Bottled Water to Disappear at MaLode

Last season, when we made the decision to eliminate the use of bottled water at Mother Lode and use coolers and cups instead, we had our reasons. Now those reasons, and a lot more, were included in this article on bottled water Emily recently wrote for The High Country News. If you are interested in her other posts, check out the "Goat Blog" at HCN.org or look for her articles which appear in the Sunday editon of the San Francisco Chronicle. Scott the RiverDoc

Tell Me Sweet Little Lies...
by Emily Underwood

Bottled water has never made sense. The fact is it has always been an elaborate PR scam, both an invented necessity and a bizarre symbol of luxury. Nevertheless, I buy bottled water sometimes, especially on long car trips. When I do, I often buy "Fiji" water. I don't know why. I just like its square shape, snazzy palm frond label, and the frosty coolness as I pull it out of the service station refrigerator.

I have always known, vaguely, that I am being seduced by the phrase "natural artesian water," and by the company's more shameless greenwashing: "Every drop is green." I know better than to believe such nonsense, but I enjoy forgetting what I know as I listen to the gurgle of gasoline filling up my tank and eat a frozen Snickers bar. Most of us know that feeling.

Every bottled water company has a special spin: Evian has tried for years now to convince us that drinking its bottled water will make us thin and sophisticated, possibly even French. Dasani, by Coca Cola, goes for mystery with its shapely blue bottle and "mouthwatering" mineral formula. Nestle's brand name, Pure Life, shares its name with a prominent Christian group whose mission is to deliver believers from sexual sin.

Something all the bottled water companies have in common these days, however, is aggressive greenwashing. It turns out Fiji runs one of the most surreal and manipulative of the campaigns.
"We are proud to offer a fine artesian water that is good for people and good for the environment," they say. Nonsense. A recent study by the Pacific Institute, Energy Implications of Bottled Water has forever ruined Fiji water for me.

The study, published in the February 2009 peer-reviewed Environmental Research Letters, finds that bottled water takes *up to 2000 times more energy* to produce than drinking water from the tap. The two biggest energy sucks are production of the bottles (it takes the energetic equivalent of 50 million barrels of oil per year to produce the bottles) and transportation of the bottles to their final destination.

"Artesian" means that Fiji water is from an authentic spring-- and the spring is indeed on the island of Fiji. The company has promised to reduce its emissions and packaging, use more renewable energy, and use carbon offsets, as well as protect their source's watershed, the Sovi Basin Rainforest. They have even set the goal of becoming carbon negative...someday.

However, none of those intentions can diminish the fact that Fiji bottled water travels over 5000 miles by air or boat to get to San Francisco. Fiji can't realistically claim to be any more environmentally responsible than companies who transport water a shorter distance. And they don't come close to being as green as municipal water, which skips the carbon-heavy bottles altogether.

To say Fiji water is "good" for the environment is quite a stretch. There is also the question of resource allocation--the island of Fiji is historically vulnerable to catastrophic drought. In past decades Fijian farmers have starved because there wasn't enough water for irrigation, which calls into question the wisdom of shipping Fijian water overseas to be sold as a luxury item. (For a thoughtful discussion of the impact of the bottled water industry on communities in the U.S., see Christina Ammons' 2007 HCN story, "Watershed Moment" about the controversy surrounding Nestle's bottling enterprise in McCloud, California.)

Finally, there is little evidence to support the idea that bottled water is any better for you than tap water. Food and Water Watch in their aggressive anti-bottled water and anti-water privatization campaign, point out that quality testing standards are far less stringent for bottled water than for municipal supplies. For example, whereas municipal water must be tested for fecal coliform bacteria 100 times per month, a little over 3 times a day, bottled water plants only have to check once a week. A study by the Natural Resources Defense Council found more than the allowed amount of bacteria in more than one fifth of 103 tested brands. And bottled water, unlike constantly moving municipal water, is stagnant, and therefore more conducive to bacterial replication.

I'm not one to get paranoid about bacteria in bottled water, although the leaching phthalates, which are also unregulated, are a bit creepy. But considering the environmental costs of producing bottled water, the fact that there is no proven health benefit to drinking it makes it even crazier to choose bottled water over tap.

Americans spent $11 billion on bottled water in 2006, and drank over 33 billion liters in 2007, which works out to about 30 gallons per person. The rising rate of consumption speaks to the success of bottled water company PR campaigns.

More seriously, however, it reflects Americans' fundamental distrust of public water systems. Concerns about deteriorating public water infrastructure, and trace contaminants that the EPA doesn't regulate are harder to dispel than misleading advertisements. $6 billion of the stimulus package was set aside for local clean and drinking water infrastructure improvements, which have been neglected for far too long. But it will take more than infrastructure improvements to regain America's trust in the tap.

For one thing, we need better risk assessment. Reverse osmosis, which forces water through a selectively-permeable membrane, is theoretically the best technology for purification, and companies like Aquafina and Dasani use it in their plants. However, it is also the most energy-intensive form of purification, and is no real guarantee of quality since the membranes themselves are susceptible to bacterial colonization.

In the long run, we can't afford the bottled water solution socially, environmentally, or economically. We need better information about how much purification is actually necessary for health, and then we need to find ways to make that technology efficient and affordable to use in our public systems. Otherwise, we will be increasingly forced to drink water that isn't significantly safer, but still costs us more than gasoline. And those of us who can't afford bottled water will be stuck with a broken system-- a situation reminiscent of Marie Antoinette's disastrous pronouncement, "Let them eat cake." Except this time it will be, "Let them drink Perrier."

Cheers from Colorado,
Emily

Solar Gardening on the American River

One of several new projects you'll see when you come whitewater rafting at Malode this year is our solar heated planting bed. By heating the root zones of the plants we hope to significantly enhance our production and, with the help of our greenhouse, lengthen our growing season.

The mechanics of it are pretty simple: the sun heats water passively in our black reservoir storage tank. The hot water is circulated by a small solar powered pumped through the grid of pvc pipe that is buried below the growing bed and sandwiched between 6 inches of loose granite and pea gravel. The rock bed radiates the heat into the soil above, heating the roots of the plants.

Using the rock is important because it distributes the heat evenly from the pvc; without it the soil is such a heat sink that we'd have cold spots. Also, it's important to use rocks that conduct heat well. Dense rock like the quartz in the pea gravel, along with the granite stones we used from digging out the area for the storage tank, are both good conductors.

By using a battery to store power generated during the day, we'll also be able to heat the bed at night when the soil potentially cools down to temperatures that inhibit plant growth.

Greatly of interest to us is the quantifiable increase of production that this project will attain. The non-heated beds in the garden will serve as a control for our experiment. One thing is for sure though: our planting place is nearly doubled with the addition of this 200 square foot bed, which means we'll have lots more vegetable to savor in our meals this season on our rafting trips, ropes courses and outdoor education programs.

Lowering Our Carbon Emissions!

Jan 2009 Greenhouse Action Plan Progress Report.
In 2008, the GAP helped bring about many changes around camp here on the American River, and we are happy to report a significant reduction in total carbon emissions per guest (people who stayed but did not participate in our whitewater rafting, ropes course or other outdoor education programs were not counted). In 2007, we measured the three major causes of our carbon emissions--gas and diesel, electricity, and propane consumption--at 44.8 tons for 5713 people, or 15.68 lbs per person. In 2008, we reduced that total to 32.1 tons for 5869 people, or 10.94 lbs per person, which is over 30% less emissions, surpassing our first stated goal of a 20% reduction by 2012.

How we did it: The overall reduction in emissions was accomplished in a variety of ways. In our first article introducing the GAP, we presented a mitigation strategy addressing specific ways we could reduce our carbon impact. Here, we’ll look at that list again and check out which of those strategies we adopted, and those we did not.

Electrical Use:
*Adjusted electrical thermostats in office (2007.)
*Turned off lights and appliances more conscientiously when not in use (2007).
*Changed procedures to reduce use (2008--work in small room in the office in winter, so it’s easier to heat.)
*Replaced as many lights as possible with compact fluorescent bulbs (2008)
*Replaced appliances with energy efficient ones. (2008—bought new Energy Star rated refrigerator for house, high efficiency space heater in office)
*Install solar panels. (2008—Solar Energy Exploratorium had off-the-grid photovoltaic/battery system installed. Plans to install more PV power in 2009 and beyond with goal of being a net generator of electricity.)

Place timers on shower lights (not yet implemented)
Install solar/ gravity battery system based around climbing wall (not yet implemented)


1= 2006, 15.53 tons CO2 emissions
2= 2007, 12.68 tons CO2 emissions
3= 2008, 9.31 tons CO2 emissions

Propane Use:
*Turned down hot water heaters (2007)
*Augmented water heater with solar heating (2008—built and installed 28,500 BTU in-line solar thermal hot water heater for main kitchen.)
*Adjusted thermostat in house (2007)
*Used cooking devices more conscientiously (2007)

Place timers on showers (not yet implemented)
Install even lower flow shower heads (not yet implemented)
Transition to flash heaters and have no heated water storage (rejected in favor of solar thermal systems)
Restrict shower use to overnight guests (rejected as a less than customer friendly policy)
Eliminate mobile home (rejected for now)
Convert mobile home to new form of heat (not yet implemented)


1= 2006, 6.05 tons CO2 emissions
2= 2007, 8.64 tons CO2 emissions
3= 2008, 3.5 tons CO2 emissions

Gasoline Consumed By Us:
*Bought more fuel efficient vehicle for errands (purchased post season in 2008— 100% Waste Vegetable Oil powered 1996 VW Passat tdi station wagon. Minimal impact on diesel use so far, however, the mileage is 40-50 mpg versus 16-20 mpg for Toyota truck and minivan. Use of WVO will reduce carbon emissions to 70% less than using a Prius!)
*Replaced gasoline vehicles with waste vegetable oil vehicles (2008— 100% WVO powered Ecobus purchased and brought on line; 2005 Dodge truck converted to 100% WVO system). Note: The amount of WVO use in 2008 was limited by technical issues with the Dodge’s WVO system as well as WVO supply limitations. Expect dramatic improvements next year. We were unable to find an appropriate “people mover” minibus.

Reduce the number of small rafting trips by consolidating (customers not cooperating so far)
Reduce shopping trips by using vendors who deliver (this is more difficult to implement if we want organic, locally grown food which vendors don’t handle)




1= Gas Bus 2= Dodge Truck 3=Toyota Truck 4= Vans 5= Flatbed Truck
Total Gas/Diesel Used: 2228.5 gallons
Total Gas/Diesel CO2 Emissons: 23.5 tons


1= Ecobus 2= Dodge Truck 3=Toyota Truck 4= Vans
Total Gas/Diesel Used: 2042.5 gallons
Total Gas/Diesel CO2 Emissions: 19.3 tons

Gasoline Consumed By Customers:
Encourage carpooling and hybrid vehicles by incentive parking (not yet implemented)
Sell or give away T-shirts to encourage carpooling (not yet implemented)
Reward hybrid owners by letting them eat first (rejected as a poor idea)
Provide electrical hookups for plug-in hybrids (not yet implemented)
Facilitate bus and or ECO- Bus transportation for groups (not yet implemented)
Shuttle groups from public transportation terminals with ECO-Bus (not yet implemented)


Food Program:
*Served more vegetables, less meat (2008)
*Produced fruit and vegetables organically on site (2008)
*Wasted less food (2008)
*Conscientiously bought food with less paper and plastic packaging (2008)
*Enlarged garden (2008)

Property Maintenance:
Replace gasoline water pump with solar electric pump (more practical to use grid connected solar to produce electricity for existing well pump- pending)

Recycling/Waste Control Program:
*Created system to increase compliance and decrease labor/risks of recycling employees (completed post season 2008 and will see more impact in 2009)

Create System and/or conscientiously use less paper (not yet implemented)
Go paperless on reservations and in every way possible (progress has occurred but not yet fully implemented)

Political Action:
Another less measurable, but perhaps the most important way in which we are combating human induced climate change is by raising the awareness of our guests and encouraging those who are interested to actively participate in the political process with us. Part of this strategy is letter writing, a long standing and extremely effective Malode tradition. This year we sent off around 500 letters written our guests in support of the solar investment tax credit bill, which was successfully passed later in the year! Another strategy we use is to educate our guests about this issue in a fun and stimulating way. Our new sustainable practices programs include hands on activities that explore solar power, alternative fuels, organic gardening, recycling, and other means of conservation.

Beyond the GAP:
As stated at the outset of the GAP, we realize that it is not enough to address human induced climate change alone. There are other urgent environmental challenges that also need our attention. The most dramatic of these is rainforest destruction. Sustainable Practices Program will begin to address these in 2009.

MaLode Letter Writers Support Successful Federal and State Legislation

For those of us prone to nail-biting, it has been a rough few months, what with the impending election and the economic crisis. However, at Mother Lode, we’re feeling pretty optimistic and excited about the future. The River Center, as always, inspires us to stay positive and look for practical solutions, and we know that there is more exciting, important work to do than ever before! Let’s take a minute to enjoy the things that Mother Lode customers and staff achieved this summer.

First and foremost, we had a LOT of fun on the American River this summer—in an eco-friendly way unparalleled by any other company. Hundreds of people rode our waste-veggie oil bus and used our WVO truck for our whitewater rafting trips on the South Fork, Middle Fork and North Fork of the American River. We used hot water and energy powered by solar panels at camp, and we ate great organic veggies from the garden.

After reading the nationwide bestseller Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv, with its premise that children today grow up suffering “nature-deficit disorder,” we at Mother Lode felt even more adamant about our mission of bringing children (and adults) into the outdoors. We just tallied it up and it turns out that 2056 children participated in our Outdoor Education Programs this year! We were thrilled when the No Child Left Inside Act was approved by the House Committee in June. We hope it reflects our nation’s growing awareness of the importance of outdoor education and will result in more opportunities for children to go outside to play and learn.

This summer, we also advocated for making California and the U.S.A. more earth-friendly and sustainable. At the Federal level, Mother Lode customers and staff wrote letters to President Bush, both candidates for President and our U.S. Senators and Representatives about the Federal Solar Energy Tax Credit. This tax credit was intended to provide the financial support and market forces to help foster the emergence and use of solar energy. It had worked in the last two years, creating almost 20,000 high quality new jobs, and if renewed, it was projected to create 20,000 more, and produce up to 3881 Megawatts of energy (one megawatt of electricity can power between 400 and 900 homes in a year).

The legislation to extend this tax incentive for eight years was in limbo for months, with the solar industry holding its breath to see whether it would get the financial support needed to proceed in future solar projects and investments with confidence. But finally, on October 3^rd, the most significant federal policy ever enacted for the solar industry was passed along with the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. The legislation ensures a 30% federal investment tax credit for both residential and commercial solar installations for 8 years. No matter how we feel about the bailout, this is a silver lining to celebrate in hard times, and Mother Lode customers had a part in supporting it.

We also wrote to the California Senate Education Committee regarding California State Senator Loni Hancock’s Bill 2855, which will make funds available for training high school students and other young people in emerging green technologies such as wind and solar power. This was recently signed into law by the Governor.

So, all in all, a satisfying summer! And as the famous physician and biologist Jonas Salk said, “The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more.”