water

this weekend, as a boil-water order was in effect for two million people in the metro boston area, i learned one important thing i will keep with me for the rest of my life. it was not to appreciate clean water (i think i already do that), or realize that in many countries this is what life is like everyday (i get that, too). i learned that i loathe bottled water. since graduating college, i have made small steps towards this conclusion, but this weekend pushed me over the edge.

these small steps started at home. instead of buying water to drink, i would just drink tap water or filter my own water with a brita filter. when going out, though, i would still tend to stop and pick up a plastic bottle of water. then, my mom bought me one of those klean kanteens and the convenience meant i would just load up my own water bottle with water from home before heading out on a walk or road trip. it was so logical. why would i buy something that i could easily provide myself for free? and on top of that, i was helping the environment. it was one less plastic bottle that needed to be disposed.

it wasn't until this weekend, though, that i became morally opposed to buying bottled water. when i first heard of boil-water order, i did just that--boiled some water. i knew i was going to need some to brush my teeth, wash my hands, and wash a few necessary dishes, so i figured i'd have it ready. it wasn't until i turned on the t.v. to try to get some more info about the order that i saw a story about a run on bottled water. it was a few hours after the order was issued, and many places were completely out of water. one co-worker later told me of seeing a woman in CVS with a cart full of fiji water and smartwater. it must have cost her at least $50!

the stories about people in search of bottled water baffled me. so many people were quoted as traveling (in their SUV's, i'm sure) to five or ten different locations looking for bottled water. there were reports of pushing and shoving, chaos, and price gouging. all for water that they could have for free by boiling it at home.

i ended up boiling about three pots of water over the course of the weekend (adding to the three bottles of water that we keep in the fridge that were filtered before the order was issued). let me tell you something about boiled, unfiltered water. it does not taste good. but you know what? it quenched my thirst. i had ways to flavor it with lemon juice or salt. was it ideal? no. did i spend my saturday night fighting with people over the last of the bottled water? no.

think about that woman who bought $50 worth of bottled water when she could have just walked to her kitchen and boiled some water. she could have taken that $50 and donated it to an organization to help hundreds of women in countries around the world who have to walk miles to get the same kind of water that we had to live with for three days.

i can't say that i will never drink from a bottle of water ever again, but i can say i will try. living through our water "emergency" made me realize it was no emergency at all. it put into perspective how far past logical many people have gotten about this. buying $50 worth of smartwater so you can brush your teeth with it is not normal. elbowing other residents out of the way to get bottled water before they can is not normal. increasing the price of water (water!) when there is a run on it at the stores is not normal. i don't want to add to a culture where these things happen.