TODAY'S TURN: Baby steps are still steps

THE ISSUE:
There's a fine line between being realistic and selling out. My last post begged America to stop drinking bottled water, in part because of the millions of barrels of oil it takes to make the damned things. Realistic? Probably not. Like it or not, bottled water is here to stay. Best we can do is get people to drink less.

So am I selling out to suggest that -- if you insist on drinking bottled water, if you're going to do it anyway -- you at least purchase brands that use less plastic? If you think this is a simple question, think about the birth control debate (Is condom distribution selling out beliefs or simply making the best of something people are going to do anyway?).

THE GOOD TURN:
Nestle Pure Life, Arrowhead and Ice Mountain are three brands that I know of that package with 30% less plastic than other bottles. Of course, 30% less of a bad thing doesn't make it good. Claims like this can sound like a clear case of greenwashing. You take a questionable product and make people feel a little better about buying it. Meantime, behavior doesn't change and the plastic still sits and sits and sits and sits in a landfill or river or farmland.

That's the cynic in me. The optimist in me still believes that small changes can add up. I'll stick with the optimist. He smiles more and has lower blood pressure. I still say tap water is the better option, but if you find yourself putting bottles of water in your shopping cart, make sure it's a brand made with 30% less plastic.