During years (1989 – 1994) of environmental activities in Dallas, I was invited to help people of nearby Midlothian where three cement manufacturing firms were burning toxic wastes as fuel. The companies were being paid to burn toxic wastes and thus saving money by not consuming fossil fuels. People living nearby were falling ill. Mrs. Sue Pope was a prominent opponent of the burning, who lost her husband to cancer while horses and other animals on their ranch were growing weaker from toxic air.
Wednesdays I stood before the Dallas EPA (Region VI) HQ on Ross Avenue and joined with local residents to pass out leaflets listing over 200 chemicals being burnt daily. One day I observed a man stop in his tracks, study the paper and shake his head in disbelief. I calmly asked if he was having trouble and wondered if he was a “casual tourist” in Dallas. He said, “No, I am not just a tourist. I am the director of the Water Dept. in Chapel Hill (NC) who shut down Perrier. I just cannot believe these toxins are being burnt near residential areas.” I asked how he shut down Perrier. The man replied in scientific detail.
“Perrier was the standard of purity for Chapel Hill water. One scientist informed me benzene was found in Perrier. I suggested they run twenty tests. If benzene was found in other tests, we would go public. The tests revealed more benzene and Perrier was shut down within one week.” Perrier resumed selling water after finally cleaning up their bottling process.
Perrier in the 1990’s sold for $1.21 per gallon while the cost of tap water was 0.3 to 0.2 cents according to a National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) study.
Mineral water dates back 100 million years to the Cretaceous era.
Ground water sources globally are now being perilously exhausted.
There are hundreds of bottling water companies in a global multi-billion dollar enterprise leaving millions of plastic bottles to enter our waste stream. 5gyres.org reveals how the ocean, covering over 70% of Earth’s surface, is being “plasticized” in the biggest oil spill of history.
There are at least forty four bottled water companies in the USA in 2016. There were hundreds of such companies that attended a meeting in Switzerland during the 1990’s. Whenever world leaders assemble, bottled water is set before potentates because tap water might make them ill.
Swedish food scientist Georg Borgstrom taught at Michigan State for over 25 years. During a six-week seminar in 1968, the highly respected scientist pointed out malnutrition globally is a threat to peace. He also emphasized pure water is a luxury and wars over a basic human right will be our future.
Residents of Flint, Michigan now must rely upon costly bottled water because officials chose the toxic Flint River over water from Detroit to save money.
How can officials in Lafayette, LA proceed with a I-49 road project knowing toxic waste sites are going to be disturbed and there is no certainty precious geological water of the Chicot aquifer is safe from contamination? Remember Perrier in Chapel Hill.
