As we, hopefully, all know by now, California is experiencing a catastrophic drought that is going to impact all of us as water shortages cut food availability, raise prices and send ripples out to other industries. Medications, for example, will likely get more expensive as many ingredients come from California.
Despite this disaster, my pharmacy started advertising Nestle water last week. Nestle continues to bottle water — millions of gallons per year — from natural springs in California. And, they’re not the only company to do this. While we do need to talk about Nestle and the abhorrent things said about privatizing water, we also need to look closer to home.
Of course, the best thing to do is to stop buying bottled water altogether, but when we do buy, please pay attention to where it comes from. Talk to managers, send emails and ask stores to stop advertising and stop carrying water bottled in California. We all need to look forward and not just down at the price tag or the profit sheet. When we need bottled water, let’s make sure it’s bottled here in the Pacific Northwest.
Michael Sutcliffe
Vancouver
