaurants and the waitress will ask - tap or bottled? At that point, we all shake our heads - tap, of course! But you know those bottles go into the garbage can, not recycling bin.

[chadtm80]

Mary will not buy bottle water.. Now I'm not saying I wont drink it. If I am out and about at someones house and im thirsty and they offer me one, I will drink it.. But I will be danged if I buy water when I have it at home for free. And to be honest, I think the tap tends to taske better

[Miss Mary]

And there's a theory I've heard more than once or twice, that sometimes bottled water is actually - tap water. Someone could do an in depth investigation into this assumption.....LOL

I always look at our small Trex deck when I think of recycled plastic. We did the job ourselves and it's never needed anything done to it except a yearly scrubbing. Plastic bottles and bags, went into making it. So without the overuse of both (we could discuss plastic bags next!), I'd probably have a splintered wood deck.....LOL

[wx247]

I buy bottled water once in a while but then like you Mary, I refill the bottles several times with tap water. I find that it not only saves me money, it also decreases the amount of cups/glasses I have to wash (thus saving water in the long run).

[Squarethecircle]

My parents are bottled water fans. I am not. I think that bottled water is useless, and my reason is reverse osmosis. Get a good reverse osmosis filter for your tap (or, if you're willing to pay for installation services, your entire house), and the water tastes as good or better as most brands of bottled water (especially the mainstream ones that you normally find). Ever wonder how restaurants always have good water? They all use reverse osmosis filters (you can ask, if you want). Also, the filters are much more efficient - depending on the type, you can go through many, many weeks without filter maintenance.


Cell phone cancer is a scam. Various waves of all types are passing through you as we speak. If cell phones were responsible for cancer, then it wouldn't matter whether or not you used one, and the number of reported cases (in percentile, given for misdiagnoses error) would spike with the greater use of cell phones. They haven't: Cancer has been on a plateau since the 70s, when cell phones were introduced. Long-term tests with large bodies of people have not only not been inconclusive, they've been conclusive against cell phone cancer. Plus, the science just isn't there - you actually have to use high frequency radiation in order to get cancer. There's just not nearly enough energy in lower forms.

You get exposed to higher amounts of radiation by taking a plane flight than by 10+ years of talking on a cell phone. The same applies to x-rays. No one gets cancer from flying and x-rays.

[Numlock]

Bottled water seems mostly inefficient and pointless to me. I can understand that tap water is nasty in some places, but PUR and Brita systems are inexpensive and as long as you don't forget to change the filter, it'll leave you with pure, clean H2O. If you absolutely refuse to drink even filtered tap water (which is what bottled water is), you can still get a gallon jug of drinking water fairly cheaply. Unless you're out on a road trip, I simply can't understand blowing a buck and a half on 20 ounces of freakin' water.

As for the other story:

Herberman is basing his alarm on early unpublished data. He says it takes too long to get answers from science and he believes people should take action now — especially when it comes to children.

Sorry doc, but a lack of substantial proof combined with the fact that everything seems to cause cancer nowadays makes me pretty skeptical.

[gtalum]

1) I avoid bottled water unless I'm out somewhere unprepared and it's the only way to get a drink. I generally take a Sigg bottle full of tap water with me everywhere I go.

2) We're surrounded by electromagnetic fields everywhere on earth. The cell phone's field is no different from the rest and the transmission power just isn't very high.

[dizzyfish]

What, no Perrier drinkers here? lol

We do buy a little bottled water to have around in case our well system goes down - or the RO. Also to have extra on hand in case of a hurricane. It's all well and good to say fill your own bottles when a hurricane is coming but - you have to have the bottles first! Yes, I would rather drink my own water as it tastes better.

Now - to go off on another tanget have you seen the ads for doggie bottled water?

As for the cell phone causing cancer.....

[abajan]

Bottled water is probably the biggest scam around but some folks apparently have money to burn, so more power to them.

In all likelihood, cell phones are perfectly safe if not overused. I hardly use mine - at most, a total of half an hour per month. Conversations are kept brief and to the point. But it's a common sight here in Barbados to see people (especially young women) with cellphones stuck to their ears.

[Miss Mary]

Thanks for bumping up my topic!

To the member who mentioned Sigg bottles: We just stumbled upon Sigg bottles at Dick's Sporting Goods the other day. We have other plastic drinking bottles we use right now but Sigg's certainly seem durable and the way to go (if you can afford them). We have a family of 4. So that's a bit pricey.

[gtalum]

Thanks for bumping up my topic!

To the member who mentioned Sigg bottles: We just stumbled upon Sigg bottles at Dick's Sporting Goods the other day. We have other plastic drinking bottles we use right now but Sigg's certainly seem durable and the way to go (if you can afford them). We have a family of 4. So that's a bit pricey.

Of course, one Sigg bottle will last your entire life.

There's also the fact that they don't contain (and leech) harmful chemicals that plastic bottles do.

I buy them occasionally when previous season's models go on clearance at REI.com.

[Jason_B]

I'm a bottled water junkie, mainly because I'm usually out all day and don't want to drink out of out those public fountains (yuck).

[Miss Mary]

glatum - I think we are going to replace our plastic bottles (the ones that come with bikes or promotions/festivals/fairs you attend) with Sigg ones. Slowly. We were quite impressed with them, to be honest.

I'm guessing bottled water isn't that popular in Sweeden?

[DanKellFla]

I used to work in an Environmental Lab and tested water. (GC/MS volatile and semi-volitiles) The only thing bottled water does better than tap water is taste. And, in many locations, tap water tastes better. Bottled water is not as regulated as tap water. Personally, I like bottled water as a hurricane supply (don't we all?) and to freeze and place in a cooler instead of ice. Otherwise, a filter on my fridge is all I need. And all that does is make my water taste better. I don't like the taste of my tap water.

Cell phone cancer???? Can I use this as an excuse to get rid of my cell phone?

[Cookiely]

I wouldn't buy bottled water unless the water in the tap wasn't good. We rented a home and didn't know until we moved in that the water tasted like pure salt. Salt water intrusion into the well. We rented another home on an island and occasionally the water smelled and tasted like gasoline especially early in the morning. I saw a video by Dr. Gupta and the diagram of the young child's brain was unsettling with younger and younger children getting phones. I've had the phones get so hot while I was talking that I was scared it was going to explode.