Blog Post 10: The Water Bottle

The object from my life that I chose as an example of revolution is a simple one. I always have a glass water bottle that I carry with me everywhere (I like to be hydrated). Recently I've been using a Joe Tea bottle, as shown above. 

So, water. It's everywhere. It covers the majority of our planet, cleans us, refreshes us, separates us, rains down on us. We use it for recreation and for necessity, it is something we never tire of watching. It cycles through all levels on our planet, from the ocean tides to the clouds in the skies to the light summer rain. This same water has passed through all of our history and will continue to bring life to future generations. In our early history humans would drink from streams and rivers like this one. On some level I think we all like to think of the water we drink rushing through some pristine landscape. Water bottle companies seem to try and convince us of that through their advertisements of secluded bodies of water with "purity" beyond compare. 

However, before bottled water, we seemed perfectly content with the convenient technology that allowed regulate, filtered water to flow into our households on demand. Even with the development of tap water I feel like we were somewhat displaced from the origin of our water. I seldom ponder where the water I'm drinking was taken from, where it was cleaned and how it came to be in my bottle. It seems to capture the feeling of society, how everything is at an arms length. The convenience of our lives is overwhelming. We have the capability to stock up on what we need for a week or more, and even when we need something it isn't usually more than a ten minute drive away. 

Convenience is taken to a new level with bottled water. Not only do you not have to worry about pouring the water yourself, but now you can simply dispose of the container when you're done. These manufacturers take water from communities and filter it, or just use tap water (yes, the same tap water readily available to us at home) and put it in cheap plastic bottles for us, and we pay for it. Why do we pay for this tap water in sleek plastic wrapping? Because they tell us to. Through the development of advertising, water bottle companies have convinced us that their water is more pure, more refreshing, and more natural than the water we have in our homes. These companies are taking something the earth gives us freely and selling it back to us. I feel this just illuminates the power of corporations on our lives.

However, a movement in a more "green" and environmentally friendly direction has caused people to start seeing through the illusion of bottled water. They see the pollution that results from this not-so-disposable plastic and are realizing the price of convenience. With this realization there was an explosion of other snazzy, reusable options to replace plastic water bottles (although I prefer my own).


I think it is amazing to look at this one simple object that I take for granted and think of the journey water has made and the power humans hold. Humans have always built societies around water, an essential element of survival, and now I can go anywhere with the confidence that I will have clean water to drink. The water bottle is a tangible example of how we have come to see the earth; as a thing we can mold to our liking. We take water from Fiji, oil from the Middle East, cheap souvenirs from China; we take what we want from where we want it.It is this revolution of mentality that the water bottle shows us. We have changed from thinking of ourselves as a stewards of this earth, going where the land guides us, to trying to command the earth and its resources as we deem appropriate. Now we are attempting to fix those problems that we created with our reckless power over the land. As our landfills grow higher with forgotten plastic bottles we aim to revolutionize the way we drink water again with bottles designed specifically for runners or for babies or for fashion icons. Water bottles that filter the water as you pour it it in. Bottles that glow and expand or mold to your hand. The revolution of water bottles streams onward.