Reading And Writing About The Issue

In Praise Of Tap Water

1. Tap water saves money and doesn't harm the environment.

2. You could spend $1400 annually on bottled water
    The 1.5 million barrels of oil used to make plastic water bottles could fuel 100,000 cars a year instead
    If the demand for bottled water continues, there could be less maintenance to the water supply

3. Consumers can save money and the planet by drinking tap water as opposed to bottled water.

4. I think the writer uses valid premises in the argument, and I'm not sure they could have included more. Perhaps the writer could have used more facts about how bottled water is a waste of money, but the supporting details in article and sufficient enough to back up the thesis statement. The writer states how much money is being lost by purchasing bottled water, which is enough to convince people to change if they wish to save money. The premise about the oil used to make plastic bottles being able to fuel 100,000 of cars a year was a strong argument, because with the country's dependency on oil, people are more willing to listen to that fact. The argument stating that if the demand for bottled water increases, less will be invested to maintain the water supply definitely reaches out to the readers, especially those who still use tap water on a daily basis.

5. The purpose of paragraph 5 is to provide the reader with evidence that places are becoming less dependent on bottled water and are encouraging the use of tap water. Providing examples of cities enforcing tap water is more likely to convince the reader to do so if the premises haven't already done so.

Defying the Nalgene

1. The arguments against the use of bottled water are unconvincing.

2. Plastic is cheap, so wasting plastic does not cause problems to the economy. The price of bottled water is very inexpensive and tap water is not "free" and in some cases can be more expensive. While Moore does refute both his arguments effectively, he could have used more arguments to solidify his point.

3. Bottled water is much more convenient than carrying around a water container. Most people do not have running water, and the demand to supply bottled water creates the opportunity for people to be able to afford running water. Perhaps Moore could have mentioned that bottled water is more sanitary. Not only can tap water be unsanitary, but so can reusable water bottles.

4. There's not enough convincing reasons to refrain from buying bottled water.

5. Moore didn't have to define Nalgene because there was enough context clues to allow the reader to figure out the meaning and the significance of it.

Poland Spring Water

• Plastic bottles are not recyclable
• Not convenient
• Not energy efficient