I love the irony of having quite possibly the most environmentally and polltically incorrect bottled water available to Leilani & Elon at the keynote. 
Fiji Water: Spin the Bottle | Mother Jones
Fiji Water: Spin the Bottle | Mother Jones
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Johan
Ex got M3 in the divorce, waiting for EU Model Y!
NigelM
Recovering Member
Incredible memory to still remember that 2009 article. I think I forgot about it years ago. Is it still that bad?
It's a region I do a bit of work in, so it stays top of mind.
I would say that no, it's not as bad as 2009, but there are still issues that can't or won't be addressed:
- High carbon impact: PET manufacturing, transportation both ways, etc: Environmental impact of Fiji water is 46 million gallons of fossil fuel and 216 million pounds of greenhouse gases. About 600 times more CO2 than an equivalent amount of tap water in the US.
- Over half of Fijians don't have access to clean drinking water. The company has now made some efforts to improve this through the Fiji Water Foundation, but they still have exclusive access to the aquifer, and their commitment is not to give all Fijians safe water. They invest roughly $500K USD in water projects. They also invest some other amount, probably equivalent, into projects like school infrastructure.
- Indirectly gives support to the unstable political system.
Probably the best news is that the thirteen year "tax holiday" is over and Fiji Water now pays 15 cents/liter in tax.
To me, it represents the worst of a dubious lifestyle purchase anyway.
I'm glad I'm over here in "off topic," but I think that bottled water is an issue that would resonate with many Tesla enthusiasts. Just the process to make the bottles for bottled water in the US consumed 17 million barrels of oil, generated 2.5 million tons of CO2 and leaves 4 billion pounds of PET in landfills. If I were going to put bottled water into car terms:
- Fiji Water is the ICE
- Generic, locally bottled, filtered water PHEV
- Tap water, with your own refillable bottle is the BEV
I'm not going to think less of the folks that continue to drink bottled water -- when I plan poorly, I do it myself. But man, did it drive me nuts when I saw basically a half quart of fossil fuel sitting on the dias while people were thanking Elon for saving their kids.
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
Amen, sbollar. Bay Area tap water, mostly sourced from snow melt into the Hetch Hetchy reservoir in Yosemite, is exceedingly pure. At the venue, thankfully, water for attendees was served from jugs rather than in the form of bottles so, that was a good thing.
JPP
Active Member
..of course the key question is: did Elon specify the water/beverages available at the podium @ Teslive, or did the event managers just rustle up an assortment? (..there was some non-Fiji in the bowl that I could see from my vantage point in the 3rd row). He switched exclusively to the Cab pretty quickly...
NigelM
Recovering Member
FTR, Teslive (like TMC) is independent of Tesla Motors so they didn't specify anything. My own experience is that at certain airports you can't buy anything but Fiji Water, I bought a bottle at Tampa on the way to Teslive but that was the only brand available.
Given all the products we consume every day, its pretty much impossible to keep up with who we should be boycotting at any given moment so I'd forgive whoever put that bottle in front of Elon in any case.
It is very easy, I've boycotted all bottled water since day one. Tremendous source of pollution, tremendous expense, and sets the stage for lax water infrastructure in the USA at the same time privatizing all drinking water. It has been part of the corporate plan to degrade USA tap water. Scare tactics that tap water is unsafe when consumer tests actually show bottled water is typically worse than tap.
NigelM
Recovering Member
roblab
Active Member
A few years back, when I was teaching college, a student left an unopened bottle of Evian (remember that?) and I took it home after class. Both teenage kids wanted it for themselves, but I told them I wanted to do a challenge: I poured a little Evian into a glass, and a little tap water into another glass and had them tell me which was the Evian. They both chose wrong.
Drinking bottled water is a choice. We choose to be led by advertising, or to think for ourselves. I don't buy water when my tap water is as good or better, and probably wouldn't if it weren't.
Drinking bottled water is a choice. We choose to be led by advertising, or to think for ourselves. I don't buy water when my tap water is as good or better, and probably wouldn't if it weren't.
Johan
Ex got M3 in the divorce, waiting for EU Model Y!
No. Bonnie put it on the table for him, she took it from a small table below that had lots of different beverages standing on it.
Evidence:
Volker.Berlin
Member
EVNow
Well-Known Member
It takes 10 calories of fossil fuels to put 1 calorie of food on the dining table. Modern agriculture is essentially a means to convert fossil fuels into food.
BTW, how many of you eat only local & vegan ?
ps : I do agree bottled water (from far) is probably one of the most egregious things that happen in our modern food chain.
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BTW, how many of you eat only local & vegan ?
ps : I do agree bottled water (from far) is probably one of the most egregious things that happen in our modern food chain.
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I lived in hot climates for decades without using bottled water.
It takes 10 calories of fossil fuels to put 1 calorie of food on the dining table. Modern agriculture is essentially a means to convert fossil fuels into food.
BTW, how many of you eat only local & vegan ?
ps : I do agree bottled water (from far) is probably one of the most egregious things that happen in our modern food chain.
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I eat local and vegan. But then again, I listen only to LP records, unless in my car.
