Fr. Rausch is right about people wanting to make responsible choices for the environment.  We have a new bottle, Eco-Shape, that has the least plastic content of any bottle on the market.  Deer Park will have this in the fall.  All our bottles are recyclable.  And, we are taking leadership in revitalizing recycling in America so it's easier for people to do and collect ALL plastic food and beverage packaging, wther its peanut butter, mustard, or water.

Hope this is helfpul info.  Water is a good choice.  Finding solutions to the bottles is a reality.  It's time we took a fresh look at these issues.

Jane Lazgin

Nestle Waters North America

Honestly, though, I don't know what the REAL point of this article is.  I acknowlege that access to clean drinking water is a major global  problem.  However, is THAT what this article is about?  Is he saying there's no place for bottled water in industrialized countries?  Are we allowed to drink water if it's bottled locally?  What's next on the hit list?  I know my childrens' disposable diapers have been out of favor on and off….but washing clothe diapers and drying them uses resources too.  (Are Western people just the source of the ENTIRE world's problem?) Frankly, I'm considering not drinking or eating anything out of plastic because of the PCBs in plastic leaching into the substance. 

I didn't pay attention to who the article's author was until I had finished reading it and thought, "This is weird…" When I saw Father's name, I just thought, "consider the source."  However, people who aren't familiar with his writings and points of view, should be allowed to draw their own conclusions.  So, I was wrong to label him directly.

With all that money saved, I can give money to build wells in Africa.  (There are some cool designs.  For instance, kids play on a merry-go-round contraption which pumps water.  Awesome!)

And let us never forget your first post, goral, Jesus is the living water!  His saving message is inclusive of economics but not defined by it.  Liberation Theology has been condemned.

I've found that refilling bottles works sometimes,but, sharing a refilled water bottle with a 2 year old is, well, disgusting!  Plus, mildew gets in the bottles, etc…

Because we have access to water bottles, we drink a lot more of it….I drink the cheapest available.

When my husband and I traveled in Italy, however, we brought one water bottle each and kept refilling it wherever went.  We didn't get sick because Italy has a clean water supply and we kept hydrated.  (I was pregnant and that was important for health reasons.)

If you read more of Fr Rausch's writing, you will see that he is a socialist (he is published weekly in my diocesan newspaper.)  I haven't read the Popes's comments on World Water Day, but I will.  However, when he states that water is not just another commodity, I don't think he was refering to bottled water.  I would bet that he meant the water supply in general.  Meaning one nation/state or region cannot hog for private profit the means of survival for many.  (Look at CA 'water war' between farmers and residences.  Look at Arizona, etc….and the diversion of water from the Col River to water casinos and golf courses.  China is flooding rivers all over the place and building dams, thus destroying homelands and farmlands.  In Appalachia waterways are destroyed by coal mining polution….the list goes on and on.)  Honesty in journalism must be paramount to one's agenda.