Annotated Bibliography

Working Thesis
Although bottled water presents the illusion of a high quality healthy product, the benefit and production process has generated great concern because of the presumed quality differences between bottled water and tap water, the production costs of bottled water compared to tap water, and damage to the environment.

Breslau, Karen. "A Good Drink at The Sink." Newsweek 150.2 (02 July 2007): 14. Middle Search Plus. EBSCOhost. Elmer E. Rasmuson Lib., Fairbanks, AK. 7 November 2007. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mih&AN=25541563&site=src-live>.

Karen Breslau wrote this article about the Salt Lake City, Utah, Mayor Ross Anderson. Mayor Anderson according to the article is one of many city mayors trying to combat Greenhouse gases by promoting tap water. The article goes on to discuss the type of plastic used to produce water bottles, the amount of single serving water bottles that are not recycled, and the profits generated by the water bottle industry. The author is trying to reach people in the local community.

EPA. Environmental Protection Agency. “Setting Standards for Safe Drinking Water.” 28 November 2006. 23 Oct.2007 <http://www.epa.gov/safewater/standards.html>.

This is a government agency web site; Environment Protection Agency is responsible for regulating public drinking water around the United States. This particular web site provides significant information into the guidelines and regulatory procedures governing public drinking water. The audience is the local community, water treatment plants.

FDA. Food and Drug Administration. “Bottled Water Regulation and the FDA.” August/September 2002. 23 Oct.2007 <http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/botwatr.html>.

This is a government agency web site; Food and Drug Administration is responsible for the regulating the production of bottled water. This particular web site provides significant information regarding the guidelines and regulatory procedures governing the production of bottles water. The audience is the bottling companies and consumers.

Loomis, Brandon. “Kenai City Water Has too Much Arsenic.” Anchorage Daily News. AK, 3 Oct 2007. Newspaper Source. EBSCOhost. Elmer E. Rasmuson Lib., Fairbanks, AK. 20 November 2007. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nfh&AN=2W62W6977618859&site=src-line>

Brandon Loomis writes an article for the Anchorage Daily News outlining the current situation with the public water of Kenai. Loomis explains in some detail the cosmetics of the local water and the effects it is having on the local community. The levels of naturally occurring arsenic are contaminating two of the three local well, forcing city officials to seek new sources of water. The health risks associated with arsenic are discussed as well as the potential cost of new wells or new water treatment methods. Loomis is trying to reach the local community to inform them of the problems plaguing the local water supply.

Milne-Tyte, Ashley. “Environmental cost to bottled water.” Container Recycling Institute. 20 April 2006. 23 Oct. 2007 <http://container-recycling.org/mediafold/newsarticles/plastic/2006/4-20-Marketplace-EnviroCosts.htm>.

This is a printed news report on bottled water found on the Container-recycling Institute web page. This web page is dedicated to the recycling methods and programs around the United States. Ashley Milne-Tyte and Tom Standage discuss facts about the production of bottled water. They also discuss the fact that 86% of plastic water bottles end up in landfills. Audience is the local community where the report was broadcasted.

NSF. National Science Foundation. Your Tap Water: Will That Be Leaded or Unleaded?. 4 August 2005. Press Release 05-131. 23 Oct. 2007 <http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=104334>.

This is an article found on the National Science Foundation web site. This article is about lead that is leaking in to public through brass pluming parts. There are standards governing the levels of lead in public water. A series of tested conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency reviled that new methods would need to be implemented in order to detect the levels of lead in public drinking water. A method used for testing the water had high concentrations of orthophosphate, which is used to inhibit lead leaching. Resulting in the water tested showing low levels of lead when in facts the levels where higher.

"Success of bottled water can spill into recycling efforts." USA Today (n.d.). Middle Search Plus. EBSCOhost. Elmer E. Rasmuson Lib., Fairbanks, AK. 7 November 2007. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mih&AN=J0E416740087007&site=src-live>.

This is an article published in USA Today, suggesting that bottled water is not has harmful on the environment has reported. According to Susan K. Neely, the president and CEO of American Beverage Association, plastic water bottles contribute one-third of 1% to municipal waste. Kim E. Jeffery, President and CEO of Nestle Waters North America states the they make 98% of their single-serve bottles, eliminating 6.6 million gallons of fuel per year. Also discussed is that fact that people drink bottles water for the convenience and if not for the sale of bottled water that consumers would purchase more beverages containing sugar.

“Fluoride and Water.” Kids Health for Parents. Sep. 2005. Nemours Foundation. 7 October 2007 <http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/general/teeth/fluoride.html>

This cite is dedicated to the education of parents about health issues regarding their children. This particular article deals with fluoride. It explains how fluoride help protect children’s teeth from decay. It also explains that studies have shown that to much fluoride can also harm children’s teeth. Discussed as well are the topics of Fluoride and the Water Supply, Your Child’s Fluoride Needs, and Overexposure to Fluoride. This article is geared toward parents concerned with fluoride.

Franklin, Pat. “Down the Drain.” Waste Management World. May/Jun. 2006. Container Recycling Institute. 1 October 2007 <http://container-recycling.org/mediafold/newsarticles/plastic/2006/5-WMW-DownDrain.htm>

The author of this article discusses the growth in the bottled water industry. Particular attention was paid to the plastic bottle and the fact that Americans are consuming bottled water at a high rate, resulting in millions of plastic water bottles ending up in landfills. The fact that China offers more money for plastic bottles hinders the recycling efforts here in America. The globalization of bottled water is discussed.

Tigno, Cezar. “Using Solid Waste to Treat Water Waste.” Water. Feb. 2007. Asian Development Bank. 1 October 2007. <http://www.adb.org/water/actions/PHI/using-solid-waste.asp>.

This article is about a new technology developed by environmental engineers in the Philippines. These engineers have developed a wastewater treatment system using scrap plastic water bottles, rice hull, and other solid wastes. Household wastewater accounts for most all pollution of public water in the Philippines. Septic tanks overflow into the local water supply and create waterborne diseases. Utilizing perforated plastic bottles, and plastic septic tanks the effluent is filtered in anaerobic and aerobic reactors.