Since the Group of Eight talks produced some agreement on the environment, Japanese can at least take time to reconsider their lifestyles. Recently, one of the hottest environmental issues abroad is bottled water. Not only does bottled water exact a heavy toll on the planet in energy and materials, it has become a symbol of First World excess.
The irony is that consumers in wealthy countries with access to safe drinking water are willing to pay markups of 1,000 to 10,000 percent for bottled water with advertising-savvy names. All the engineering and infrastructure that have made water available to everyone in Japan seem somehow wasted. Why the basic success of drinkable tap water is rejected for small servings in pet bottles remains a consumer mystery that deserves rethinking.
The bottled drinking water industry makes large profits while taking a heavy toll in energy costs. Vending machines and refrigerated shelves run 24 hours. PET bottles require proper disposal. By some estimates, the amount of energy required to deliver and dispose of one plastic bottle is equivalent to the amount of oil that would fill a quarter of the bottle. Bottled water is a miniature example of what developed countries do on a larger scale — increase consumer choice while ignoring the broader ecological impact.