Between 32 and 54 million barrels of oil are used in the manufacturing and distribution of bottled water in the United States every year. This is about 1/3 of 1% of the US' total oil consumption.
Considering that tap water is just as safe, if not safer, than bottled water and there's also other options (tap filter, containers that filter, etc.) this basically represents marketing pollution through elaborate lifestyle and health messages. Note that this data comes from here: http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/4/1/014009/pdf/1748-9326_4_1_014009.pdf
My proposal is not that people stop drinking bottled water. People have the right to choose. Companies have the right to make products. It's different than that. As a consumer I have no way of knowing how much energy cost the stuff I buy has. I started thinking. How much energy is in those bananas? How much oil is spent in me eating that delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Basically, when I act as a consumer I have a single data point... the price. This load of bread is $1.49, that loaf is $1.99. Do I want the thin cut white bread or the full grain honey wheat? Hmm... so many choices. I suggest that as a consumer this isn't enough information. I want to know the energy cost of what I buy. I don't want to have to read a 20 page scientific journal to know that a third of my bottled water is basically wasted oil.
I want a simple way to know the energy cost of what I buy. I suggest something like the 8 barrel scale. An item with 8 barrels is the most energy costly, one with 0 barrels has the lowest cost. I don't know what the scale should be but it should be based on 1) raw materials 2) transportation 3) packaging 4) storage. The aggregate score should then be distilled into the 8 barrel indicator which we can put on pretty much any product right next to the price.
Suddenly as a consumer I can decide if it's worth it to pay $1.75 to buy Jeans made from the local clothing manufacturer and save a few gallons of oil. Suddenly the cost of energy is put into the hands of the consumer. Now we get to vote for what we really want instead of being shielded from a very real cost that is easily hidden and manipulated.
If we decide that energy conservation is important, we'll buy products that reflect that opinion. That will make it easier for local manufacturers to compete since they have an energy advantage. It makes the small business more competitive because they can't win on price efficiency, but they can win on energy efficiency. Imagine the difference in energy cost for, say, a dozen eggs for the local farmer that lives 20 miles away vs. the giant egg manufacturer that has to ship their eggs 2000 miles in climate controlled trucks? Is it really worth saving $0.50 for that huge difference in energy? Let me decide!
All of this could save huge amounts of energy with basically 0 negative impact on the lifestyles that we have grown accustomed to.
I'm a huge advocate of reduction and reusing, but it just seems so tragic that we don't even KNOW what we are wasting and it would be a full time job of many people just to measure what we are wasting... and for no benefit at all.
Let me know if you think this is a good idea? (or not?)