IN THEORY:Against bottled water

Some religious groups, such as the National Coalition of American Nuns, are calling for followers to refrain from drinking bottled water. They say a God-given resource such as water is not something to be packaged and sold while access to drinking water is so scarce in the poorest regions of the world. Water should be free for all, they say. Bottled-water advocates say targeting bottled-water companies is misguided, given the many products that use water, and will not lead to solutions to resource scarcity in poor regions of the world. What do you think?

I disagree that God-given resources should not be “packaged and sold,” since ultimately everything in this world is a God-given resource with spiritual significance. Of course, we have a responsibility to safeguard the resources entrusted to us, but I believe that God expects us to enjoy and partake in the bounty of the world He created. So long as we behave responsibly, we have a right to capitalize on any particular resource, make an honest living, and provide for our families.

The lack of water in many Third World countries is largely caused by the lack of the proper infrastructure to make water drinkable and then transport it to where it’s needed. Also, many of these countries are ruled by dictators who are more concerned with power and self-aggrandizement than with the welfare of their citizens. Rather than making the necessary investments to meet their people’s basic needs, they instigate ethnic and religious strife to deflect criticism from their shortcomings as leaders.

Attacking water bottlers will not bring water to those who need it most. We would be better served to look at the root cause of regional water scarcity and address the issue boldly. Simply put, our planet has enough water to meet everyone’s needs, but we lack leaders who are caring or competent enough to get it to them.

When appropriate, wealthy nations can help less-developed states to build better infrastructure. And we should also be ready to bring international censure and sanctions against those corrupt dictators who, through their callous neglect, inflict such tragic suffering on their own people.

RABBI SIMCHA BACKMAN

Chabad Jewish Center

The National Coalition of American Nuns is among the leftiest of organizations, not especially deserving of much general attention. They promote abortion and homosexuality, support groups excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church, feminize God and endorse a plethora of embarrassingly questionable things.

When it calls for boycott, one wonders why we should notice, except that there finally appears to be some genuine depth of spiritual concern. However, with any reflection, it seems that this too has not been considered to its logical conclusion. The organization believes water should be free. We agree, right? Then they charge that “reliance on bottled water delays the construction of facilities to deliver water to many underdeveloped countries.” Yet, couldn’t this same argument be made concerning oxygen, sunlight and food, since entrepreneurs have also found markets for air filters, full-spectrum light bulbs and packaged vegetables?

Long ago, our own water was disgusting, but today America’s is certainly among the clearest. Problem is, it smells like cleaners, and we’re apparently willing to pay extra to have the chloramines and pesticides removed. I hate paying for water, but it’s often preferable to the faucet, and bottles are sort of just modern-day canteens. If the fears of the National Coalition of American Nuns are justified, we shouldn’t ruin the bottlers, but strongly press governments to actively develop free water access.

Support ministries like Lifewater International, which builds wells for undeveloped people and works to eliminate the problem. The earth is mostly covered with water. Why can’t we make it drinkable and available without scapegoating? Jesus once chastised the Pharisees for being lopsided, saying “these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others” (Luke 11:42). Let’s be thankful for clean alternatives in our modern society, and work more diligently and proactively for those in less capable and uncivilized circumstances.

THE REV. BRYAN GRIEM

Senior Pastor

Montrose CommunityChurch.org

While I commend these nuns for their devotion and their assistance to the poor, I think their call for boycotting bottled water is not reasonable.

Bottled water is here to stay in the world of today because of its consistent good taste, convenience and quality. Tap water is often inconsistent, often tastes of chemicals and although it is said to be safe for human consumption, sometimes it doesn’t look like it or taste like it.

In addition, bottled water is a staple for disaster victims. Wherever there is a disaster anywhere on earth, it is a given that charitable organizations, and sometimes manufacturers of bottled water, will provide free bottled water to those in need. We have all seen bottled water distributed to victims at disaster sites. The gratitude on the faces of these people is beyond measure.

There is an old saying that says we should pick our fights. The nuns in this controversy surely have something better to do than wage a losing battle against bottled water. They are not going to win this one and they shouldn’t. Many millions of people are grateful to be able to have access to bottled water. In my opinion, no boycott against this right has any chance of success.

THE REV. THOMAS E. WITHERSPOON

Unity Church of the Valley

La Crescenta

I personally do not drink bottled water or cook with bottled water. There is, of course, an ongoing debate concerning the benefits of bottled water versus tap water. It seems to revolve around cost, quality, taste, health benefits and truthful advertising. I find it fascinating to see how many people are buying water and sucking on a bottle as if they were going to dehydrate in the next hour. They pay good money for a commodity that is free and very available.

I would not boycott bottled water because I think a person should be free to buy it if he wishes and I don’t see how this would bring healthful water to villages and people who live in poor places. It would be good if you could convince people to give up something and spend the saved money on some better cause. It is often recommended during the penitential season of Lent to give up smoking, alcohol, movies or dining out and give that money to the poor. That’s a good thing because you become a better person and you also help others. It’s hard to see how giving up bottled water would help to increase the water supply to those who need it.

THE REV. GENE FRILOT

Pastor Emeritus

Incarnation Catholic Church

Glendale

When I first read this week’s issue, I was reminded of some comedian who made fun of our penchant for bottled water.

In a supposedly foreign accent, he said, “Ve haf a plan. Ve are going to sell Americans vater ina bottle!” While the comedian got a laugh for his efforts, the situation may be more serious than at first I imagined. Keep in mind that we all pay for water, whether we buy it in a bottle or pay the water company to keep it flowing to our taps. So while there is no such thing as a free lunch, there is also no such thing as free water. We are going to pay, one way or the other. As for the moral issue of selling water, a commodity that some think should be as free as the air we breathe, I honestly don’t know yet.

Certainly the poor shouldn’t be squeezed, and so I’ll line up with St. Paul when he said, “If eating meat makes my brother sin, then I’ll eat no meat.”

Also, from a personal health level, I prefer to drink tap water because it hasn’t had all the stuff that is good for us (minerals, fluoride, etc.) distilled out, as I understand much bottled water has. (I have lived in many places across the United States, and I have always drunk the water that has come from the tap, and I regard myself as healthy as the next person.)

Still, the moral issue lingers. I really don’t know how I feel yet, but I am glad that the nuns, the Presbyterians, and my own denomination, the United Church of Christ, have taken it upon themselves to raise our consciences regarding the very necessary yet finite supply of water and its distribution.

It is not for nothing that the Bible talks about “streams of living water” and “the gift of God” in almost the same breath.

THE REV. C.L. “SKIP” LINDEMAN

Congregational Church

of the Lighted Window

United Church of Christ

La Cañada Flintridge

People in poor regions of the world are indeed deprived of easy access to water, as well as to other necessities of life, such as plentiful food supply, health care and a safe place to live. This deprivation is made worse by unstable conditions such as war, which disrupts normal commerce and social programs.

In nearly all areas of the United States, tap water is rendered clean by public-health standards, and is safe for consumption. There is inherent cost involved in any processing of water, whether it is treated before reaching the tap, or filtered and bottled.

The purchase of water, which has been treated beyond what is required by law to remove chlorine and other undesirable substances, is a consumer’s choice, not a necessity.

A boycott of bottled water would probably not affect the scarcity of potable water in poor regions. A better solution, one that would address the problem at its root, would be a concerted, worldwide drive to abolish war, control tyranny and to set in place international standards that would assure provision of the basic human necessities — food, water and shelter.

The concerned and caring people who advocate a boycott of what is arguably an unnecessary luxury are, perhaps, bringing needed attention to the desperate problems of the world’s poor.

But rather than placing pressure on corporations, which are providing an optional service, our efforts should be toward building an international society that works better, one that places the proper emphasis on human welfare, and one that is not hampered by greed and chronic warfare.

BARBARA CRAMER

Secretary

Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’í Faith

Glendale