WEBVTT

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- By the year 2030,
two thirds of the world

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will be lacking access
to clean drinking water.

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[water drips]

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This is a problem

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that every single person\'s
gonna be dealing with,

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regardless of where
they live in the world.

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- When you begin to treat water
as a commodity,

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where the price of the water

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is dependent on supply
and demand,

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you end up
with corporate control

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of all of our drinking water.

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- I mean,
think about it right now.

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The cost of bottled water is
more than the cost of gasoline.

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When you consider that,

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you see that water
is really the next empire.

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[bell ringing]

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[intro to White Stripes\'
Effect and Cause plays]

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- [singing] I guess you have
to have a problem

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if you want to invent
a contraption.

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First you cause a train wreck.

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Then they put me in traction.

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Mmm.

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Well, first came an action

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and then a reaction,

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but you can\'t switch \'em \'round

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for your own satisfaction.

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Well, you burnt my house down,

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then got mad at my reaction.

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Making sense of it all

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takes a whole lot
of concentration.

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Mmm.

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Well, you can\'t blame a baby
for her pregnant ma.

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And if there\'s one of these
unavoidable laws,

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it\'s that you just can\'t take
the effect

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and make it the cause.

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Well, you can\'t take the effect

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and make it the cause.

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I didn\'t rob a bank
because you made up a law.

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Blame me for robbing Peter,

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but don\'t you blame Paul.

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Can\'t take the effect
and make it the cause.

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[birds chirping]

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- I moved to Maine a long time
ago when I was a small child,

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but it was a lot quieter then.

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And so, times change,

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and we understand
that times change.

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But what we certainly
didn\'t expect

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was a change in our culture

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and a change
in just our way of life.

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- [screams playfully]

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- You\'re a good friend.
I appreciate it.

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- Have a good one, okay?

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- Yes.
You have a good day.

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And I\'ll bring it
right back here.

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- No problem.

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We\'ll be ready
when you\'re ready.

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- No problem.
I\'m gonna be driving slow.

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We\'re used
to small-business development.

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We\'re used to farmers.

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There are a lot of farmers
around here.

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There were a lot more
many years ago.

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And farmers
are small-business owners,

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so that\'s what we\'re used to.

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We\'re not used to the largest
food-processing company

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in the world arriving
on our doorstep.

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[horn honks]

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- Nestlé operates
in the United States

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under multiple names,

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and Poland Springs
is one of the Nestlé brands.

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Nestlé is one of the largest
profiteers from bottled water.

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They basically come into rural
towns and do water mining.

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- It kind of reminds me of Texas

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and the oil rush in the 1930s.

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Female narrator: Citizens
of Fryeburg, Maine...

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Population 3,083...
Are waging a war

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on the biggest
bottled-water company

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in the world, Nestlé,
a Swiss corporation

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with more than $3.5 billion
in bottled water sales in 2008.

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- I wound up working
as an assistant secretary

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in Bill Clinton\'s
administration,

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and whenever I went
to the developing world,

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I always found
in my briefing books

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as one of the number one,
two, or three

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national-security interests
for the United States,

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it was potable water,
drinkable water.

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Narrator: Across the
United States, surface water...

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The oceans, ponds, and rivers...

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Are held as part
of a public trust.

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But groundwater falls under
a different set of rules,

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depending on the state.

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Maine operates with a rule
called \"absolute dominion,\"

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which was adopted
in the late 1800s.

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Absolute dominion
basically means

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that he who has the biggest pump

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gets to take the most amount
of water,

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which, in Fryeburg, Maine,
is Nestlé.

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- What\'s happened is that
Nestlé gets a permit.

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None of this is public knowledge

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unless someone is going down
to the courthouse

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and looking through
local permits.

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And so Nestlé gets a foot
in the community

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before the local people
who are gonna be impacted

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by this water mining
even know about it.

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- They are pretty clever.

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They started looking
at what they needed to do

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within the state,

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what they needed
to do within communities,

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and they had a long-term plan
for this development.

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- They never notified anybody
in town.

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They never published anything
about what they were gonna do.

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They just started pumping water.

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- We were mapped out without
our knowledge and consent,

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and land was bought here
and there,

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in the places they thought
there was water.

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And people in the town went,

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\"How did they... we didn\'t know
that was happening.\"

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- Nestlé, right now, is pulling
all of this water out for free

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and selling it at a huge profit.

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What a great idea.

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I mean... really.

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- Well, Nestlé decided that,

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\"We\'ll just come in
and take the water.\"

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And some of us said, \"Well, wait
a minute here.

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\"We\'re not going to let you
just take the water.

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It\'s our water.\"

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If they really
were interested in us,

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they could come into town
and really pay taxes.

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And what we were talking about
was a tax at the wellhead

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so that as this water
got packaged,

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the people of Maine would be
paying less than 1% of this fee.

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And the people in other parts
of the country

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that purchase
Poland Spring water

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would be paying the rest

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since they were
the beneficiaries of the water

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that cost Nestlé
between 6 and 11 cents a gallon

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to extract and process
and package,

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that they sell for 6 bucks
a gallon.

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And Nestlé said there was no way
they were gonna pay anything,

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period, because they say
that if we have a fee like that,

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that they can\'t survive.

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That was it...
End of discussion.

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What\'s happening here
in Fryeburg

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is really a microcosm for what\'s
happening all around the world.

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Nestlé and other
large water barons

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are out trying to tie up
the rights to water.

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- Why should
a rural community\'s resources,

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its ecosystem,

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be drained so that people
in the city

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can drink out
of a plastic bottle

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when their water is just as good
where they\'re living?

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- Who controls this resource?

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Who owns it?

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And what Nestlé is doing
in this community...

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And they\'re doing it across
this state...

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Is defining control.

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- It\'s all about control.

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And we may be very sad

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that we have allowed
the control of this water

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to go out of our hands,

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because of the way it\'s set up
at the present.

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The people of Maine have spent
a lot of money,

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publicly and privately,

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to make sure that this water
was cleaned up

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and is clean and will stay clean
for generations.

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- I hate to see our water taken
the way it is, just taken.

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The water belongs to the people,
and the town gets nothing.

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You think that\'s a good deal?

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Narrator: Activists claim

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that citizens in small towns
like Fryeburg

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are finding it
increasingly difficult

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to fend off Nestlé\'s
overwhelming legal resources.

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- We think that
a big corporation like Nestlé

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is able to come in
with their big-city lawyers,

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and locally, in communities
where they\'re bottling water,

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they\'re very powerful.

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- It\'s a situation where
you\'re highly outnumbered.

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You\'re outgunned.

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The town got their water from
those springs for 100 years,

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but we were told that Nestlé did
not want the town\'s water

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to come from
those springs anymore.

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They transferred the town\'s
water to a deeper water well.

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And in February of 2004,
something happened.

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All of the people who live in
Fryeburg village

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were without water for a day
and a half,

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but Nestlé, they never stopped
pumping the water.

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They had plenty of water,
while the nursing home

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had to have the fire department
bring in trucks of water.

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I think it
just kind of points out

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that the citizens come second
in this little thing.

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It\'s a corrupted,
compromised process,

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and that\'s really a big part
of the problem.

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Once you can do this
in one place,

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you can do it
in many other places.

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It sets a precedent.

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- Once you set that precedent,

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that precedent
can never be unset.

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- In the future, we\'re not just
going to be dealing with Nestlé,

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and there are other water
companies that will be coming

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because Maine has vast amounts
of water.

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And so if we allow Nestlé
to define who controls it,

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then down the road,
we\'re gonna have

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a much tougher fight
on our hands.

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- This multinational corporation
from away

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is trying to come into
our state and our bioregion

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and take control over
of our water.

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Narrator: From California
to Michigan to Maine,

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the Nestlé corporation is
currently waging legal battles

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against communities to secure
their local water-mining rights.

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- We need to unite and tell them
they can\'t take our water.

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[indistinct shouting]

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We want our water back.

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- Make sure Nestlé can hear you

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all the way back there
in Switzerland.

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Are you fired up?

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Crowd: [yells] Yeah!

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- That\'s what I\'m talking about.

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- Water is a basic human right.

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It\'s necessary for the survival
of life on the planet.

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When you start commodifying
the necessities of life

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in such a way as to make it
more difficult

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for people to gain access
to those necessities,

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you have the basis for serious
political instability.

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- As Mark Twain once said,
you know,

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\"Whiskey is for sipping,
and water is for fighting.\"

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And there\'s gonna be
a lot of fighting about this

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before it\'s done.

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[indistinct shouting]

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narrator: Every day,

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America\'s largest bottled-water
corporations...

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Nestlé, Coke, and Pepsi...

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Pump millions of gallons
of water from the Earth,

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bottle it...

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ship it...

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and sell it back for 1,900 times
the cost of tap water.

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- It\'s bad for the environment,

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it\'s bad
for public water systems,

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and it\'s bad for taxpayers.

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Narrator: Communities
across the country

00:13:45.700 --> 00:13:46.966
are uniting in a fight

00:13:46.967 --> 00:13:49.566
to maintain ownership
of their water supplies.

00:13:49.567 --> 00:13:51.632
- You will be exposed,
you will be recalled,

00:13:51.633 --> 00:13:53.066
and you will be replaced

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if you do not do your duty
to the people in this town!

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And you live here,
and you\'re responsible to us,

00:13:57.633 --> 00:13:59.366
not to this corporation!

00:13:59.367 --> 00:14:01.566
Narrator: From town-hall
meetings to courtroom trials,

00:14:01.567 --> 00:14:03.666
activists are disputing
the rights of corporations

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to sell their town\'s water.

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- The World Bank places
the value

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of the world water market
at $800 billion.

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That\'s a huge amount of money.

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So you can imagine why
these huge corporations

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are salivating over getting
into the water market.

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- It\'s all about the control
and ownership of water.

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If we can\'t win this battle
here in Fryeburg,

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if we can\'t win it here,

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then the rest
of the United States

00:14:46.567 --> 00:14:49.000
is going to have a very
difficult time winning it.

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- The issue of climate change

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has added further impetus
to these issues, in terms of,

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\"Where does our water come from?

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Is it going
to be there forever?\"

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This is a problem

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that every single person\'s
gonna be dealing with

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in the next 20 to 25 years,

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regardless of where they live
in the world.

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- Last year, there was a drought
in 35 states.

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- When you consider
that water supplies

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continue to be dwindling
in certain areas

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because of changes
in the global climate,

00:15:42.833 --> 00:15:45.832
it becomes imperative that
we do everything that we can

00:15:45.833 --> 00:15:50.432
to protect fresh-water supplies
for use by the general public.

00:15:50.433 --> 00:15:53.432
When private entities have a
claim on public water supplies,

00:15:53.433 --> 00:15:57.966
you run into a real collision
of moral values

00:15:57.967 --> 00:16:01.967
against the narrow
profit concerns of corporations.

00:16:15.633 --> 00:16:17.466
- You know, in North Carolina,
it\'s hard for us

00:16:17.467 --> 00:16:20.799
to get used to thinking
about dry, parched,

00:16:20.800 --> 00:16:22.666
cracked earth, but, indeed,

00:16:22.667 --> 00:16:26.099
that was what
we were looking at.

00:16:26.100 --> 00:16:27.799
Things were getting very bad,

00:16:27.800 --> 00:16:32.633
and by winter,
it was terribly grim.

00:16:34.933 --> 00:16:39.266
One of the ultimate ironies
was that Pepsi was, of course,

00:16:39.267 --> 00:16:42.166
continuing with its
bottling-plant operations.

00:16:42.167 --> 00:16:44.267
- And this was at the height
of the drought.

00:16:48.133 --> 00:16:52.566
They were drawing over 400,000
gallons a day.

00:16:52.567 --> 00:16:55.232
- Bottling municipal water
that, then,

00:16:55.233 --> 00:16:58.632
they were selling back
at the very point

00:16:58.633 --> 00:17:01.133
we were running out of water.

00:17:03.900 --> 00:17:06.399
- I thought it would make
common sense

00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:09.400
to put a temporary halt
on that plant.

00:17:12.867 --> 00:17:15.533
And they would
not stop doing it.

00:17:19.900 --> 00:17:21.999
Narrator: Citizens of Raleigh
weren\'t the only ones

00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:25.000
troubled by the amount of water
being bottled during a drought.

00:17:26.433 --> 00:17:29.266
- Well, the city of Atlanta
and north Georgia

00:17:29.267 --> 00:17:32.799
has been experiencing a level 4,
a very severe drought.

00:17:32.800 --> 00:17:39.299
And we\'ve asked people to cut
back on their water usage.

00:17:39.300 --> 00:17:41.532
- People in metro Atlanta
have long thought

00:17:41.533 --> 00:17:43.766
there was an abundance of water

00:17:43.767 --> 00:17:46.032
because we\'re in a green,
lush environment

00:17:46.033 --> 00:17:49.833
and not realized
that we\'re on borrowed time.

00:18:01.400 --> 00:18:03.332
- We should be standing
in about four feet of water

00:18:03.333 --> 00:18:05.366
or five feet of water right now
where we\'re standing.

00:18:05.367 --> 00:18:07.032
It\'s at its worst...
I mean, really,

00:18:07.033 --> 00:18:09.533
for a sustained period of time.

00:18:12.433 --> 00:18:15.099
- Atlanta had its second-worst
drought in history

00:18:15.100 --> 00:18:17.266
the past year, year and a half,

00:18:17.267 --> 00:18:21.832
and it\'s affecting the water
that we can use.

00:18:21.833 --> 00:18:24.332
- We have severe
water restrictions

00:18:24.333 --> 00:18:27.599
that are placed on us
for watering our lawns

00:18:27.600 --> 00:18:31.433
and car washes,
and things like that.

00:18:34.733 --> 00:18:36.266
What\'s most upsetting to me

00:18:36.267 --> 00:18:39.799
is to not treat
everyone equally.

00:18:39.800 --> 00:18:41.232
And what I mean by that is,

00:18:41.233 --> 00:18:43.366
is to have corporations
such as Coca-Cola

00:18:43.367 --> 00:18:44.599
taking water out of the lake

00:18:44.600 --> 00:18:46.332
while it is under
a severe drought

00:18:46.333 --> 00:18:50.333
and those in the local economy
placed under restrictions.

00:18:51.867 --> 00:18:53.799
- The Marietta plant, in 2007,

00:18:53.800 --> 00:18:57.133
it used, like, 118 million
gallons of water.

00:19:05.900 --> 00:19:08.099
- Bottled water companies use
a very small amount

00:19:08.100 --> 00:19:11.766
of the groundwater
in the United States.

00:19:11.767 --> 00:19:13.366
The Drinking Water
Research Foundation

00:19:13.367 --> 00:19:16.399
has done a study to indicate
that the bottled-water industry

00:19:16.400 --> 00:19:19.599
is responsible for only .02%
of all the groundwater

00:19:19.600 --> 00:19:21.532
withdrawn in the United States.

00:19:21.533 --> 00:19:23.799
- It may be true that they\'re
taking that small percentage,

00:19:23.800 --> 00:19:26.066
but they\'re taking it in a
very few, very specific places,

00:19:26.067 --> 00:19:27.732
and many people have linked

00:19:27.733 --> 00:19:30.166
their over-pumping
of groundwater

00:19:30.167 --> 00:19:33.266
with lowered stream levels,
dried-up wetlands,

00:19:33.267 --> 00:19:35.599
depleted or decimated
fish populations.

00:19:35.600 --> 00:19:37.166
- Bottled water,
like other products,

00:19:37.167 --> 00:19:39.499
obviously has an impact
on the environment.

00:19:39.500 --> 00:19:41.299
But, again, bottled water
is no different

00:19:41.300 --> 00:19:43.599
than any other product
that might be using water.

00:19:43.600 --> 00:19:45.066
- But beer doesn\'t come
from my tap.

00:19:45.067 --> 00:19:46.932
And you can\'t turn on
your faucet and get Coke.

00:19:46.933 --> 00:19:48.332
You can turn on your faucet,
though,

00:19:48.333 --> 00:19:51.266
and get water, and it\'s free.

00:19:51.267 --> 00:19:52.999
Narrator: When Nestlé
was questioned

00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:54.999
in congressional hearings
about the effects

00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:57.399
of their pumping on rivers
and streams,

00:19:57.400 --> 00:19:59.099
they testified that
the lower water levels

00:19:59.100 --> 00:20:01.832
had nothing to do with the water
they were taking.

00:20:01.833 --> 00:20:04.932
- This is affected by dams
built by beavers.

00:20:04.933 --> 00:20:06.999
- Is that the result
of only your study

00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:09.332
or studies that are independent
of your study?

00:20:09.333 --> 00:20:11.032
- I know of no independent
studies,

00:20:11.033 --> 00:20:12.666
but I\'m happy to share
our studies.

00:20:12.667 --> 00:20:14.399
- How many beavers
would it take to do that?

00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:16.199
- I\'m not sure how many beavers.
- Okay.

00:20:16.200 --> 00:20:19.200
[laughter]

00:20:21.067 --> 00:20:23.432
- For 15 years,
we have worked hard

00:20:23.433 --> 00:20:25.866
to make sure that this source
is clean

00:20:25.867 --> 00:20:27.832
and abundant for everyone.

00:20:27.833 --> 00:20:29.199
And it\'s pretty phenomenal.

00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:31.432
In the last couple of years,

00:20:31.433 --> 00:20:33.632
the trash that we\'re finding
out on this river

00:20:33.633 --> 00:20:36.467
are plastic bottles...

00:20:38.033 --> 00:20:41.233
hundreds and hundreds of plastic
drinking-water bottles.

00:20:45.400 --> 00:20:48.733
- They\'re making the profit,
and we\'re suffering.

00:20:53.967 --> 00:20:56.132
You know, if they were using it,
making a profit,

00:20:56.133 --> 00:20:58.766
and then putting some
of that back towards the lake,

00:20:58.767 --> 00:21:00.633
then that would be different.

00:21:05.033 --> 00:21:06.966
- They really see water
as blue gold,

00:21:06.967 --> 00:21:09.066
as just a source of profit.

00:21:09.067 --> 00:21:11.732
They don\'t see it
as a fundamental right,

00:21:11.733 --> 00:21:16.232
as something essential
for people and for nature.

00:21:16.233 --> 00:21:18.599
It\'s only a way for them
to make a profit.

00:21:18.600 --> 00:21:21.499
So if it disappears, you know,
ten years down the road,

00:21:21.500 --> 00:21:23.667
they\'ve made their profit.

00:21:26.300 --> 00:21:28.832
- Water has really become
a resource

00:21:28.833 --> 00:21:31.032
that we\'re fast losing.

00:21:31.033 --> 00:21:34.132
- And we\'re at a spot now
where our bodies of water

00:21:34.133 --> 00:21:37.099
are increasingly fragile
and threatened,

00:21:37.100 --> 00:21:39.166
Falls Lake, Jordan Lake.

00:21:39.167 --> 00:21:41.732
And we need
to be protecting them,

00:21:41.733 --> 00:21:44.300
and we\'re not doing
an adequate job right now.

00:21:47.100 --> 00:21:49.232
- We really don\'t have good,

00:21:49.233 --> 00:21:51.799
comprehensive policies
in most places

00:21:51.800 --> 00:21:55.032
to deal with water supply
and water quantity.

00:21:55.033 --> 00:21:57.266
I mean, one of my favorite
examples was,

00:21:57.267 --> 00:22:02.366
as Atlanta was facing
a water crisis,

00:22:02.367 --> 00:22:04.666
the governor
was gonna bring people together

00:22:04.667 --> 00:22:05.866
to pray for rain.

00:22:05.867 --> 00:22:06.899
[applause]

00:22:06.900 --> 00:22:08.399
- All Georgians and all people

00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:10.332
who believe in the power
of prayer,

00:22:10.333 --> 00:22:13.732
we ask God to shower our state,
our region,

00:22:13.733 --> 00:22:17.032
our nation with the blessings
of water.

00:22:17.033 --> 00:22:19.799
[thunder rumbles]

00:22:19.800 --> 00:22:22.432
- They were on the verge
of opening

00:22:22.433 --> 00:22:25.566
a massive artificial mountain
of snow

00:22:25.567 --> 00:22:28.732
so people could ski
in the middle of the summer.

00:22:28.733 --> 00:22:32.099
There wasn\'t any rational,
thoughtful,

00:22:32.100 --> 00:22:36.933
comprehensive policy in place
that would say, \"This is goofy.\"

00:22:39.800 --> 00:22:42.232
narrator: With companies
like Coke, Pepsi, and Nestlé

00:22:42.233 --> 00:22:44.166
so vital to local economies,

00:22:44.167 --> 00:22:46.366
government officials
are often forced to choose

00:22:46.367 --> 00:22:49.299
between environmental
consequences or job loss.

00:22:49.300 --> 00:22:51.166
- Well, this government\'s
not doing anything.

00:22:51.167 --> 00:22:52.899
I mean, this government\'s
for sale,

00:22:52.900 --> 00:22:55.032
and so everything\'s ready
to be auctioned off,

00:22:55.033 --> 00:22:59.832
including the public\'s right
to water.

00:22:59.833 --> 00:23:02.266
- It is not something
where you can just sit back

00:23:02.267 --> 00:23:04.866
and hope that
your elected representatives

00:23:04.867 --> 00:23:08.266
will always do the right things
for the citizens.

00:23:08.267 --> 00:23:10.466
- Do we have a right to say
what they do with our water

00:23:10.467 --> 00:23:12.566
when we\'re the ones
that keep buying it?

00:23:12.567 --> 00:23:14.066
And if we didn\'t keep buying it,

00:23:14.067 --> 00:23:18.132
then they wouldn\'t be producing
as much as they are.

00:23:18.133 --> 00:23:21.732
- So we have to look at it
on the demand side.

00:23:21.733 --> 00:23:23.532
Do we need this?

00:23:23.533 --> 00:23:28.132
Do we need to continue
polluting our planet

00:23:28.133 --> 00:23:32.833
and wasting our money
as a consumer?

00:23:38.867 --> 00:23:39.867
- Crisp.

00:23:39.868 --> 00:23:41.066
- Fresh.

00:23:41.067 --> 00:23:42.999
- Drink?

00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:45.966
- Bottled water
is the greatest advertising

00:23:45.967 --> 00:23:49.566
and marketing trick of all time.

00:23:49.567 --> 00:23:51.632
- [singing] Drink, drink, drink.

00:23:51.633 --> 00:23:53.932
- We started buying bottled
water in a serious way

00:23:53.933 --> 00:23:55.499
starting at the end of the \'70s

00:23:55.500 --> 00:23:57.399
when Perrier came across
the ocean

00:23:57.400 --> 00:23:58.999
and was introduced
to urban markets.

00:23:59.000 --> 00:24:00.299
It was a niche product.

00:24:00.300 --> 00:24:02.799
It was really popular
with urban professionals.

00:24:02.800 --> 00:24:03.932
- [sustaining high note]

00:24:03.933 --> 00:24:07.299
[The Black Keys\'
I Got Mine plays]

00:24:07.300 --> 00:24:09.799
- I think at lunchtime,
it\'s a much better drink

00:24:09.800 --> 00:24:11.666
than some alcoholic drink.

00:24:11.667 --> 00:24:13.066
- It allows you to continue

00:24:13.067 --> 00:24:16.666
that sociability
that alcohol provides

00:24:16.667 --> 00:24:18.499
without some
of the adverse effects

00:24:18.500 --> 00:24:20.566
that prevent you from doing
a day\'s work

00:24:20.567 --> 00:24:22.732
that you would otherwise
like to do.

00:24:22.733 --> 00:24:24.666
- [singing] Oh, babe,

00:24:24.667 --> 00:24:27.266
I got mine.

00:24:27.267 --> 00:24:30.266
- It came in beautiful green
glass bottles,

00:24:30.267 --> 00:24:32.032
but we weren\'t walking around
down the street

00:24:32.033 --> 00:24:33.766
swigging from
the Perrier bottles.

00:24:33.767 --> 00:24:35.266
That didn\'t happen until 1989,

00:24:35.267 --> 00:24:38.599
when it became possible to put
bottled water into lightweight,

00:24:38.600 --> 00:24:41.066
cheap, clear plastic bottles
made of P.E.T.

00:24:41.067 --> 00:24:43.032
And that changed the market.

00:24:43.033 --> 00:24:44.266
And the big change came

00:24:44.267 --> 00:24:47.366
when Coke and Pepsi
got into the game.

00:24:47.367 --> 00:24:48.566
Cha-ching!

00:24:48.567 --> 00:24:50.099
They introduced waters

00:24:50.100 --> 00:24:52.299
because they saw their
market share for sodas dropping.

00:24:52.300 --> 00:24:53.932
- [singing] Love me, love me.

00:24:53.933 --> 00:24:55.732
- They spent hundreds
of millions of dollars,

00:24:55.733 --> 00:24:58.932
telling us
to drink more water...

00:24:58.933 --> 00:25:01.699
that it would make us thinner
and more beautiful.

00:25:01.700 --> 00:25:03.266
They associated their products

00:25:03.267 --> 00:25:05.932
with celebrities, athletes,
and models.

00:25:05.933 --> 00:25:13.899
- [singing] I can\'t care about
anything but you.

00:25:13.900 --> 00:25:15.632
- And we drank it up,

00:25:15.633 --> 00:25:17.066
and to the point where it became

00:25:17.067 --> 00:25:22.966
an $11.5 billion business
in 2007.

00:25:22.967 --> 00:25:25.132
We\'ve become like big toddlers.

00:25:25.133 --> 00:25:28.099
We\'ve got the nipple
to our lips constantly.

00:25:28.100 --> 00:25:29.366
We constantly need to know

00:25:29.367 --> 00:25:31.232
that there\'s something there
just for us

00:25:31.233 --> 00:25:33.900
that we can just throw away.

00:25:36.900 --> 00:25:39.599
We want everything
individualized and personalized

00:25:39.600 --> 00:25:40.766
and just for us.

00:25:40.767 --> 00:25:42.532
And we want to not have
to wash it

00:25:42.533 --> 00:25:43.632
or take care of it.

00:25:43.633 --> 00:25:45.066
We want to just throw it away.

00:25:45.067 --> 00:25:47.232
And we want it immediately
available and convenient.

00:25:47.233 --> 00:25:48.767
Otherwise, we\'ll have a fit.

00:25:52.267 --> 00:25:55.466
- So on one hand, you had this
tremendous marketing muscle,

00:25:55.467 --> 00:25:58.466
and on the other hand, you had
a complete absence of criticism

00:25:58.467 --> 00:26:00.899
of bottled water
until very recently.

00:26:00.900 --> 00:26:03.999
And you didn\'t have utilities
who provide municipal water...

00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:05.832
They didn\'t have
their own PR budgets.

00:26:05.833 --> 00:26:08.332
They had barely enough money
to keep their own systems going,

00:26:08.333 --> 00:26:10.266
so they weren\'t counteracting
this onslaught

00:26:10.267 --> 00:26:12.933
of media, print, and TV ads.

00:26:17.333 --> 00:26:19.666
Many of the ads implied
that the water

00:26:19.667 --> 00:26:21.833
was healthier for us
than tap water.

00:26:23.400 --> 00:26:25.132
- We don\'t consider tap water
to be an enemy.

00:26:25.133 --> 00:26:27.133
We don\'t.

00:26:30.467 --> 00:26:33.732
- Can people typically perceive
a difference in taste?

00:26:33.733 --> 00:26:36.032
- I can tell the difference
in many bottled waters,

00:26:36.033 --> 00:26:37.332
just as I can tell
the difference

00:26:37.333 --> 00:26:38.799
between tap water
and other beverages.

00:26:38.800 --> 00:26:40.099
- You can?
- Absolutely.

00:26:40.100 --> 00:26:42.099
- You know, you\'re under oath.

00:26:42.100 --> 00:26:43.932
- Absolutely.
I say that with...

00:26:43.933 --> 00:26:45.966
- We\'ll give your tongue
an exemption there.

00:26:45.967 --> 00:26:48.032
- The bottled-water industry
does not see themselves

00:26:48.033 --> 00:26:50.033
as in competition
with tap water.

00:26:52.967 --> 00:26:54.732
We provide a completely
different product.

00:26:54.733 --> 00:26:56.899
We provide something
that is actually affordable,

00:26:56.900 --> 00:26:58.866
that is convenient,
that is refreshing,

00:26:58.867 --> 00:27:01.099
that is pure.

00:27:01.100 --> 00:27:02.399
- They used words \"pure,\"

00:27:02.400 --> 00:27:05.399
which implied that tap water
was impure somehow.

00:27:05.400 --> 00:27:07.466
- Pure... pure water.
Pure... pure water.

00:27:07.467 --> 00:27:09.032
Pure... pure, refreshing water.

00:27:09.033 --> 00:27:10.466
- Well, we\'re
a very safe product.

00:27:10.467 --> 00:27:12.032
Safe. Safe. Safe.

00:27:12.033 --> 00:27:13.999
Safe... that it\'s safe.
Safe... it\'s safe.

00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:17.166
I think bottled water is a safe,
healthy, convenient product.

00:27:17.167 --> 00:27:19.999
- They were always saying
their product is healthful

00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:21.466
and implying
that tap water wasn\'t.

00:27:21.467 --> 00:27:22.799
- It is much purer.

00:27:22.800 --> 00:27:26.132
It is much cleaner
than many municipal sources.

00:27:26.133 --> 00:27:27.432
- They want to convince people

00:27:27.433 --> 00:27:29.566
that tap water isn\'t safe
to drink.

00:27:29.567 --> 00:27:32.699
- Again, we are not
in competition with tap water.

00:27:32.700 --> 00:27:34.666
- Susan Wellington,
VP for Gatorade...

00:27:34.667 --> 00:27:36.667
Also owned by Pepsi... says:

00:27:39.233 --> 00:27:40.566
- I don\'t... I don\'t know...

00:27:40.567 --> 00:27:42.366
- It doesn\'t sound like
she\'s loving the tap.

00:27:42.367 --> 00:27:43.632
- I would ask her.

00:27:43.633 --> 00:27:45.099
- Well, that\'s
one person\'s opinion.

00:27:45.100 --> 00:27:46.866
- It\'s Pepsi\'s opinion.

00:27:46.867 --> 00:27:49.266
- Okay, it\'s one person
at Pepsi\'s opinion.

00:27:49.267 --> 00:27:51.866
- In 2000, Robert Morrison,
C.E.O. of Quaker Oats,

00:27:51.867 --> 00:27:53.867
which merged with PepsiCo, said:

00:27:58.233 --> 00:28:00.099
What does that say?

00:28:00.100 --> 00:28:02.199
- Well, you read the quote.

00:28:02.200 --> 00:28:04.066
- I\'m here to tell you
that as far

00:28:04.067 --> 00:28:06.699
as the International Bottled
Water Association is concerned,

00:28:06.700 --> 00:28:10.299
we do not consider tap water
to be our competition.

00:28:10.300 --> 00:28:12.932
- We do not see ourselves
in competition with tap water.

00:28:12.933 --> 00:28:14.366
- Except for these... one, two,

00:28:14.367 --> 00:28:16.267
three, four, five people
at Pepsi.

00:28:21.733 --> 00:28:23.432
Narrator: Many bottled-water
companies

00:28:23.433 --> 00:28:25.299
are careful
not to disparage tap water

00:28:25.300 --> 00:28:27.300
because of their reliance on it.

00:28:31.600 --> 00:28:35.299
- In many cases, bottled water
is simply municipal tap water.

00:28:35.300 --> 00:28:38.132
- Basically, these companies
are taking our water

00:28:38.133 --> 00:28:40.466
and selling it back to us
for a profit.

00:28:40.467 --> 00:28:42.732
And we think that we\'re getting
something great in return.

00:28:42.733 --> 00:28:44.566
- That doesn\'t really seem like

00:28:44.567 --> 00:28:46.199
you\'re getting
your money\'s worth

00:28:46.200 --> 00:28:48.999
if you\'re simply paying
a very high premium

00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:51.633
to get what you could be getting
out of your tap.

00:29:00.667 --> 00:29:02.266
- In doing my research
for the article,

00:29:02.267 --> 00:29:04.166
I went across the street
to a food court

00:29:04.167 --> 00:29:07.232
and over two days asked
probably 15 to 20 people

00:29:07.233 --> 00:29:10.532
that I found drinking Dasani
water in the food court,

00:29:10.533 --> 00:29:13.566
you know, \"Do you know where
this water came from?\"

00:29:13.567 --> 00:29:17.366
And none of them did.

00:29:17.367 --> 00:29:20.766
- When you buy Aquafina
or you buy Dasani water,

00:29:20.767 --> 00:29:22.832
it\'s basically your tap water.

00:29:22.833 --> 00:29:25.032
You\'re buying water
that could come out of your tap

00:29:25.033 --> 00:29:28.200
and paying 1,000 times
the price for it.

00:29:32.567 --> 00:29:33.899
- I think what is the case is,

00:29:33.900 --> 00:29:36.132
what you are getting is pure,
refreshing water.

00:29:36.133 --> 00:29:37.832
- That\'s what they would
have us believe,

00:29:37.833 --> 00:29:41.266
and that\'s what the labels
would have us believe.

00:29:41.267 --> 00:29:43.099
- Is it misleading to have
a mountain on there

00:29:43.100 --> 00:29:44.699
when it\'s coming
from the municipal tap?

00:29:44.700 --> 00:29:47.867
- Again, I would let you
pontificate on that.

00:29:50.467 --> 00:29:52.532
Narrator: Despite
the mountain range on its label,

00:29:52.533 --> 00:29:55.732
Pepsi\'s Aquafina,
as well as Coke\'s Dasani,

00:29:55.733 --> 00:29:59.499
are both bottled from tap water
and not from a natural spring.

00:29:59.500 --> 00:30:01.232
Only after mounting
public pressure

00:30:01.233 --> 00:30:03.366
did Aquafina agree to print
the words

00:30:03.367 --> 00:30:06.566
\"public water source\"
on its label.

00:30:06.567 --> 00:30:07.999
The mountain range remains,

00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:11.500
and Coke has yet to include this
information on Dasani labels.

00:30:17.300 --> 00:30:20.199
- Well, what we found is that
the bottled-water industry

00:30:20.200 --> 00:30:23.299
has been less than forthcoming
in providing information

00:30:23.300 --> 00:30:27.000
on what their bottles
actually contain.

00:30:28.567 --> 00:30:31.766
The packaging can have
an adverse effect

00:30:31.767 --> 00:30:33.966
on the original product,

00:30:33.967 --> 00:30:35.999
which is why it\'s
so important for us

00:30:36.000 --> 00:30:38.366
to get the information
from the bottlers,

00:30:38.367 --> 00:30:40.799
who know exactly what\'s
happening at their plants

00:30:40.800 --> 00:30:44.767
and who know exactly what
is happening in that bottle.

00:30:49.100 --> 00:30:50.566
- I think most of the public

00:30:50.567 --> 00:30:54.332
does not know that their plastic
materials are being made in,

00:30:54.333 --> 00:30:57.167
you know, these refineries
and petrochemical plants.

00:31:09.133 --> 00:31:11.566
Narrator: Beverage containers
contain a recycling code

00:31:11.567 --> 00:31:13.132
on the bottom of the bottle.

00:31:13.133 --> 00:31:16.832
Bottled water is packaged
in P.E.T. or P.E.T.E.,

00:31:16.833 --> 00:31:20.332
polyethylene terephthalate.

00:31:20.333 --> 00:31:23.532
The primary ingredient in P.E.T.
is para-xylene,

00:31:23.533 --> 00:31:27.033
a clear liquid
derived from refining crude oil.

00:31:40.633 --> 00:31:43.432
Eighty percent of P.E.T.
manufactured in the U.S.

00:31:43.433 --> 00:31:47.667
ends up in Nestlé, Coke,
or Pepsi beverage containers.

00:31:51.200 --> 00:31:54.799
A number of oil companies in the
U.S. manufacture para-xylene.

00:31:54.800 --> 00:31:57.932
And one of the leading
manufacturers is Flint Hills,

00:31:57.933 --> 00:32:01.132
the largest privately owned
oil refinery in the nation,

00:32:01.133 --> 00:32:03.967
located in Corpus Christi,
Texas.

00:32:06.933 --> 00:32:11.267
- This is the first step
in the manufacture of P.E.T.

00:32:22.733 --> 00:32:26.366
- That, my friends, is Flint
Hills here in Corpus Christi.

00:32:26.367 --> 00:32:27.766
- And that\'s
where plastic starts.

00:32:27.767 --> 00:32:29.666
- Yes.
That\'s where plastic starts.

00:32:29.667 --> 00:32:31.332
What they make is para-xylene,

00:32:31.333 --> 00:32:34.866
which is a vital compound
in making plastics.

00:32:34.867 --> 00:32:36.566
What a lot of people don\'t know

00:32:36.567 --> 00:32:38.666
is that it\'s
in the benzene family,

00:32:38.667 --> 00:32:40.166
and benzene causes cancer.

00:32:40.167 --> 00:32:42.566
So as they\'re raking
in the bucks,

00:32:42.567 --> 00:32:45.400
the people here
are sick and dying.

00:32:53.100 --> 00:32:56.166
- When my sister passed away
of breast cancer,

00:32:56.167 --> 00:32:59.032
I had no idea how much
my life would change.

00:32:59.033 --> 00:33:01.366
At her funeral services,
people came up to us,

00:33:01.367 --> 00:33:02.799
and saying, you know,

00:33:02.800 --> 00:33:05.432
so many people that are her age
that lived in our community

00:33:05.433 --> 00:33:08.866
on the west side are dying
of cancer or have had cancer.

00:33:08.867 --> 00:33:11.466
And after we buried her,
after the funeral, we said,

00:33:11.467 --> 00:33:13.266
\"Remember all the people
that came up to us?\"

00:33:13.267 --> 00:33:15.199
We said, \"What if Deanna\'s death

00:33:15.200 --> 00:33:18.867
and others didn\'t
have to happen?\"

00:33:24.633 --> 00:33:26.899
So we conducted
our own investigation,

00:33:26.900 --> 00:33:29.066
and we found that our community
was built

00:33:29.067 --> 00:33:32.067
on top of an oil-waste field.

00:33:35.567 --> 00:33:39.932
That link to the oil industry
is what, soon after that,

00:33:39.933 --> 00:33:42.732
got us to work on
environmental-justice issues

00:33:42.733 --> 00:33:43.999
by the refineries,

00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:47.000
because it was all linked
to the oil refineries.

00:33:53.033 --> 00:33:56.867
We don\'t want people to suffer
the way she died.

00:34:26.233 --> 00:34:28.366
- When you think about
the finished product

00:34:28.367 --> 00:34:29.766
of a plastic bottle,

00:34:29.767 --> 00:34:32.466
you don\'t think about
the process and the headache

00:34:32.467 --> 00:34:35.099
and the pain and suffering

00:34:35.100 --> 00:34:38.699
and the health effects
that come from living next door.

00:34:38.700 --> 00:34:40.466
It\'s out of sight, out of mind.

00:34:40.467 --> 00:34:42.099
But these are real problems

00:34:42.100 --> 00:34:45.100
that are being experienced
by real people.

00:35:01.333 --> 00:35:03.499
- Something causes a lot
of these neighbors around here

00:35:03.500 --> 00:35:04.566
to be sick.

00:35:04.567 --> 00:35:05.999
It\'s not just me.

00:35:06.000 --> 00:35:07.966
My other two neighbors...

00:35:07.967 --> 00:35:09.800
They\'re sick.

00:35:13.300 --> 00:35:16.299
Anything that\'s not pure air has

00:35:16.300 --> 00:35:18.666
got an effect on your health...

00:35:18.667 --> 00:35:20.132
anything.

00:35:20.133 --> 00:35:25.467
And the air conditioners just
bring it right on in the house.

00:35:32.400 --> 00:35:34.032
- This doctor come in
and told me, said,

00:35:34.033 --> 00:35:36.899
\"Well, your days are over,
son.\"

00:35:36.900 --> 00:35:39.299
He said, \"You ain\'t never
gonna work again.\"

00:35:39.300 --> 00:35:42.932
- He\'s on oxygen,
and I have sarcoidosis,

00:35:42.933 --> 00:35:45.432
which is a multi-systemic
disease,

00:35:45.433 --> 00:35:48.766
which means it can go
into any organ.

00:35:48.767 --> 00:35:50.966
- If you ain\'t got a good,
strong heart

00:35:50.967 --> 00:35:53.766
and a good, strong set of lungs,

00:35:53.767 --> 00:35:56.100
then you ain\'t got nothing.

00:35:58.867 --> 00:36:01.166
- Not only do they need
to think of that purchase

00:36:01.167 --> 00:36:02.699
of that one plastic bottle

00:36:02.700 --> 00:36:04.766
and what it can do
to their health,

00:36:04.767 --> 00:36:07.599
but by continuing
to purchase these,

00:36:07.600 --> 00:36:09.299
it\'s just gonna keep them
in business.

00:36:09.300 --> 00:36:11.532
So if they stop buying that,

00:36:11.533 --> 00:36:13.432
it will not only protect
their health

00:36:13.433 --> 00:36:14.866
but people that
they\'ve never met,

00:36:14.867 --> 00:36:16.366
people that are suffering
and dying

00:36:16.367 --> 00:36:18.867
like here in Corpus Christi.

00:36:24.967 --> 00:36:26.599
- I worked for the state EPA,

00:36:26.600 --> 00:36:29.399
the state Air Pollution Control
Agency.

00:36:29.400 --> 00:36:32.132
And we were told that we could
be fired and terminated

00:36:32.133 --> 00:36:35.599
if we went and tried
to inform the community...

00:36:35.600 --> 00:36:37.166
Even if they weren\'t
complaining...

00:36:37.167 --> 00:36:40.099
That there could be toxic
substances in the air,

00:36:40.100 --> 00:36:41.432
to hand out our cards,

00:36:41.433 --> 00:36:43.199
that they had
a right to complain,

00:36:43.200 --> 00:36:45.166
that they had a right
to clean air, okay,

00:36:45.167 --> 00:36:46.866
and that we could...
If they complained,

00:36:46.867 --> 00:36:49.399
then we could go in
and do investigations,

00:36:49.400 --> 00:36:50.766
we could write violations,

00:36:50.767 --> 00:36:52.466
we could take companies
into enforcement

00:36:52.467 --> 00:36:56.866
and make them reduce
their pollution.

00:36:56.867 --> 00:36:59.332
Until people picked the phone up
and complained,

00:36:59.333 --> 00:37:02.833
we were not supposed to agitate
the communities.

00:37:17.067 --> 00:37:19.866
- I consider myself
to be garbage,

00:37:19.867 --> 00:37:24.533
because garbage is worth
nothing, and neither am I.

00:37:27.067 --> 00:37:31.232
If it wasn\'t for the love
of my wife and my grandchildren,

00:37:31.233 --> 00:37:33.632
I wouldn\'t be here.

00:37:33.633 --> 00:37:41.199
Because they love me,
they treat me with it.

00:37:41.200 --> 00:37:43.867
What else is there
left for me to do?

00:37:47.567 --> 00:37:49.266
- There\'s reasons why people

00:37:49.267 --> 00:37:51.099
that live around
these refineries, you know,

00:37:51.100 --> 00:37:53.299
breathe this air and drink
this water

00:37:53.300 --> 00:37:55.399
have higher rates of cancer,
birth defects,

00:37:55.400 --> 00:37:56.900
and other illnesses.

00:37:58.900 --> 00:38:01.099
Narrator: Overall birth defects
in Corpus Christi

00:38:01.100 --> 00:38:04.700
are 84% higher
than the state average.

00:38:09.133 --> 00:38:13.732
- One of the concerns I have
with the P.E.T. plastic bottles

00:38:13.733 --> 00:38:15.432
is that you wind up

00:38:15.433 --> 00:38:19.332
contaminating
a lot of groundwater.

00:38:19.333 --> 00:38:21.332
Most of the petrochemical plants

00:38:21.333 --> 00:38:25.899
have major chemical leaks
in the ground.

00:38:25.900 --> 00:38:30.299
So part of the toxic cycle
of dealing with P.E.T.

00:38:30.300 --> 00:38:35.633
is that there are so many
problems that it contributes to.

00:38:37.833 --> 00:38:40.599
- The groundwater
is contaminated,

00:38:40.600 --> 00:38:44.766
the air is contaminated,
the soil is contaminated,

00:38:44.767 --> 00:38:47.432
but because people
don\'t drop dead on the spot,

00:38:47.433 --> 00:38:49.899
you don\'t have
to think about it.

00:38:49.900 --> 00:38:51.632
You know, so you can
get away with it.

00:38:51.633 --> 00:38:53.067
I think it\'s the perfect crime.

00:39:05.933 --> 00:39:08.132
- The plant hasn\'t always been
two blocks from us.

00:39:08.133 --> 00:39:11.699
It\'s just gradually moved up,
little by little,

00:39:11.700 --> 00:39:13.966
so much so till we just probably
didn\'t pay any attention

00:39:13.967 --> 00:39:15.632
until we started hearing people
talk about

00:39:15.633 --> 00:39:17.632
emissions in the air
and this in the air.

00:39:17.633 --> 00:39:19.432
And then we became conscious
of it,

00:39:19.433 --> 00:39:21.267
and now we\'re very aware of it.

00:39:34.300 --> 00:39:35.799
- People say,
\"Well, you\'re silly

00:39:35.800 --> 00:39:37.732
to live next to a refinery.\"

00:39:37.733 --> 00:39:39.899
But when we came in here,
we were younger,

00:39:39.900 --> 00:39:41.532
and we were excited
that we found a house.

00:39:41.533 --> 00:39:42.966
And I taught at this school,

00:39:42.967 --> 00:39:45.099
and it was right across
the street from this school.

00:39:45.100 --> 00:39:48.366
But now, in retrospect,
I would like to move,

00:39:48.367 --> 00:39:50.666
but we live so close
to the refinery,

00:39:50.667 --> 00:39:53.667
I think it would be very
difficult to sell our house.

00:39:59.300 --> 00:40:03.466
- You know, there\'s battles
that you can fight and win,

00:40:03.467 --> 00:40:07.232
and there\'s battles
that you can start and you lose.

00:40:07.233 --> 00:40:11.599
This is a battle that,
if I started, I\'d lose.

00:40:11.600 --> 00:40:16.267
A man like me can\'t
go against Flint Hills.

00:40:19.000 --> 00:40:22.766
- When we, as a society, don\'t
protect the most vulnerable,

00:40:22.767 --> 00:40:28.433
then we leave our full nation
open to vulnerability.

00:40:45.667 --> 00:40:49.499
- When people buy bottled water
that\'s made with P.E.T.,

00:40:49.500 --> 00:40:53.932
they are contributing
to these sacrificed zones

00:40:53.933 --> 00:40:59.066
and to the toxic exposures that
people here are suffering with.

00:40:59.067 --> 00:41:01.199
- Even though it may be people

00:41:01.200 --> 00:41:04.266
who are living
on the fence line, ultimately,

00:41:04.267 --> 00:41:08.767
it affects everybody
because ultimately we all pay.

00:41:12.400 --> 00:41:15.899
As long as bottled water\'s
being presented as safe,

00:41:15.900 --> 00:41:19.900
we will all be affected
ultimately and eventually.

00:41:26.167 --> 00:41:28.632
- We don\'t know what
the long-term consequences are

00:41:28.633 --> 00:41:30.266
to this type of exposure,

00:41:30.267 --> 00:41:32.566
so people think when
they\'re drinking bottled water

00:41:32.567 --> 00:41:35.099
that they\'re getting
a healthy product.

00:41:35.100 --> 00:41:36.666
They\'re not conditioned
to think,

00:41:36.667 --> 00:41:40.000
\"Well, maybe there\'s something
in the plastic.\"

00:41:42.767 --> 00:41:44.366
And then we trust government.

00:41:44.367 --> 00:41:46.232
We trust industry.

00:41:46.233 --> 00:41:48.032
When they say that everything\'s
okay, we say,

00:41:48.033 --> 00:41:51.466
\"Okay. Sounds good to us.\"

00:41:51.467 --> 00:41:52.599
- Our product is safe.

00:41:52.600 --> 00:41:54.066
The package is safe.

00:41:54.067 --> 00:41:56.900
I don\'t see any long-term effect
presented by our package.

00:42:00.267 --> 00:42:06.032
Our members are meeting
the standards of the FDA.

00:42:06.033 --> 00:42:09.066
- The problem is,
is that to our last account,

00:42:09.067 --> 00:42:12.966
we found that one person
at the FDA was responsible

00:42:12.967 --> 00:42:15.232
for overseeing
all of the regulation

00:42:15.233 --> 00:42:18.432
of bottled water in the country.

00:42:18.433 --> 00:42:19.966
- Are you that one person?

00:42:19.967 --> 00:42:21.699
- I do spend some of my time
on bottled water,

00:42:21.700 --> 00:42:25.432
but I have other
responsibilities, as well.

00:42:25.433 --> 00:42:27.499
- It doesn\'t sound right that
there\'d be one person

00:42:27.500 --> 00:42:32.099
in all of FDA, but who knows?

00:42:32.100 --> 00:42:33.732
- The FDA is filled
with good people

00:42:33.733 --> 00:42:36.032
who are trying to do their best,
but they are overwhelmed.

00:42:36.033 --> 00:42:38.132
The drug industry is so big,
so powerful,

00:42:38.133 --> 00:42:40.632
so rich that the FDA
can\'t keep up,

00:42:40.633 --> 00:42:42.633
and their hands are tied.

00:42:47.300 --> 00:42:48.832
- There\'s a huge difference
between

00:42:48.833 --> 00:42:50.299
the regulation of tap water

00:42:50.300 --> 00:42:52.799
and the regulation
of bottled water.

00:42:52.800 --> 00:42:56.932
To put it simply, tap water,
municipal drinking water,

00:42:56.933 --> 00:42:58.366
is highly regulated,

00:42:58.367 --> 00:43:02.366
and bottled water
is virtually unregulated.

00:43:02.367 --> 00:43:05.032
- I don\'t think you would ever
find a situation

00:43:05.033 --> 00:43:08.132
where a bottled water would not
be subject to FDA regulation.

00:43:08.133 --> 00:43:10.866
- If it\'s produced in Maine
and sold within Maine,

00:43:10.867 --> 00:43:13.932
it\'s not under FDA jurisdiction.

00:43:13.933 --> 00:43:16.732
We regulate products
that are in interstate commerce.

00:43:16.733 --> 00:43:19.533
That means products that move
from state to state.

00:43:21.833 --> 00:43:24.232
- Most bottled water is produced
in state

00:43:24.233 --> 00:43:25.999
and consumed in the state,

00:43:26.000 --> 00:43:27.832
and the FDA
does not have control

00:43:27.833 --> 00:43:30.000
over those types
of bottled water.

00:43:36.367 --> 00:43:38.732
- Is it true that
the bottled-water maker

00:43:38.733 --> 00:43:40.299
is the one
that does their own testing

00:43:40.300 --> 00:43:41.932
and then submits
their reports to you?

00:43:41.933 --> 00:43:44.299
- Bottled-water manufacturers
have to do their own testing

00:43:44.300 --> 00:43:46.666
on their own products
and on their own sources.

00:43:46.667 --> 00:43:49.132
- But the bottled-water company
isn\'t required

00:43:49.133 --> 00:43:51.199
to submit a regular report
to you, correct?

00:43:51.200 --> 00:43:54.966
- No.
They are not required to.

00:43:54.967 --> 00:43:57.532
Narrator: Every city provides
a public-water-quality report

00:43:57.533 --> 00:44:00.232
that you can access online
any time.

00:44:00.233 --> 00:44:02.166
Bottled-water companies
are not required

00:44:02.167 --> 00:44:04.599
to make their reports available
to the public.

00:44:04.600 --> 00:44:07.632
- Those tests can stay hidden
in company filing cabinets.

00:44:07.633 --> 00:44:10.832
They can stay in, you know,
backup hard drives

00:44:10.833 --> 00:44:12.232
at bottled-water companies.

00:44:12.233 --> 00:44:13.799
They don\'t have to be published.

00:44:13.800 --> 00:44:16.432
- We\'ve actually tried to use
our \"freedom of information\" act

00:44:16.433 --> 00:44:18.966
to get some of that data,

00:44:18.967 --> 00:44:25.499
and the FDA is very reluctant
to honor citizens organizations,

00:44:25.500 --> 00:44:27.599
VOIS, at this time.

00:44:27.600 --> 00:44:29.632
- Could you imagine what would
it mean to the industry

00:44:29.633 --> 00:44:31.566
if something went wrong
with any these products?

00:44:31.567 --> 00:44:33.766
So they want to make sure that
they\'re as pure as possible.

00:44:33.767 --> 00:44:35.399
- Something\'s gone wrong
many a time.

00:44:35.400 --> 00:44:36.699
There have been many recalls.

00:44:36.700 --> 00:44:38.566
- With water?
- Yeah.

00:44:38.567 --> 00:44:43.466
- Okay.
I\'ve never heard of any.

00:44:43.467 --> 00:44:46.099
- The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration has recalled...

00:44:46.100 --> 00:44:48.199
- Bottled water
that may be contaminated...

00:44:48.200 --> 00:44:50.166
- Contaminated
with a microorganism

00:44:50.167 --> 00:44:53.966
that may cause vomiting...

00:44:53.967 --> 00:44:56.232
- Bottles of the popular brand
off the shelves...

00:44:56.233 --> 00:44:58.132
- 72 million bottles...

00:44:58.133 --> 00:45:01.332
- 33,000 cases...

00:45:01.333 --> 00:45:03.766
- When we find out that there\'s
something in our tap water

00:45:03.767 --> 00:45:05.199
that shouldn\'t be there,

00:45:05.200 --> 00:45:07.633
it\'s because
it\'s constantly being tested.

00:45:12.867 --> 00:45:15.066
Tap water is regulated under

00:45:15.067 --> 00:45:17.699
the Environmental Protection
Agency.

00:45:17.700 --> 00:45:19.566
- And the EPA actually has
health standards

00:45:19.567 --> 00:45:23.666
to which each municipal water
provider is held.

00:45:23.667 --> 00:45:27.166
- Municipalities have to test it
many, many times a day.

00:45:27.167 --> 00:45:28.766
In a city over a million,

00:45:28.767 --> 00:45:31.766
it has to be tested 300 times
a month.

00:45:31.767 --> 00:45:34.432
In a city of 3 million and more,

00:45:34.433 --> 00:45:36.566
it has to be tested 400 times
a month.

00:45:36.567 --> 00:45:38.299
So who are you gonna go with...

00:45:38.300 --> 00:45:41.532
Half of one person at the
Food and Drug Administration

00:45:41.533 --> 00:45:45.099
telling you that these billions
of bottles of water are safe,

00:45:45.100 --> 00:45:47.766
or are you going to go
with municipalities

00:45:47.767 --> 00:45:50.799
who are testing the water many,
many, many times a day?

00:45:50.800 --> 00:45:52.800
Who do you trust?

00:45:56.433 --> 00:45:59.032
- When you\'re talking about
the bottled-water industry,

00:45:59.033 --> 00:46:01.799
you\'re talking about
virtually no testing,

00:46:01.800 --> 00:46:04.899
and people have just assumed
that what we\'re getting is safe.

00:46:04.900 --> 00:46:08.332
So we tested over
a thousand bottles of water

00:46:08.333 --> 00:46:10.666
and found everything
from arsenic

00:46:10.667 --> 00:46:14.932
to leaching from plastic bottles
to bacterial contaminants.

00:46:14.933 --> 00:46:16.999
And, really, what we learned
from this

00:46:17.000 --> 00:46:20.999
was that you really don\'t know
what you\'re getting.

00:46:21.000 --> 00:46:24.766
- Some people have gone
to drinking bottled water,

00:46:24.767 --> 00:46:27.432
literally, because they
are concerned about the water.

00:46:27.433 --> 00:46:29.532
And the problem is they\'re
unaware of the fact

00:46:29.533 --> 00:46:34.132
that buying bottled water
is not necessarily safe,

00:46:34.133 --> 00:46:37.367
that you end up being exposed
to other chemical compounds.

00:46:40.267 --> 00:46:41.766
- Testers over the years

00:46:41.767 --> 00:46:44.166
have come up with all kinds
of contaminants in bottled water

00:46:44.167 --> 00:46:45.766
that we wouldn\'t
have found out about

00:46:45.767 --> 00:46:50.999
if people hadn\'t taken it upon
themselves to run the tests.

00:46:51.000 --> 00:46:53.199
Narrator: In an independent test
of bottled water,

00:46:53.200 --> 00:46:57.866
we sent seven brands
to two separate labs,

00:46:57.867 --> 00:47:01.166
one to TestAmerica and the other
to Dr. Michael Summer,

00:47:01.167 --> 00:47:02.832
an environmental chemist.

00:47:02.833 --> 00:47:04.966
Then, to ensure there\'d
be no bias,

00:47:04.967 --> 00:47:08.099
Dr. King, an epidemiologist
and toxicologist

00:47:08.100 --> 00:47:11.166
with Toxicology Inc.,
analyzed the results.

00:47:11.167 --> 00:47:12.899
- If you were to look
at all the data I brought

00:47:12.900 --> 00:47:17.066
and you read everything,
you\'d be horrified...

00:47:17.067 --> 00:47:19.432
horrified at what they found
from, you know,

00:47:19.433 --> 00:47:22.666
vinyl chloride to butadiene
to styrene,

00:47:22.667 --> 00:47:25.633
benzene... I mean,
it\'s horrifying.

00:47:27.667 --> 00:47:29.132
Narrator: The first group
of bottles

00:47:29.133 --> 00:47:31.032
were tested
straight off the shelves.

00:47:31.033 --> 00:47:32.466
- TestAmerica found,

00:47:32.467 --> 00:47:35.099
in their analysis
of the samples, toluene.

00:47:35.100 --> 00:47:37.932
Now, toluene is a constituent
in gasoline

00:47:37.933 --> 00:47:41.632
and has been used
in paint thinners.

00:47:41.633 --> 00:47:43.666
It\'s a neurotoxic agent,

00:47:43.667 --> 00:47:48.166
and it\'s also linked to adverse
reproductive outcomes.

00:47:48.167 --> 00:47:49.366
Narrator: The second group

00:47:49.367 --> 00:47:52.199
was left in the trunk of a car
for one week.

00:47:52.200 --> 00:47:54.632
- Dr. Michael Summer tested
some water samples

00:47:54.633 --> 00:47:56.366
from five different bottles

00:47:56.367 --> 00:47:59.999
and identified styrene
in one of the samples.

00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:04.566
Styrene is
a cancer-causing agent

00:48:04.567 --> 00:48:09.732
and can cause adverse
reproductive effects.

00:48:09.733 --> 00:48:13.332
Dr. Summer also found three
different types of phthalates.

00:48:13.333 --> 00:48:16.032
Phthalates
can cause dysfunction,

00:48:16.033 --> 00:48:18.099
particularly in the fetus,

00:48:18.100 --> 00:48:21.432
and can cause adverse
reproductive outcomes

00:48:21.433 --> 00:48:23.933
for males and females.

00:48:29.467 --> 00:48:32.632
- It really concerns me
when I see mothers

00:48:32.633 --> 00:48:35.066
blindly trusting bottled water

00:48:35.067 --> 00:48:37.866
and handing their children
bottles of water,

00:48:37.867 --> 00:48:39.899
putting their complete trust
in a product

00:48:39.900 --> 00:48:41.366
without so much as questioning,

00:48:41.367 --> 00:48:43.066
\"What am I giving my child?\"

00:48:43.067 --> 00:48:45.866
Yet we\'re putting so much faith
in this industry

00:48:45.867 --> 00:48:47.699
that\'s completely self-regulated

00:48:47.700 --> 00:48:50.866
and that hasn\'t
been held accountable by anyone.

00:48:50.867 --> 00:48:54.966
It\'s frightening.

00:48:54.967 --> 00:48:56.832
Narrator: While single-serve
bottles of water

00:48:56.833 --> 00:48:59.466
are made of P.E.T,

00:48:59.467 --> 00:49:02.566
five-gallon water jugs are made
of polycarbonate plastic,

00:49:02.567 --> 00:49:06.232
the primary ingredient being
the controversial bisphenol A.

00:49:06.233 --> 00:49:10.699
- Bisphenol A is
the building-block molecule

00:49:10.700 --> 00:49:15.432
that plastic that is hard
and clear is made out of.

00:49:15.433 --> 00:49:17.766
- And from this
polycarbonate plastic,

00:49:17.767 --> 00:49:21.232
bisphenol A leaches,
gets into the water.

00:49:21.233 --> 00:49:23.099
- Bisphenol A may be one

00:49:23.100 --> 00:49:27.733
of the most potent
toxic chemicals known to man.

00:49:30.933 --> 00:49:32.932
Narrator: BPA is found
in many products,

00:49:32.933 --> 00:49:37.100
including sports bottles,
baby bottles, and water coolers.

00:49:42.033 --> 00:49:43.399
- The problem is,

00:49:43.400 --> 00:49:47.432
bisphenol A acts at
very low doses as an estrogen.

00:49:47.433 --> 00:49:49.399
Narrator: The recent controversy
over BPA

00:49:49.400 --> 00:49:51.532
started when members
of the scientific community

00:49:51.533 --> 00:49:55.166
questioned the methodology
of earlier studies.

00:49:55.167 --> 00:49:57.432
- All regulatory agencies
around the world

00:49:57.433 --> 00:50:01.599
are based on a concept
from the 16th century.

00:50:01.600 --> 00:50:03.899
That is, the dose makes
the poison.

00:50:03.900 --> 00:50:05.366
More is worse.

00:50:05.367 --> 00:50:09.866
That is not true
for any hormone.

00:50:09.867 --> 00:50:13.899
We tested
a dose 25,000 times lower

00:50:13.900 --> 00:50:17.499
than what anybody
had ever tested,

00:50:17.500 --> 00:50:22.299
and we found that it profoundly
damaged every single part

00:50:22.300 --> 00:50:26.467
of the male-developing-mouse
reproductive system.

00:50:36.167 --> 00:50:37.766
Narrator: After a decade
of research

00:50:37.767 --> 00:50:39.632
on low-dose exposure to BPA,

00:50:39.633 --> 00:50:41.399
Dr. Frederick vom Saal\'s
findings

00:50:41.400 --> 00:50:43.032
captured the media\'s attention.

00:50:43.033 --> 00:50:46.399
His work, corroborated by other
independent scientists,

00:50:46.400 --> 00:50:49.099
led the senate
to investigate the FDA.

00:50:49.100 --> 00:50:51.366
- The media has reported
that the federal government\'s

00:50:51.367 --> 00:50:53.166
reluctance to regulate
these chemicals

00:50:53.167 --> 00:50:55.532
is based on the reliance
of biased studies

00:50:55.533 --> 00:50:57.799
from the chemical industry
itself.

00:50:57.800 --> 00:50:59.966
Now, I have to tell you,
if that\'s true,

00:50:59.967 --> 00:51:03.332
doesn\'t that cast amazing doubt
on the ability

00:51:03.333 --> 00:51:06.500
of the regulatory system
to actually protect the public?

00:51:09.367 --> 00:51:15.299
- Senator, at FDA, all of
our products that we approve

00:51:15.300 --> 00:51:19.932
are based on data
that are prepared and conducted

00:51:19.933 --> 00:51:23.399
in studies by that
particular manufacturer.

00:51:23.400 --> 00:51:24.999
- All you do is just rely

00:51:25.000 --> 00:51:29.932
on a study that comes
from the industry itself?

00:51:29.933 --> 00:51:30.933
It\'s a disgrace.

00:51:36.733 --> 00:51:39.099
- They didn\'t get it right
with Vioxx.

00:51:39.100 --> 00:51:41.632
They\'re not getting it right
with bisphenol A.

00:51:41.633 --> 00:51:45.566
And there\'s gonna be hell to pay
over this.

00:51:45.567 --> 00:51:47.966
- Senator, we have looked
at all the studies

00:51:47.967 --> 00:51:50.032
in the literature,
and there are hundreds.

00:51:50.033 --> 00:51:51.366
- The Food and Drug
Administration

00:51:51.367 --> 00:51:52.666
did not look
at all the evidence.

00:51:52.667 --> 00:51:53.699
They looked at two studies

00:51:53.700 --> 00:51:55.432
produced
by the chemical industry

00:51:55.433 --> 00:51:56.999
and made their decision
on that basis.

00:51:57.000 --> 00:52:01.500
- Have you asked for studies
from independent sources?

00:52:04.100 --> 00:52:06.699
- We don\'t normally ask
for independent studies.

00:52:06.700 --> 00:52:09.099
- Then you don\'t protect
the American people.

00:52:09.100 --> 00:52:11.232
- The National Institutes
of Health reviewed

00:52:11.233 --> 00:52:15.799
seven hundred
peer-reviewed published studies

00:52:15.800 --> 00:52:17.199
on bisphenol A.

00:52:17.200 --> 00:52:21.399
Thirty eight internationally
recognized scientists said,

00:52:21.400 --> 00:52:23.532
\"We are extremely concerned

00:52:23.533 --> 00:52:26.799
about the impact
of this on human health.\"

00:52:26.800 --> 00:52:29.332
- It happens over and over again
that regulatory agencies

00:52:29.333 --> 00:52:31.466
are captured by the industries
they regulate.

00:52:31.467 --> 00:52:33.599
And, certainly, the Food
and Drug Administration,

00:52:33.600 --> 00:52:35.266
and especially the food branch,

00:52:35.267 --> 00:52:37.466
is one that has really been
in the food industry

00:52:37.467 --> 00:52:41.199
and the packaging industry\'s
pocket for many years.

00:52:41.200 --> 00:52:43.632
- We\'ve got to start
to do what we\'re supposed to do,

00:52:43.633 --> 00:52:47.199
not what the industry
always asks us to do.

00:52:47.200 --> 00:52:50.799
Do you have any response?

00:52:50.800 --> 00:52:53.932
None.

00:52:53.933 --> 00:52:56.433
Think everything\'s okay?

00:52:59.100 --> 00:53:03.399
- There is virtually
no major human health trend

00:53:03.400 --> 00:53:06.666
over the past 30 years
that has an increase...

00:53:06.667 --> 00:53:09.032
Such as childhood diabetes...

00:53:09.033 --> 00:53:11.999
That is not related to exposure
to this chemical.

00:53:12.000 --> 00:53:15.899
We find it relating to obesity,
breast cancer,

00:53:15.900 --> 00:53:21.566
to prostate cancer, diabetes,
brain disorders...

00:53:21.567 --> 00:53:24.899
Such as attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder...

00:53:24.900 --> 00:53:28.866
Liver disease, ovarian disease,

00:53:28.867 --> 00:53:33.067
disease of the uterus,
low sperm count in men.

00:53:36.100 --> 00:53:40.566
We\'re talking about
a $7-billion-a-year industry.

00:53:40.567 --> 00:53:46.666
They will spend any amount
of that $7 billion necessary

00:53:46.667 --> 00:53:50.266
in advertising
to the American public,

00:53:50.267 --> 00:53:55.100
trying to convince them this
chemical is completely safe.

00:53:57.133 --> 00:53:59.732
- The scientists who work
for product-defense companies

00:53:59.733 --> 00:54:01.266
will never produce a study,

00:54:01.267 --> 00:54:02.866
or certainly
will never publish a study,

00:54:02.867 --> 00:54:05.466
that finds a result
that the sponsors don\'t like,

00:54:05.467 --> 00:54:07.632
because their job,
their whole economic model,

00:54:07.633 --> 00:54:10.099
is based on working
for the companies

00:54:10.100 --> 00:54:12.767
to protect their products.

00:54:17.067 --> 00:54:18.599
- Walmart has taken
the initiative

00:54:18.600 --> 00:54:21.032
to remove this type of packaging
from their shelves.

00:54:21.033 --> 00:54:23.432
They\'ve been called
more stringent than the FDA.

00:54:23.433 --> 00:54:24.832
How do you respond to that?

00:54:24.833 --> 00:54:27.399
- I appreciate that you want
information about BPA,

00:54:27.400 --> 00:54:29.066
and I\'m sure FDA
would be happy to respond,

00:54:29.067 --> 00:54:30.699
but I\'m not
the appropriate person

00:54:30.700 --> 00:54:32.366
to answer those questions.

00:54:32.367 --> 00:54:34.232
- My concern is that the FDA
doesn\'t want us

00:54:34.233 --> 00:54:36.399
to ask about BPA because
of the current investigation.

00:54:36.400 --> 00:54:38.166
- That\'s not true.
- Can you talk about it now?

00:54:38.167 --> 00:54:39.366
- No.

00:54:39.367 --> 00:54:41.232
If I had known
you were gonna talk about that,

00:54:41.233 --> 00:54:43.266
I probably wouldn\'t
have given you the interview.

00:54:43.267 --> 00:54:47.966
- Bisphenol A is so frightening
to the regulatory community

00:54:47.967 --> 00:54:52.299
because of the magnitude
of the error they made.

00:54:52.300 --> 00:54:56.232
And bisphenol A
is the poster-child chemical

00:54:56.233 --> 00:55:02.666
that is going to dismantle
the entire regulatory process

00:55:02.667 --> 00:55:08.000
and demand a reanalysis
of all chemicals.

00:55:18.700 --> 00:55:20.966
Narrator: Of the 80 million
single-serve bottles of water

00:55:20.967 --> 00:55:22.766
Americans consume daily,

00:55:22.767 --> 00:55:26.199
thirty million of them
end up in landfills.

00:55:26.200 --> 00:55:30.232
The average world-recycling rate
on beverage containers is 50%.

00:55:30.233 --> 00:55:33.032
The United States falls behind
that world average,

00:55:33.033 --> 00:55:35.299
with a rate of around only 20%

00:55:35.300 --> 00:55:38.399
of all beverage containers
actually getting recycled.

00:55:38.400 --> 00:55:43.032
This number has been on a steady
decline year after year.

00:55:43.033 --> 00:55:45.132
- It\'s important, I think,
to make it known

00:55:45.133 --> 00:55:49.299
that 100% of bottled-water
containers are recyclable.

00:55:49.300 --> 00:55:52.099
- Well, they are recyclable,
but they\'re not being recycled.

00:55:52.100 --> 00:55:54.600
- Not all of them.

00:55:57.433 --> 00:56:00.499
- It\'s just because there isn\'t
enough recycling capacity.

00:56:00.500 --> 00:56:04.499
There\'s not enough collection.

00:56:04.500 --> 00:56:08.166
The charge to provide safe
drinking water

00:56:08.167 --> 00:56:09.732
in the whole country

00:56:09.733 --> 00:56:11.566
really comes down
to municipal officials.

00:56:11.567 --> 00:56:14.866
And they spend an awful lot of
money to provide a safe product,

00:56:14.867 --> 00:56:18.966
and they\'re competing then
with the bottled-water company

00:56:18.967 --> 00:56:21.566
and in some cases feeling
a little bit under attack

00:56:21.567 --> 00:56:22.932
by the bottled-water folks.

00:56:22.933 --> 00:56:24.899
And then at the back end after,
you know,

00:56:24.900 --> 00:56:27.532
they go through this sort
of insulting

00:56:27.533 --> 00:56:29.932
\"our water isn\'t as good
as your water\" kind of thing,

00:56:29.933 --> 00:56:32.032
then the municipalities
are meant to pick up the tab

00:56:32.033 --> 00:56:34.466
by providing all the recycling
for the plastic bottles.

00:56:34.467 --> 00:56:36.366
- Well, why not put some
of the recycling costs

00:56:36.367 --> 00:56:38.132
onto the bottled-water industry
then?

00:56:38.133 --> 00:56:41.066
- What a good idea!

00:56:41.067 --> 00:56:43.432
That\'s exactly what
container-deposit legislation,

00:56:43.433 --> 00:56:45.300
or container-deposit systems do.

00:56:52.700 --> 00:56:56.032
Narrator: Only 11 states offer
container-deposit legislation,

00:56:56.033 --> 00:56:58.232
also known as \"bottle bills.\"

00:56:58.233 --> 00:57:00.066
That\'s when consumers
pay a small deposit

00:57:00.067 --> 00:57:01.432
on the bottles they purchase

00:57:01.433 --> 00:57:02.699
and get that deposit back

00:57:02.700 --> 00:57:04.832
when they return it
for recycling.

00:57:04.833 --> 00:57:09.866
- That funding is what funds
the entire recycling program.

00:57:09.867 --> 00:57:12.566
It\'s completely in the hands
of private industry.

00:57:12.567 --> 00:57:16.766
So not only is it not reliant
on taxpayer funding,

00:57:16.767 --> 00:57:19.066
but they\'re not worrying
about the volatility

00:57:19.067 --> 00:57:24.599
of government funding
to pay for the program.

00:57:24.600 --> 00:57:26.199
In states that have
a 5-cent deposit,

00:57:26.200 --> 00:57:28.766
they get about
a 70% return rate.

00:57:28.767 --> 00:57:30.899
In Michigan, where they have
a 10-cent deposit,

00:57:30.900 --> 00:57:33.733
they get a 97% return rate.

00:57:36.533 --> 00:57:38.599
It really is a proven system.

00:57:38.600 --> 00:57:40.199
It\'s been in place
in most of these states

00:57:40.200 --> 00:57:42.766
for 25 or more years.

00:57:42.767 --> 00:57:44.266
And we know it works well.

00:57:44.267 --> 00:57:45.466
A lot of states don\'t have

00:57:45.467 --> 00:57:47.299
bottled water covered
in their systems

00:57:47.300 --> 00:57:49.432
because bottled water
didn\'t exist 25 years ago

00:57:49.433 --> 00:57:51.399
when they passed their bills.

00:57:51.400 --> 00:57:53.499
Narrator: Of the 11 states
that have bottle bills,

00:57:53.500 --> 00:57:59.866
only six of them have expanded
to include bottled water.

00:57:59.867 --> 00:58:01.966
- Most of the states
that have bottle bills,

00:58:01.967 --> 00:58:04.366
they only cover soft drinks
and beer.

00:58:04.367 --> 00:58:06.966
And so, when bottle bills...
When it comes up to expand them,

00:58:06.967 --> 00:58:08.399
they send their lobbyists in.

00:58:08.400 --> 00:58:10.532
They spend millions of dollars
fighting those bills.

00:58:10.533 --> 00:58:12.399
- Because we think
it\'s an unnecessary tax

00:58:12.400 --> 00:58:13.966
on the American consumers.

00:58:13.967 --> 00:58:15.799
What we\'d like to see
is actually more street,

00:58:15.800 --> 00:58:17.666
curbside pickup.

00:58:17.667 --> 00:58:20.799
- Curbside recycling
is the preferred method

00:58:20.800 --> 00:58:22.266
and can be very effective.

00:58:22.267 --> 00:58:24.099
And we\'re trying to do
everything we can

00:58:24.100 --> 00:58:26.632
to encourage consumers
to recycle.

00:58:26.633 --> 00:58:28.899
- The companies say that they
support curbside recycling.

00:58:28.900 --> 00:58:30.166
They think this is the best way

00:58:30.167 --> 00:58:32.599
to get the bottles
back into recycling systems.

00:58:32.600 --> 00:58:35.266
They are really resistant
to deposit programs.

00:58:35.267 --> 00:58:36.832
They don\'t like the idea of this

00:58:36.833 --> 00:58:38.632
because it\'s bottlers
that fund this.

00:58:38.633 --> 00:58:40.732
They end up paying a penny
or two per bottle

00:58:40.733 --> 00:58:43.599
after all their costs
are figured in

00:58:43.600 --> 00:58:46.632
and the money they make
by recycling the plastic.

00:58:46.633 --> 00:58:47.799
- They\'re costly.

00:58:47.800 --> 00:58:49.232
The retailers don\'t like them.

00:58:49.233 --> 00:58:51.099
We think
that we can be more effective

00:58:51.100 --> 00:58:52.900
if we use curbside recycling.

00:58:55.300 --> 00:58:56.599
- What happens is,

00:58:56.600 --> 00:58:58.532
people don\'t have access
to curbside recycling.

00:58:58.533 --> 00:58:59.966
- How many people
don\'t have access?

00:58:59.967 --> 00:59:01.399
- About half.

00:59:01.400 --> 00:59:03.732
- 50% of Americans can\'t
recycle, even if they want?

00:59:03.733 --> 00:59:07.199
- Don\'t have curbside recycling.
That\'s right.

00:59:07.200 --> 00:59:08.732
And, of course,
with bottled water...

00:59:08.733 --> 00:59:11.032
This is one of those products
that is consumed on the go,

00:59:11.033 --> 00:59:13.799
so people don\'t bother to
bring it all the way home again

00:59:13.800 --> 00:59:15.699
and put it
in their recycling bin.

00:59:15.700 --> 00:59:18.600
It\'s just not convenient enough
for them.

00:59:21.100 --> 00:59:24.932
- If 1/3 of their products
are not being consumed at home,

00:59:24.933 --> 00:59:26.466
then that means that\'s 1/3

00:59:26.467 --> 00:59:29.299
that has no chance of making it
to the recycling bin.

00:59:29.300 --> 00:59:32.566
And that\'s 56 billion
containers.

00:59:32.567 --> 00:59:34.400
That\'s an awful lot
to just give up.

00:59:38.200 --> 00:59:40.832
The plastic bottle usually
ends up in the landfill,

00:59:40.833 --> 00:59:43.432
but some gets incinerated.

00:59:43.433 --> 00:59:46.267
A lot of it ends up
in the Pacific Ocean.

00:59:56.333 --> 00:59:57.966
- It\'s a bother to people.

00:59:57.967 --> 00:59:59.432
They\'re not taking the time.

00:59:59.433 --> 01:00:01.099
They don\'t have the space
to keep it around

01:00:01.100 --> 01:00:03.266
until they can get it
to a recycling center

01:00:03.267 --> 01:00:04.499
or to the landfill.

01:00:04.500 --> 01:00:06.966
When it rains,
all that plastic is mobilized,

01:00:06.967 --> 01:00:10.466
goes down the streams into
the rivers and down to the sea.

01:00:10.467 --> 01:00:13.300
That\'s why we\'re seeing so much
of it in the environment.

01:01:09.067 --> 01:01:11.366
We\'ve been driving
for about three hours,

01:01:11.367 --> 01:01:13.099
trying to get to Kamilo Beach,

01:01:13.100 --> 01:01:16.132
which is really the southernmost
beach in the United States.

01:01:16.133 --> 01:01:20.132
And it\'s where \"away\" is.

01:01:20.133 --> 01:01:22.399
When you throw something away,

01:01:22.400 --> 01:01:24.632
it might be out of sight,
out of mind to you,

01:01:24.633 --> 01:01:28.632
but this is where it ends up.

01:01:28.633 --> 01:01:31.632
Of the 80 million bottles
of water we drink

01:01:31.633 --> 01:01:33.099
in the United States every day,

01:01:33.100 --> 01:01:35.066
many of them make their way
to the sea,

01:01:35.067 --> 01:01:37.532
where they\'re carried
by ocean currents

01:01:37.533 --> 01:01:41.367
and end up deposited
on some distant shore.

01:01:47.133 --> 01:01:50.566
This is the constituents
of sand now.

01:01:50.567 --> 01:01:54.399
Instead of being coral
and shells and rock,

01:01:54.400 --> 01:01:56.599
it\'s plastic.

01:01:56.600 --> 01:01:58.532
This is the beach of the future.

01:01:58.533 --> 01:02:00.499
This is what we are going
to recreate in

01:02:00.500 --> 01:02:04.167
if we continue to pollute
the environment with plastic.

01:02:08.933 --> 01:02:12.766
Future geologists,
when they take core samples

01:02:12.767 --> 01:02:16.332
and they come to the 20th
and 21st century,

01:02:16.333 --> 01:02:19.299
they\'re going to be finding
a layer of plastic.

01:02:19.300 --> 01:02:20.766
And in areas like Kamilo Beach,

01:02:20.767 --> 01:02:25.433
it will be the deepest
of anywhere on Earth.

01:02:28.500 --> 01:02:33.932
If you eliminate the scourge
of bottled water,

01:02:33.933 --> 01:02:35.399
you\'ll be eliminating

01:02:35.400 --> 01:02:39.067
one of the biggest problems
facing our environment.

01:02:43.800 --> 01:02:48.199
[The Shins\' New Slang plays]

01:02:48.200 --> 01:02:51.432
I was a chemistry major
at U.C. San Diego

01:02:51.433 --> 01:02:53.932
and seeing the way our ocean
was deteriorating

01:02:53.933 --> 01:02:55.166
and before my eyes.

01:02:55.167 --> 01:02:58.199
Living right next
to the bay where I grew up,

01:02:58.200 --> 01:03:01.399
I noticed that the water
was not the quality

01:03:01.400 --> 01:03:02.899
that it was when I was a kid.

01:03:02.900 --> 01:03:04.566
And I wanted to find out
more about it,

01:03:04.567 --> 01:03:08.599
so I started getting involved
in the study of water quality.

01:03:08.600 --> 01:03:12.099
And I got my captain\'s license

01:03:12.100 --> 01:03:16.266
and became a skipper of an
oceanographic research vessel.

01:03:16.267 --> 01:03:18.199
And since 1995,

01:03:18.200 --> 01:03:20.366
we\'ve been conducting
oceanographic research

01:03:20.367 --> 01:03:25.299
all the way from Australia
to Central California.

01:03:25.300 --> 01:03:27.666
So we\'ve been focused
most recently

01:03:27.667 --> 01:03:29.799
in studying
the North Pacific Gyre

01:03:29.800 --> 01:03:32.299
and the accumulation
of plastic debris there.

01:03:32.300 --> 01:03:33.666
Net, small net.

01:03:33.667 --> 01:03:35.632
Where\'s the black net?

01:03:35.633 --> 01:03:37.933
I need the black net.

01:03:42.700 --> 01:03:44.199
In the central Pacific,

01:03:44.200 --> 01:03:48.099
we\'ve discovered an area called
the Eastern Garbage Patch,

01:03:48.100 --> 01:03:49.599
which is twice the size of Texas

01:03:49.600 --> 01:03:55.099
and has as its constituents
a huge soup of plastic.

01:03:55.100 --> 01:03:57.099
All our trash
has been accumulated

01:03:57.100 --> 01:04:00.899
from Asia and the West Coast
of North America.

01:04:00.900 --> 01:04:04.966
Get that orange thing
right there by you.

01:04:04.967 --> 01:04:07.999
These phenomena
that we\'re seeing here

01:04:08.000 --> 01:04:09.932
are repeated in the North
and South Atlantic,

01:04:09.933 --> 01:04:11.666
South Pacific,
and in the Indian Ocean.

01:04:11.667 --> 01:04:14.966
And we\'re just now getting
a handle

01:04:14.967 --> 01:04:16.967
on how much is out there.

01:04:27.733 --> 01:04:30.099
Well, what we do is,
we go out to this gyre,

01:04:30.100 --> 01:04:31.499
and we trawl a net.

01:04:31.500 --> 01:04:34.866
It just so happens
that when we pull in that net,

01:04:34.867 --> 01:04:37.599
more than finding the plankton
in the ocean,

01:04:37.600 --> 01:04:39.599
we\'re finding plastic.

01:04:39.600 --> 01:04:42.932
And so, what we see here
in this jar

01:04:42.933 --> 01:04:47.499
is a one-mile trawl
out in the middle of the ocean,

01:04:47.500 --> 01:04:50.166
as far from land as you can get
anywhere on Earth.

01:04:50.167 --> 01:04:54.432
And instead of it being clear
ocean water with ocean animals,

01:04:54.433 --> 01:04:59.600
it\'s a plastic soup
with more plastic than plankton.

01:05:06.433 --> 01:05:08.999
In 1999, we did a survey

01:05:09.000 --> 01:05:11.732
and found six times
as much plastic as plankton.

01:05:11.733 --> 01:05:15.166
In 2008, we went back
and did the exact same survey

01:05:15.167 --> 01:05:19.167
and found 46 times
as much plastic as plankton.

01:05:26.500 --> 01:05:28.599
Our trash is filling up
the ocean,

01:05:28.600 --> 01:05:30.566
turning it into a plastic soup,

01:05:30.567 --> 01:05:33.766
and those plastic particles
are poison pills

01:05:33.767 --> 01:05:36.266
for the millions and millions
of fish

01:05:36.267 --> 01:05:39.067
and invertebrates
that are eating them.

01:05:42.333 --> 01:05:44.599
- So you\'re actually finding
the remains of water bottles

01:05:44.600 --> 01:05:45.732
in these animals.

01:05:45.733 --> 01:05:46.932
- Oh, absolutely.

01:05:46.933 --> 01:05:48.732
They\'re going
into the most common fish

01:05:48.733 --> 01:05:51.632
we have out in the ocean,
the lantern fish.

01:05:51.633 --> 01:05:53.632
They\'re consuming
these plastic fragments

01:05:53.633 --> 01:05:55.967
that are these smaller sizes.

01:05:59.467 --> 01:06:01.032
We don\'t know how much plastic

01:06:01.033 --> 01:06:02.632
it\'s gonna take
to kill these fish,

01:06:02.633 --> 01:06:04.332
but I can tell you so far

01:06:04.333 --> 01:06:07.232
the most we\'ve found
has been 26 pieces in one fish.

01:06:07.233 --> 01:06:10.599
What you have is
a gradual decline of the health

01:06:10.600 --> 01:06:13.966
of both us
and the marine species.

01:06:13.967 --> 01:06:15.632
[Radiohead\'s
Fake Plastic Trees plays]

01:06:15.633 --> 01:06:21.832
- [singing] Her green plastic
watering can

01:06:21.833 --> 01:06:27.732
for her fake Chinese
rubber plant

01:06:27.733 --> 01:06:32.632
and the fake plastic Earth.

01:06:32.633 --> 01:06:36.899
- Bottled water may have
a place in disaster relief,

01:06:36.900 --> 01:06:39.399
but there are issues
around bottled water

01:06:39.400 --> 01:06:43.232
that make it unsuitable
for regular use.

01:06:43.233 --> 01:06:45.466
And those issues need
to be emphasized

01:06:45.467 --> 01:06:47.499
because bottled water\'s becoming

01:06:47.500 --> 01:06:51.500
a big contaminant
of our environment.

01:06:54.333 --> 01:06:56.799
All these contaminants
have resulted

01:06:56.800 --> 01:07:00.800
in an ocean
which is compromised.

01:07:03.000 --> 01:07:04.566
This is an immediate threat now.

01:07:04.567 --> 01:07:07.067
This is threatening
the entire marine food web.

01:07:15.533 --> 01:07:17.366
- I do believe
that meaningful change

01:07:17.367 --> 01:07:19.099
occurs from the bottom up.

01:07:19.100 --> 01:07:22.566
So if you get enough people
upset and angry

01:07:22.567 --> 01:07:24.066
and willing
to do something about it,

01:07:24.067 --> 01:07:25.632
I do think you can make
a change.

01:07:25.633 --> 01:07:29.232
- There is no law in any books,
even Homeland Security...

01:07:29.233 --> 01:07:32.766
I\'m just very stubborn,
I\'m very persistent,

01:07:32.767 --> 01:07:35.866
and I think that those qualities
have kept me going

01:07:35.867 --> 01:07:38.899
even in the face of all
these intimidation tactics.

01:07:38.900 --> 01:07:41.632
- [singing] When you feel life
ain\'t worth living,

01:07:41.633 --> 01:07:44.999
you\'ve got to stand up
and take a look around you,

01:07:45.000 --> 01:07:47.432
then look up way
to the sky-hi-hi, yeah.

01:07:47.433 --> 01:07:48.932
- But it doesn\'t
really scare me.

01:07:48.933 --> 01:07:50.232
It just makes me angry.

01:07:50.233 --> 01:07:52.566
And it\'s like, \"Hell no,
I\'m not stopping.

01:07:52.567 --> 01:07:55.032
I\'m just angrier, and I\'m gonna
fight even harder.\"

01:07:55.033 --> 01:07:56.432
- [singing]
Keep on dreaming, boy,

01:07:56.433 --> 01:07:57.632
\'cause when you stop dreaming,

01:07:57.633 --> 01:08:02.566
it\'s time to die-ie-ie.

01:08:02.567 --> 01:08:05.532
- So Dow Chemical asked us,

01:08:05.533 --> 01:08:08.199
\"Can we arrive
at a mutually beneficial outcome

01:08:08.200 --> 01:08:11.066
\"where you delay publishing
this paper

01:08:11.067 --> 01:08:15.900
until approved for publication
by the chemical industry?\"

01:08:17.200 --> 01:08:20.299
And we took that
as an attempted bribe.

01:08:20.300 --> 01:08:22.966
When we told him,
in no uncertain terms,

01:08:22.967 --> 01:08:24.832
what he could do with his offer,

01:08:24.833 --> 01:08:27.199
he switched tactics
and started saying,

01:08:27.200 --> 01:08:29.799
\"We want you to know
how disturbed

01:08:29.800 --> 01:08:33.299
the chemical industry is
by the work you\'re doing,\"

01:08:33.300 --> 01:08:36.032
and it made us mad.

01:08:36.033 --> 01:08:38.499
And that was a mistake.

01:08:38.500 --> 01:08:43.266
[The Flaming Lips\'
The W.A.N.D. plays]

01:08:43.267 --> 01:08:47.866
- I had probably pissed off the
people at the top of my agency.

01:08:47.867 --> 01:08:51.732
[laughing] They were very
unhappy about what I had done.

01:08:51.733 --> 01:08:53.432
But, you know, I was trying
to use the law

01:08:53.433 --> 01:08:54.899
to protect public health,

01:08:54.900 --> 01:08:56.832
which is the way the agency
is supposed to work,

01:08:56.833 --> 01:08:59.032
not protect the company,
the polluter.

01:08:59.033 --> 01:09:02.232
I could see that the agency
was just too much manipulated

01:09:02.233 --> 01:09:05.432
by special interest
through the oil industry

01:09:05.433 --> 01:09:07.166
and the petrochemical industry,

01:09:07.167 --> 01:09:09.632
so in 1992, I quietly left.

01:09:09.633 --> 01:09:11.599
- Not so quiet now.

01:09:11.600 --> 01:09:13.332
- [singing] Time after time,

01:09:13.333 --> 01:09:15.566
those fanatical minds

01:09:15.567 --> 01:09:19.966
try to rule all the world.

01:09:19.967 --> 01:09:21.466
- For some reason,

01:09:21.467 --> 01:09:25.066
we\'ve begun to take clean
drinking water for granted.

01:09:25.067 --> 01:09:26.366
And that\'s a mistake.

01:09:26.367 --> 01:09:29.999
- There needs to be a voice
for the environment

01:09:30.000 --> 01:09:33.066
and the long-term interests
of the community

01:09:33.067 --> 01:09:36.466
to protect and enhance
this vital resource.

01:09:36.467 --> 01:09:38.966
- We should be strengthening
our public water system

01:09:38.967 --> 01:09:40.632
and enforcing the laws

01:09:40.633 --> 01:09:43.267
to make sure that our water
is clean.

01:09:46.167 --> 01:09:49.666
- It\'s important in a democracy
that people stand up for things.

01:09:49.667 --> 01:09:53.832
Democracy
is a participatory sport.

01:09:53.833 --> 01:09:56.432
[cheers and applause]

01:09:56.433 --> 01:09:59.699
- By selling our water to this
multinational corporation,

01:09:59.700 --> 01:10:02.032
the district is putting
all of us at risk.

01:10:02.033 --> 01:10:05.832
- There is no such thing
as extra water.

01:10:05.833 --> 01:10:08.432
[cheers and applause]

01:10:08.433 --> 01:10:10.632
- We\'re here today preparing
for a vote

01:10:10.633 --> 01:10:12.432
to ban bottled water

01:10:12.433 --> 01:10:14.532
but not just to ban
the provisional sale of it,

01:10:14.533 --> 01:10:17.966
but we\'re gonna reinvest in
municipal water infrastructure.

01:10:17.967 --> 01:10:21.432
- We need to invest
in our water infrastructure

01:10:21.433 --> 01:10:24.799
and stop the promotion
of bottled water.

01:10:24.800 --> 01:10:27.199
- When we drink bottled water,
we\'re telling our leaders

01:10:27.200 --> 01:10:28.799
that we don\'t care
about the tap water.

01:10:28.800 --> 01:10:30.499
- The hope in the town
of Babylon is,

01:10:30.500 --> 01:10:31.999
the Kick Your Water Bottle
campaign

01:10:32.000 --> 01:10:34.599
will filter from the office
to the community.

01:10:34.600 --> 01:10:37.666
- It is convenient to have a
bottle of water to carry around,

01:10:37.667 --> 01:10:38.966
but why not have
your own bottle?

01:10:38.967 --> 01:10:40.566
- And supporters
of these measures argue

01:10:40.567 --> 01:10:43.866
you\'re better off just filling
a reusable container

01:10:43.867 --> 01:10:46.032
at the water fountain for free.

01:10:46.033 --> 01:10:48.099
- You don\'t have the same huge
environmental downsize

01:10:48.100 --> 01:10:51.899
of billions of bottles
going into the environment.

01:10:51.900 --> 01:10:54.099
- The environment is everything.

01:10:54.100 --> 01:10:58.232
It\'s where we live, work, play,
worship, go to school.

01:10:58.233 --> 01:10:59.966
- [singing] Control yourself.

01:10:59.967 --> 01:11:05.632
Take only what you need from it.

01:11:05.633 --> 01:11:07.566
- The state is talking
about expanding

01:11:07.567 --> 01:11:08.899
the state bottle bill

01:11:08.900 --> 01:11:11.832
to include non-carbonated
bottled beverages.

01:11:11.833 --> 01:11:13.766
- The state\'s Bigger Better
Bottle Bill

01:11:13.767 --> 01:11:15.699
just may soon become law.

01:11:15.700 --> 01:11:17.032
- This is about taking steps

01:11:17.033 --> 01:11:18.866
to protect our state\'s
environmental future.

01:11:18.867 --> 01:11:20.066
It\'s time for the legislature

01:11:20.067 --> 01:11:21.799
to pass the Bigger Better
Bottle Bill.

01:11:21.800 --> 01:11:23.732
- It\'s essential to expand
the bottle bill

01:11:23.733 --> 01:11:26.532
in order to help reduce litter
and to generate

01:11:26.533 --> 01:11:29.899
some much-needed revenue
for New York state.

01:11:29.900 --> 01:11:32.299
- [singing] The water is warm,

01:11:32.300 --> 01:11:36.366
but it\'s sending me shivers.

01:11:36.367 --> 01:11:38.132
[cheers and applause]

01:11:38.133 --> 01:11:39.766
- Is it not one of the most
important issues

01:11:39.767 --> 01:11:42.232
that we\'re facing today?

01:11:42.233 --> 01:11:46.666
- This is really the battle
about the future.

01:11:46.667 --> 01:11:50.699
Baby boomers have got
to stand up and wage this fight.

01:11:50.700 --> 01:11:52.599
And they\'ve got to stand up
and wage this fight

01:11:52.600 --> 01:11:55.632
for their children
and their grandchildren.

01:11:55.633 --> 01:11:58.532
- More and more places
are banning bottled water.

01:11:58.533 --> 01:12:00.366
- A growing number of cities
are banning the use

01:12:00.367 --> 01:12:01.899
of public money
to buy bottled water.

01:12:01.900 --> 01:12:03.599
- Vending machines
in municipal buildings

01:12:03.600 --> 01:12:05.399
no longer offer bottled water.

01:12:05.400 --> 01:12:07.932
- The restaurant now serves
only filtered tap water.

01:12:07.933 --> 01:12:09.432
- Washington University
in St. Louis

01:12:09.433 --> 01:12:12.099
will end almost all sales
by the end of this semester.

01:12:12.100 --> 01:12:13.366
- We\'ve had successes.

01:12:13.367 --> 01:12:16.132
And I think we will continue
to have some successes,

01:12:16.133 --> 01:12:19.599
but it is David
fighting Goliath.

01:12:19.600 --> 01:12:23.032
- We are the children
of revolutionary war soldiers,

01:12:23.033 --> 01:12:27.332
and we are not going
to give this up without a fight.

01:12:27.333 --> 01:12:30.633
We are not giving it up
without a fight.

01:12:32.100 --> 01:12:33.832
- [singing] Control yourself.

01:12:33.833 --> 01:12:39.799
Take only what you need from it.

01:12:39.800 --> 01:12:43.032
A family of trees wantin\'

01:12:43.033 --> 01:12:47.566
to be haunted.

01:12:47.567 --> 01:12:49.532
Control yourself.

01:12:49.533 --> 01:12:55.499
Take only what you need from it.

01:12:55.500 --> 01:12:58.732
A family of trees wantin\'

01:12:58.733 --> 01:13:01.400
to be haunted.

01:14:20.933 --> 01:14:23.032
Control yourself.

01:14:23.033 --> 01:14:28.966
Take only what you need from it.

01:14:28.967 --> 01:14:32.332
A family of trees wantin\'

01:14:32.333 --> 01:14:36.832
to be haunted.

01:14:36.833 --> 01:14:38.566
Control yourself.

01:14:38.567 --> 01:14:44.532
Take only what you need from it.

01:14:44.533 --> 01:14:52.367
A family of trees...