Cities kick the bottle habit

At the recent meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the group passed a resolution to phase out government use of bottled water in favor of municipal water.

Alternet reports that this effort was spurred on by San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom and more than 60 other mayors, who have in the past year have cancelled bottled water contracts in their cities. Cities like Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, and San Jose are eliminating bottled water from government offices, and their mayors hope residents follow suit.

Bottled water is a huge expense, especially when it's been proved time and again to be no safer or healthier than tap water.

Worse still, plastic water bottles are frequently not recycled, which adds trash to landfills or the giant garbage patch out in the Pacific Ocean.

As Mayor Newsom said: "The fact is, our tap water is more highly regulated than what's in the bottle. Years of misleading bottled water marketing have led residents to believe otherwise. Years of misleading marketing have also led the city to spend taxpayer dollars on lucrative bottled water contracts -- even when the city itself provides water that is every bit, if not more, safe, reliable and thirst-quenching."

If you need water on the go, get yourself a Kleen Kanteen or a SIGG bottle. Both are made of non-reactive stainless steel, which is safe and free of questionable Bisphenol A, a chemical that leaches from many plastic water bottles.

Fill it from the tap or use a filter if you don't like your tap water's taste. Bottoms up!