"Michael Ejercito" <mejercit@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:dbb6abf1-c9c0-45b5-b44d-44caa6d8139b@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Has anyone ever wondered why California faces a shortage of water
> coming out of the pipes, but NOT of water sold in bottles in the
> supermarket? Have any of you wondered why cities are placing
> restrictions on the use of water coming out of pipes, but not on water
> that comes in a bottle?
>
Water coming out of the pipe costs a few pennies per gallon, water in
bottles costs several dollars per gallon. The cost of bottled water is its
own regulatory force.
Having said that, the plastic bottles are coming under serious scrutiny by
many cities. San Francisco no longer sells/provides bottled water in city
facilities -- break rooms and vending machines.
> The fact is, farmers in California's semi-arid Central Valley are
> having their water subsidized. Prices deter consumption, and the lower
> the price, the less deterrence there is, which means more consumption.
> Thus, rice and cotton, which require plenty of water, are grown for a
> profit in the Central Valley.
>
Are you suggesting they water crops with Evian? That's absurd.
> By contrast, supermarket shelves are stocked with plenty of bottled
> water because supermarkets do not subsidize customers. They charge the
> price that they will believe maximizes profit, and thus this acts as a
> deterrent to consumption. So there is less wasting of bottled water;
> few people use bottled water to water their lawns.
>
> And the reason water subsidies will continue is because the people in
> charge of water supplies in California want to maximize the farm vote,
> so they set as low a price as possible, even though this leads to
> waste. By contrast, sellers of bottled water want to maximize profit,
> so they set the price as high as possible, even though this leads to
> conservation.
Wow. That is truly amazing.
You completely ignore the fact that many consumers perceive tap water as
lower in quality and containing a host of contaminants. I personally do
not
share their paranoia, but I do buy bottled water because I do not buy soda
pop.
I buy bottled water a bottle at a time, but I know people that buy it by
the
case. Bottled water is extremely convenient and people that consume it do
so
out of this convenience and/or out of the perception that it is cleaner.
|
