Saturday, December 30, 2006

Water, water everywhere, and far too much to drink?

Everywhere I go I see people with water bottles. Now you might think that was sensible when these people were doing some physical activity, but many of them aren't - they're just carrying a water bottle because that's the thing you do. I find it quite a concern for two reasons:

one, the amount of plastic required to produce water bottles is phenomenal. Okay they may be recyclable, but I still think it's plastic overkill.


two, how did people in the past survive without all the water that our contemporaries are drinking? They got a drink when it was necessary, and still managed to live quite well, thank you.


Today's people almost give the impression they'll die if they don't have enough water. Hmm, maybe in the Sahara, or the middle of Australia, but in your average street? I see people taking their water bottles to the swimming pool, for goodness' sake. Are they really going to expire there? Okay the water in the pool isn't drinkable, but something strikes me as paradoxical about the situation. Maybe it's just another one of my old person biases...


It seems to me that the advertisers have convinced a certain percentage of the population that water is absolutely essential at all times - how many litres a day do they say? Something absurd, it seems to me. If I've lived this long without drinking water constantly, then I must be some kind of super-human. Well, that's encouraging!

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