Musician Jackson Browne Passionately Declines Bottled Water

By David DeFranza, Planet Green. Posted October 28, 2009.

Bottled water, we all know, is a waste of energy that creates a serious plastic trash problem. Though the water companies would have us think otherwise, tap water is safe and healthy almost anywhere in the United States.

We know that only 12% of water bottles are ever recycled, that avoiding bottled water is easy, and that keeping a filter pitcher of water in your refrigerator can actually save energy and money.

All of these things have been said hundreds, if not thousands of times. Still, bottled water remains a $15 billion industry in the United States. We know that 24% of it is coming from our own faucets; we know more that 38 billion water bottles, representing $1 billion of plastic, end up in landfills each year; and still, Americans spend more than $15 billion on packaged water every year.

It's refreshing, then, to find people who passionately oppose this nonsense. One of them is Jackson Browne.

Jackson Browne Declines Bottled Water

Fake Plastic Fish had the opportunity to ask the musician about his opinions on water at a recent screening of Tapped. "The standards are much higher for the municipal water supply that they are for any of the bottled water companies," Jackson Browne explained before adding, "They're using the municipal water supply and selling it back to us."

Browne has banned bottled water from his tours. Instead, his band and crew all carry reusable metal bottles that they refill from large tanks. He doesn't stop there. Browne says that he is creating a tag to place on complimentary bottles of water he receives to let providers know they have been declined.

In an industry that uses disposable products without a second thought, Jackson Browne's efforts to reduce packaged water waste are inspiring.

Hear more from Jackson Browne in this video.

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