globalbriefs
News and resources to inspire concerned citizens to work
together in building a healthier, stronger society that
works for all.
Awaking Populace
Bottled Water Makes No Sense
For the first time this century, U.S. bot-
tled water guzzling is slowing as people
wake to the concept that “being charged
for water is like being charged for gravity,”
as one tap water promoter puts it. “Instead of
being a badge for health and status, bottled
water has now become a badge for envi-
ronmental wastefulness.” According to the
Beverage Marketing Corporation, our annual
bottled water consumption, which had shot up nearly 46 percent between 2002
and 2007 to nearly 30 gallons per person, will grow only 6.7 percent in 2008, the
smallest increase this decade.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Conference of Mayors passed a resolution to phase
out city spending on bottled water. The resolution, though not binding, received
strong support from more than 60 mayors across the country.
“The fact is,” says San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, “Our tap water is
more highly regulated than what’s in the bottle.” Millions of barrels of oil go into
plastic bottle manufacturing, and cities have been spending some $70 million
annually on bottle disposal. Too, many bottled water brands come from the same
source as public tap water, sold back to citizens at thousands of times the cost.
For more information visit
ThinkOutsideTheBottle.org.
Source: Adapted from
Grist.org.
Donated Dollars
Charity Navigator Guides
Intelligent Giving
’Tis always the season for lending a helping
hand, and it’s vital that we place our hard-
earned financial support with worthy causes who
use our dollars wisely. Charity Navigator is a
good first stop. It’s the nation’s largest and most
popular guide to the objective evaluation of more
than 5,300 American charities.
At
CharityNavigator.org, we’ll find user-friendly
assessments of an organization’s financial health, insightful
articles on industry trends, and tips for effective giving. Their findings clearly signal
who is doing a good job and who is not. The researchers have done a good chunk
of our homework for us; they even verify each charity’s commitment to keeping
donors’ personal information confidential, to help them avoid becoming victims of
mailing list appeals. Check out their “Top 10 Best Practices of Savvy Donors.” The
site is easily navigable by charity name, location or type of activity.
20 Collier / Lee Counties
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