Thesis: Although not yet fully formed, my thesis will most likely focus on the bottled water industry and how privatization of water, relating specifically to the bottled water industry, is detrimental and ethically unfair to the American public.
Why I am interested in this topic:
Americans spend billions of dollars annually on bottled water. Companies such as Pepsi, and Coca-Cola are literally taking water from public municipalites, reprocessing the water, and selling it back to consumers for a price. I find it completely demoralizing that companies are allowed to do this, and we continue to buy water that we could get right out of a tap. A study published in the Canadian Dimension showed that that most tap water is absolutely fine to drink and is not any more detrimental than bottled water (1). If someone does not like the taste of tap water, they can always buy a filter at a fraction of the price that buying bottled water on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis will eventually add up to! Another study analzying 17 different brands of bottled water and published in the International Journal of Environmental Health Research reports that bottled water is in no way healthier for you than tap water, and is actually deficient in essential minearals that are found in a majority of tap water (2), so why are we forking out billions of dollars to corporations for what seems like nothing more than a plastic bottle? The plastic from the bottled water alone can be detrimental to the environment, yet America continues to pay for the service. What used to be seen as a luxury item is now the norm. I want to explore this topic in more depth in order to create awareness, for myself, and for others, and also to understand what I see as something as a phenomina, in more detail. Bottled water is just a small part of water privatization, and, in most cases, bottled water companies do not own the water source....however, there are some companies that do own the source of the water, such as Nestle, which is actually a foreign corporation. It seems strange that we allow a foreign company to take our water, and sell it back to us, yet, it happens, and is continuing to happen. What really is beginning to build the cornerstone of my research project is the idea that bottled water will lead to more privatization of water sources, which is really what is most troubling about privatization of water. Yes, it is pretty silly (to me) that companies can use public municipalities and sell back to us what is ours to begin with, but it seems even worse that companies can and are buying the source of water (i.e. Nestle)! Right now, only approximately 15% of water is owned by the private sector; I want to explore the potential that more will be reallocated to the private sector. It all comes down to money, and from what I have already found in my research, a lot of government owned municipalities are very expensive to upkeep, which is where private companies see openings to take over! I want to explore this in more depth, and find out in more detail what the effect of private owned municipalities has on the residents of the United States.
Possible Research Questions:
1. What will the effect of water privatization have on the American public?
2. Is the bottled water industry acting as a gateway for all public municipalities to become privately owned?
3. Do the negitive aspects of water privatization actually outweigh the positives?
4. Why is America so obsessed with bottled water when, in most cases, it is no healthier than tap water?
1.“The Bottled Water Scam,” Canadian Dimension 40, no. 1 (2006): 6-6.
http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.mnsu.edu. (Accessed February 8th, 2011).
2.Mahejan Rk and others “Analysis of Physical and Chemical Parameters of Bottled Drinking Water,” International Journal of Environmental Health Research 16, no. 2 (2006): 89-98. http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.mnsu.edu. (Accessed February 8th, 2011).
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