Thinking about water

Just got back from Publix where I picked up some bread, tuna, ground beef and some tasty snacks.

What I didn't buy was water. Not that there wasn't any. My Publix on Miami Beach had it everywhere. It was hard to miss.

Even before you got in the store they had pallets of it stacked right at the front door.

The shelves where you normally find one gallon jugs were empty but someone was re-stocking them.

They had 24-bottle cases stacked at the checkout lanes.

So my question is: why is it when there's a a little wind blowing in the Caribbean do people get an uncontrollable urge to buy water?

I remember years ago going to Publix and watching in amazement as about 10 people stood in line at those "water machines" waiting to fill up empty plastic jugs.

Whatever happened to good old tap water? We all have faucets in our homes.

Save those plastic Arizona ice tea jugs and when the the wind starts blowing off the coast of Haiti, just go nuts and fill 'em up from your tap!

The problem is that we've all been brainwashed into thinking that something's wrong with tap water. People who buy bottled water because they think it's "cleaner" are probably the same people who think they're helping education by playing the lottery. If lottery proceeds really went towards education we wouldn't be reading stories like this. But I digress.

Lee Klein of Miami New Times just happens to have some interesting facts on water in this week's issue of the paper.

One of the main points in Klein's article is that you've already paid for much of the bottled water sitting on the shelf at Publix. A good percentage of it comes from municipal water sources. That's right, it's just tap water that's been run through a carbon filter. Nothing you can't do yourself.

I've plucked a few other highlights from Klein's article for your consideration:

"Water is water," Garrison Keillor once wrote. "If you want lemon flavoring, add a slice of lemon. You want bubbles, stick a straw in it and blow."

Jonathan Eismann, chef/owner of Pacific Time, can't fathom why "people are complaining about gas being $4.50 a gallon. Meanwhile they're paying nine bucks a gallon for water."

Dasani's [marketed by Coca Cola] Florida stock comes from Broward County, which buys its water from the City of Hollywood Water Treatment Plant, which secures its supply from the Biscayne and Floridan aquifers. It has been estimated that the average bulk cost paid for public water is between one and two cents a gallon. At a Publix supermarket in Miami Beach, a 20-ounce single-serve bottle of Dasani costs, with tax, $1.50 — or $10 to $20 a gallon, about 500 to 1,000 times the price.

But if you're heading out to Publix go right ahead and stock up on water, they've got plenty.

Or maybe pass up just one purchase of water this weekend and buy some clean water for some people who really need it.