The water ban recently imposed by London City Council has me stumped. There are several issues that immediately spring to my mind when contemplating this mind-boggling restriction. First of all, who bans water? What kind of totalitarian regime prevents its citizens from access to clean, refreshing H2O? It seems absolutely ridiculous. The “litter” theory doesn’t really fly with me, or it would be all bottled drinks under the ban, not just water. Soda pop and juice also come in plastic bottles, so why do they get to remain on the shelves? This brings me to my second point: What message does this send to today’s youth? “Sure, you can’t buy water –so go ahead and purchase the sugary, syrupy drinks instead”. And this is supposed to help curb the increase in childhood obesity and type-two diabetes? Is the Council in cahoots with the soft drink industry? Who knows? The biggest soft drink maker in the world would LOVE this deal. Furthermore, it seems easy to offer the water fountain solution, but seriously, who wants to drink London tap water? Not only does it taste like a swimming pool, but recent history dictates that the filtration process leaves a lot to be desired in this province. I drink two litres of water a day. I certainly don’t want it to come from the less-than-predictable tap-water system that contains the remnants of other people’s prescription medication, bacteria, and who knows what else? Perhaps London is looking at this the wrong way. If the true rationale for this ban is to limit bottles in landfills, maybe instead of flat-out banning the sale of water, the city could invest its resources on a better recycling program –i.e. more bins in more places. Or, if Council really wants to restrict Londoners’ access to something, perhaps a ban on coffee-shop paper cups that aren’t even recyclable at all!!! How many of THOSE end up in landfills? The city’s elected officials should readjust their collective paradigm. The goal should be to teach and/or continue to encourage
Londoners of this generation –and of those generations to come, to do the right thing. Empower your citizens, London, don’t punish them.
1 comment:
The water ban is typical of this city's knee-jerk response to pretty much every pet cause that comes along. Wanting to seem like anything but the small-town nubes that they are, the latch onto issues like this as a way of proving that they get it, that they're progressive, that they're more than the sum of their parts.
Of course, the train comes off the rails once context comes into play. Oops, you mean they never gave the context of this decision any thought?
Some things never change.
I'm making sure every time I leave the house, I've got a bike bottle filled with ice water firmly stuffed into the special pocket on the outside of my backpack. And if I see anyone from council chambers on my travels, I'll pull the thing out and squirt it for all I'm worth.
Post a Comment