El Mundo, El Salvador
Don’t Be an Executioner
of Your Future
By Raúl Benoit
Translated By Talisa Anderson
16 January 2013
Edited by Gillian Palmer
El Salvador - El Mundo - Original Article (Spanish)
The city of Concord, in the state of Massachusetts, is banning the sale of single-serving plastic water bottles beginning January 1, 2013. At first sight it could be interpreted as an abuse of authority, but after much reflection, the decision is not as far-fetched as it seems. The International Bottled Water Association, a group of greedy businessmen that operates in the same fashion as the oil cartels, started protesting almost immediately.
Bottled water, without question, is a lucrative business. In the United States, for example, permission to extract water from a spring is given by the state (read: politicians) to investors (read: friends of politicians) at ridiculous prices. Let’s remember that the earth is owned by all citizens — but when it’s bottled we pay for our water and its value exceeds that of gasoline. In airports a half-liter bottle can cost up to four dollars.
The state of Massachusetts is the vanguard in finding a solution. In the past, a law prohibiting the sale of milk in non-recyclable packages was upheld by the Supreme Court. In a similar measure, the city of Bundanoon in Australia banned the sale of plastic bottles with less than a liter of contents in 2009. The reason is simple and logical: Plastic is one of humanity's most serious environmental problems due to its slow decomposition, but it’s not enough for people to know this because they only consider their own selfish needs, preferring personal containers.
Female and male athletes, generally snobby, boast about having a plastic bottle in their hands because they believe that gives them class and makes them superior, arguing that they are sportsmen and healthier than common people. They deliberately ignore the damage they cause to the earth; although they promote vigor and lushness, they do not give a damn about what might happen in the future to their children and their grandchildren.
In 1997 a captain named Charles Moore, returning from a trip from between Hawaii and California, was stranded in a zone without wind for many days and discovered a large floating stain in the Pacific that he thought to be plastic soup – a large zone of garbage the size of Texas.
It is estimated that over 100 million tons of plastic have fallen into the ocean since 1950. Most landed there due to carelessness and disinterest by people who threw it on the street. It was then tugged by the rain into the sewers, the rivers and finally the sea.
The plastic in the ocean is a link in a chain of toxicity that begins with fish that ingest particles, confusing it with food, and ends up on people's plates. Moreover, the plastic is a sponge for toxic chemicals derived from the farming and oil industries that are also in the water because of us. Responsibility begins here and now. Do not purchase plastic water bottles or repackage them to reduce the environmental impact. Remember that water from almost every city around the world is potable.
Also, recycle whenever possible. We do not have to be responsible for increasing ecological damage and hurting the future of the earth.
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