Think back to the last time you were at a restaurant. Did your server set down a glass of water in front of you? Did he or she ask if you wanted water first? If you were in a New York City restaurant and your server gave you water you didn’t ask for, well, that’s illegal. At least until the repeal of a local regulation goes into effect this month. [More]
water
Don’t You Dare Compare Products That Aren’t Champagne To Champagne
By 10.11.13
Have you ever referred to something that’s really great as “the champagne of _____?” Be grateful that you haven’t been sued. You can’t just slap the name “Champagne” on any old sparkling white wine unless it was made in a specific region in France, so you’re completely on your own if you even try to compare something that isn’t even an alcoholic beverage to The Almighty Champagne. [More]
City Claims 80-Year-Old Couple Used 440,000 Gallons Of Water In A Month
By 6.27.13
An 80-year-old California man concedes that it’s entirely possible that he has used 440,000 gallons of water in one month, and that he and his wife really do owe the city $11,000. It’s possible if the city has been pumping dehydrated water into his house. [More]
A Way To Harvest Rainwater
By 12.19.11
Rain may irritate you by altering your plans, making it tough to drive and murdering your iPhone, but you can also twist nature’s sprinkler system to your advantage. Harvesting rainwater allows you to save on utility bills and lessen your environmental footprint. [More]
To Battle Drought, Texas Town Will Drink Recycled Sewage
By 8.8.11
If you happen to find yourself in Big Spring, Texas, you could be contributing to the water supply every time you relieve yourself. The town is building a plant that will capture and recycle treated waste water, planing to take treated water that would normally flow into a creek and redirect it into the drinking water supply. [More]
How Nasty Is Your Bottled Water?
By 7.6.11
Does your bottled water taste funny? It’s not just that it’s probably only tapwater. Environmental Working Group rated 173 brands of bottled water based on their sourcing information, purification, testing, and how transparent the information on their label and website was. Turns out, some of the biggest brands in bottled water are, well, a little murky. [More]
Guy Relieves Self In Reservoir, Costs Portland $33K
By 6.17.11
If you absolutely, positively cannot make it to the restroom when in public, do your city a favor and aim at most anything other than its water reservoir. A man who confessed to disobeying such common sense has caused government coffers to leak nearly $33,000 to rectify the contamination. [More]
This Isn't A Water Bottle, It's More Of A Bottle-Shaped Plastic Bag
By 3.2.11
Sure, we should all use less plastic. But Mike writes that he bought a case of Aquafina that he thinks takes reducing plastic too far. The bottles collapse on themselves, leak, and generally don’t do the job for which they’re intended.
[More]
Feds Aim For Harsher Regulations On Toxic Chemicals In Drinking Water
By 2.3.11
The Environmental Protection Agency is ratcheting up restrictions on drinking water, setting the first standards for perchlorate, a compound found in rocket fuel, as well as new standards for as many as 16 other toxic and carcinogenic chemicals. [More]
Cut Down On Water Use With These Tricks
By 1.27.11
Modern society has created the illusion that water is infinite and free, but the environmentally and financially conscious know that’s far from the truth. [More]
How To Defrost Pipes
By 1.24.11
You wake up. Your toes recoil the instant they hit the floor. Your breath forms stalactites in the air. You go to wash your face, and squeak squeak, the knobs turn but no water comes out. Damnit. The pipes are frozen. How do you get the water flowing again? [More]
New York's Water Filled With Invisible Shrimp
By 8.31.10
New York’s water is some of the most delicious in the land, and it’s filled with teeny-tiny shrimp. [More]
10 Ways To Conserve Water
By 1.22.10
Green Lifestyle Magazine provides 10 simple ways to cut down on water use. [More]
Misplaced Letter Costs PepsiCo $1.26 Billion In Bottled Water Lawsuit
By 10.29.09
It’s easy to joke about PepsiCo’s Aquafina. After all, it’s purified municipal tap water, bottled and sold at prices comparable to juices and soda. But the product is no joke to two men in Wisconsin. In 1981, they discussed their idea to bottle and sell purified tap water with some of PepsiCo’s regional bottlers. Allegedly, the idea made its way back to PepsiCo and eventually became Aquafina.
How To Get Clean Tap Water
By 9.15.09
Following up on our post about toxic tap water, it behooves us to provide you, the conscious consumer, with a few tips on how to secure safe tap water.
Beware Scammers Installing City-Mandated "Whole House Water Systems"
By 8.25.09
A city in Florida has just warned its residents of a weird scam: someone’s been hanging pink notices on doors around town that say, “Due to the water quality in this area, we will be installing whole-house water treatment systems.” You’re supposed to fill out the back of the notice and leave it out for further contact. Remember, don’t let anyone remodel your home on behalf of the city. It probably goes without saying, but still.
Consumers Finally Growing Some Damned Sense, Not Buying Bottled Water
By 8.14.09
We’re not always pessimists on Consumerist. Why, sometimes we actually like silver linings, if only because it gives us a chance to complain about argyria. (Don’t take colloidal silver, people!) Today’s silver lining is that sales of bottled water “have fallen for the first time in at least five years,” says the Los Angeles Times. We’re apparently showing common sense and opting for tap water over branded and labeled water, proving that in a tough economy it’s hard to compete with (nearly) free.
Facebook Members Go After Coca-Cola
By 8.12.09
How long will it take for Coke to give up on its Facebook page? That depends how long its PR machine can keep deleting the “fun facts” on its Wall:
