China bids to ease drought with $1bn emergency water aid

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/feb/11/china-drought-emergency-water-aid?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487

By: Jonathan Watts

Summary: China, the largest wheat producer in the world, has recently paid one billion dollars to help with China's worst drought in 60 years. The Baita resevoir in Shandong, one of the key agricultural provinces, has gone four months without rain. A farmer had to dig a well, but when he finished it was already too late, a third of his crops had already died. On the outskirts of Sishui, villagers can't use the water from the river that is right next to their homes, because it is ment to be used by the Huajin paper mill and an artificial lake in a nearby urban development. These villagers are upset by the fact that they can't use their own water. Wheat prices have increased by 76% because of this drought.

Opinion: I think that this water drought is horrible and that it is probably because of overuse of water. I feel sorry for the villagers in China that are being so poorly affected by this drought. After reading this article I will try my hardest to use as little water as possible.

Questions:

1. What is the main cause of this drought?

2. How was this billion dollars worth of water used?

3. How much money has China lost because of this drought? (besides the billion dollars)

Plastic Water Bottle Makers Sued By California Over Green Claims

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2011/10/attorney-general-biodegradable-bottle-lawsuit.html

Picture: This picture shows the bottles/advertisements of AquaMantra, one of the companies being sued by California.

Summary: Gen. Kamala D., a California attorney, filed a lawsuit against Balance and AquaMantra for "allegedly making false and misleading claims about their plastic water bottles' recycability and biodegradability." These two companies are both marketed by ENSPO Plastics and their labels claim that the bottles contain a microbial additive that helps the bottles break down in less than five years but the lawsuit state that the additive does not accelerate the process at all. On top of that, the microbial additive is considered to be a "destructive contaminant". The article also states that "The lawsuit is the first to enforce California's environmental marketing law", which was made in 2008. This law banned the use of the terms "biodegradable", "degradable", and "decomposable"on the labels of plastic containers because plastic takes thousands of years to breakdown naturally.

Opinion/Reflection: After watching the videos in class, I learned a lot about how the water bottle industry negatively impacts the public. They trick and mislead us into thinking that bottled water is more "safe" and "clean" than tap water, when in reality it is the other way around. This lawsuit is another example of how this industry is trying to trick us in order to make more profit. It's sad and scary to actually see how far these companies will go to make money off of innocent citizens. Like the video told us, the public trusts this industry and we are blindly buying bottles that are both harming our bodies and our planet.

Expansion:

I actually found an article talking about recyclable bottles.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/home_blog/2011/09/can-i-recycle-plantbottles.html

This article is about PlantBottles, engineered by Coca-Cola Co., which are bottles that are made with plant-based plastics. Now, both Odwalla and Dasani water bottles are made with plant-based polyethylene. These bottles are recyclable, but not compostable.