Letter: Demand clean local tap water
A photo illustration of water coming out of a tap. Credit: Photo Illustration
Your Aug. 4 news story “Bottled water at a milestone” explains that bottled water is becoming more popular than soda, but it does not explain the extreme problems it is causing.
The answer isn’t to purchase more bottled water, but to demand that our governments provide clean water and maintain and safeguard our country’s water infrastructure.
We must call on local, state and national officials to support public water systems. Water is a human right and not a commodity to be bought and sold for profit. Americans purchase more than half a billion bottles of water weekly! Plastic accounts for most ocean debris. Unlike other types of trash, plastic is not biodegradable. Single bottles of water often cost more that the price of gasoline per gallon, while quality municipal water costs a fraction of that.
Joseph M. Varon, West Hempstead
