Saturday, February 18, 2012

The Plastic Water Bottle Controversy and Other Environmental Concerns

awesome water fountain! by jordan fischer
Banning plastic bottles on college campuses is apparently catching on. This article was published in USA Today in the fall of 2011, but the momentum is only now catching on. What do you think? I know when I visited Belmont University and Ole Miss for college visits, I noticed "hydration stations," with spigots for refilling a personal water bottle. Your thoughts?

And on another environmental note, Shell Oil (think BP--they are kissing cousins), has overcome perhaps the last obstacle to Arctic oil drilling. If you read the article, you will notice that they really do not know how to plan for an oil spill disaster. Remember that the Arctic ice pack is already noticeably dwindling (check here for more info). What will this mean for the area? The animals? The equilibrium on the planet?
 Jokulsarlon- ice remains by Nick Russillhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/nickrussill/146743082/


8 comments:

  1. I actually like this idea of banning plastic water bottles on college campuses. By doing so, these universities will be working toward a cleaner environment. Although I do drink from many a plastic bottle, I like the fact that these schools are prohibiting this use and forcing students to use recyclable bottles. Pius should get some of these high-tech water fountains!...well one day at least

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  2. I also really like the "hydration station" idea. Although our campus does have recycling bins for plastic water bottles, I still see many finding their way into trashcans. If colleges are banning plastic water bottles, maybe the trend will spread to highschools like Moira said and into the office arena. With the elimination of plastic water bottles, we can help keep the ARCTIC ice pack still around too!

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  3. I think the coolest part of this is that the ban on the plastic water bottles was student led. Really, the only way for a school wide ban on the bottles could work is if the students support it and aren't being forced into it by the administration. I wish our school recycled more plastic bottles, but the only bins to collect them are in the cafeteria. We might be more successful with more bins spread throughout the school.

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  4. This is awesome! I am really glad about this because plastic is still a huge environmental problem that we tend to use without considering any future consequences. The hydration station is a nice concept, too; it makes the ban more convenient for everyone.

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  5. I'm glad that support for the banning plastic water bottles is spreading! A few years ago, my mom stopped buying the large packs of water bottles from Costco and instead gave me a Camelbak water bottle to take for lunch every day. It really is one of the easiest ways to reduce your carbon footprint!
    And as for Shell Oil, I really am appalled that another big oil company might get caught up in a big oil spill, just like BP did a few years ago. The oil spill in the gulf contaminated over 665 miles of coastline, and I'd hate to see what another oil spill would do to another part of the world.

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  6. I actually have seen two of these water stations. They have them at Auburn and at Georgia Tech, I believe. I actually stopped and asked a person what it was because I couldn't figure it out. She told me that she and all her friends love them! Apparently, the water comes out iced cold! I think that making more changes in our everyday life is exactly what we need.

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  8. I saw one of these while I was on a tour at Vanderbilt. I had no idea what it was but now I do. Thanks!

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