Bottled H2O, the CBC, and Starbucks

Kudos to CBC.ca for their Going Green blog. I was impressed with the tactics of the (obviously) pro-green author by asking for public opinion on bottled vs. tap water. Brilliant! The whole page is full of people bashing the use of bottled water and the privatization of our natural resources -- great!


On a similar vein: The last few times that I've visited Starbucks, I've noticed their Ethos brand water, which donates a nickel from each purchase to promote the creation and development of water resources in developing countries. I applaud the desire to help those in foreign countries. But $0.05?? The bottle costs $2.30 Cdn! I could buy the same sized bottle for 99 cents at the corner store. Better yet, I could turn the tables on Starbucks and drink 5 cents worth of tap water and donate $2.25 to promote safe drinking water for those in need.

Tap water is safe for the majority of the population in the developed world. Give your money to people who really need it, Dasani (CocaCola), Aquafina (Pepsi), and Ethos (Starbucks) will survive without your misplaced charity.

(Author's Note: I don't hate Starbucks in the least. However, they have two strikes against them from me. First, I don't like hot drinks. I have NO idea what to order when I am there. A significant portion of the time I don't get anything, and look like the lame cheapskate among my friends who doesn't want to overspend for coffee. Second, Ethos is at best a poor way to raise money from the population to put a minuscule dent into a problem that needs to be addressed significantly by governments and stakeholders.)