Water not so good as Seattle says

I listen to NPR, not really for any reason other than I have been listening to it for so many years, that I enjoy the lack of raucous commerciality.

That's not to say NPR hasn't become just another commercial broadcaster over the years. Probably this has made it change in a way that does not appeal to me so much any more.

A story some month's ago was a glaring example of biased reporting. Tom Banse came to the Silver Valley to tell of tourism. He failed to address the toxic state of the environment in the area and did not speak with the group that has fought for over two decades to address the health needs of the community because of toxic mining waste.

Today Chris Lehman tells us about bottled water. I am opposed to PET plastic bottles and some of the companies that just bottle tap water and tell you it is something else. I am not for Seattle water from the tap either.

I use a excellent filtration device I've had since I moved to Seattle over two decades ago. I remove the fluoride. Chris forgot to ask Andy Ryan about the added industrial fluoride.

Seattle has added fluoride to the municipal water supply for more than thirty years. Seattle also has an ever increasing rate of cavities among children. This should tell you something.

Seattle, Portland Join Anti-Water Bottle Movement
Posted Wednesday, May 7, 2008

SEATLLE, WA - More cities around the country are joining the movement against bottled water. Seattle became the latest Northwest city to urge its residents to tap into tap water today. Correspondent Chris Lehman reports.

Seattle joins Portland, San Francisco and more than a dozen other cities around the country in trying to wean its residents from the bottle. Officials say bottled water is bad for the environment. It takes more energy to produce and ship bottled water than to simply pump it through pipes to your kitchen sink. And Andy Ryan of Seattle Public Utilities says the Cascade-fueled municipal water supply in the Northwest makes for some good sipping:

Andy Ryan: “We have in Seattle some of the best water in the country. So we believe that our water is as of good or higher quality than any of the bottled water that’s out there.”

Plus at pennies a gallon, tap water is much cheaper than the bottled variety. Some Northwest water guzzlers will have another incentive to switch to the tap. Starting next year, water bottles in Oregon will come with a nickel deposit. I’m Chris Lehman reporting.

Copyright 2008 OPB