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Bottled Water is Bad
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/ 27- Details
- Parent Category: Lower-Intermediate News Lessons
- Category: Environment Lessons
- Written by Chris Cotter
Sales of bottled water have increased by 400% in the last twenty years. In the US, there was $11.7 billion in bottled water sales in 2007, and this was a record. More people selected water instead of soda, sugary juices, and caffeinated drinks like coffee. However, one liter of bottled water produces almost half a pound of greenhouse gases. The energy used to make and ship bottled water could power 250,000 homes for a year, which is an unnecessary use of resources.
Bottled water can be useful, though. For example, water is a healthy alternative at large events for sports, festivals, and concerts because people need to drink something there. In areas without clean water, bottled water is even more beneficial. However, many people choose bottled water instead of tap water at home, even though both are equally healthy. Tap water costs a lot less too. In addition, there isn't much difference in taste between tap water and bottled water.
Many people recycle the plastic bottles, which helps the environment. But too many plastic bottles are thrown in the garbage, and which then go to the landfill - in the US, 3900 million pounds (1770 million kilograms). All of those empty water bottles don't let people efficiently reduce, reuse, and recycle resources.
Preview some of the lesson material:
Warm Up: Do you agree or disagree? Why?
- Tap water is better than bottled water.
- There is a big difference in taste among the varieties of bottled water.
- I drink at least five bottles of water every day.
- Bottled water is a waste of resources.
- I recycle the plastic from bottled water.
Fragments: Remember how the fragments were used, and complete the sentence from today's article.
- More people selected water instead...
- However, one liter of bottled water produces almost...
- In addition, there isn't much difference in taste between ...
- Many people recycle the plastic bottles, which...
post-Comprehension: Talk about the following questions in pairs/groups. Remember to support your answers!
- Do you drink bottled water? If yes, how much? If no, why don't you drink it?
- Will this article cause you to stop buying bottled water? Why/not?
- What problem causes the greatest damage to the environment? Why?
- Do you agree that it's best to reduce, reuse, and recycle resources? Why/not?
- Were you surprised by how much Americans pollute? Does your country pollute a lot?
Google Search: Type "plastic bottles" into Google. Look at the websites, and/or read additional articles on this topic. Discuss or write an essay about your findings.
