Environmental economics: principles and applications

¶ … video Tapped. The video is a documentary detailing the situation in the bottled water industry in the United States of America. It highlights the economic issues raised throughout the video. The second part of the paper examines in detail these economic issues.

Video Summary

This video (Tapped), exposes the hard reality of the state of economic survival in the water industry. First, it portrays a scenario where great demand for bottled drinking water exists in the United States of America. The video suggests that bottled water companies make so much money every year. At one point, there is mention of Pepsi hauling over 400,000 gallons a day, an indication of the demand of this product in the U.S. market.

Secondly, the video highlights depletion of water as a resource. This is probably the main reason for the video. Fryebyrg, Maine, is shown one area enduring a water shortage because of Coca Cola's continued exhaustion of the already deficient supply. The video documentary suggests that there is already drought in 35 States in the United States. It further predicts that by 2030 only one third of the world will have clean drinking water.

Thirdly, the bottled water industry is unregulated. This is the other reason, according to the video, that causes the scramble for water sources. Regulation imposes restrictions that would be a deterrent to unscrupulous companies. The bottled water industry is not subjected to any tests a clear indication that there is lack of checks and balances from the relevant authorities. Evidently, the companies do not pay taxes; the video shows Nestle as one of these companies that silently acquire land to tap for water hauling truckload of the commodity from a local spring in Fryeburg, Maine without paying any taxes.

Lastly, the major companies do not seem to have policies on disposal of used packaging materials. This issue is the most shocking in the video. It shows mismanagement of waste materials specifically plastic because of the thriving bottled water industry, thereby, introducing toxins to the environment, that are harmful to life. The video shows Corpus Christi where residents have health problems as a result of the toxins produced by the factories. Nonetheless, it shows plastic bottles dumped in the Pacific containing toxins causing various neurological disorders.

Effects of Bottled Water Industry

Despite the availability of clean drinking tap water, demand for bottled drinking water in the United States of America is high; it is the highest in the world. According to World Watch the country was the biggest consumer of bottled water in 2011 and the market was expected to grow by 6.7%. More Americans prefer bottled water to tap water regardless of the cost, this situation causes depletion of water resource as well as a host of environmental concerns.

The demand of bottled drinking water has triggered rampant water mining by the bottling companies. The leading water miners in the United States are Pepsi, Coco Cola, Nestle Waters, Groupe Danone and Santory Water groups. These companies are engaged in serious mining activities for the already dwindling water resource. Wenonah Hauter, in a testimony before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works stated that, "when the flows and levels of a region's springs, wetlands, lakes, streams and rivers are materially affected from extraction for bottling, the entire local and even regional environment suffers." (Snyder). These beverage Companies draw millions of gallons regardless of the concerns of the local community.