Is commercially bottled water a sustainable practice?

Essay Instructions:

Class English 101 Essay III Writing from Sources Points 50 Prompt Write an essay in the argumentation mode in which your thesis answers the following research question and is supported by the three sources listed below: Is commercially bottled water a sustainable practice? Sources • “The Story of Bottled Water” by Annie Leonard • “Bottled Up” by Adam Smith • “Town Says No to Wages for Water” by Rick Anderson • Do not use other sources. Notes • The word paragraph has been replaced by the symbol ¶ in this rubric. • You may use the script from the Leonard video for accuracy of writing, but use only the information that is in the video and not information in the footnotes. Grading and Feedback Criteria (D-F) (C) (A-B) Title—hints at your thesis □ □ □ Introduction ¶-- • opens with surprising statistic (a number) from one source (formatted as a brief, blended, cited quotation) • connects opening statistic to the topics of sustainability and commercially bottled water • briefly introduces the three sources’ authors and their topics • closes with the question as worded in the prompt □ □ □ Body ¶s—(3 or more ¶s) • topic sentences each identify 1 pillar using terms from definition of sustainability (people, planet, profit or social, environmental, economic) • each body ¶ includes at least 2 sources • pillar topic supported with both specific examples from the sources (summary w/limited quotations) and with your explanations of examples (analysis) □ □ □ Conclusion ¶-- • opens with thesis (one sentence, directly answers the research question) • briefly summarizes the specific key points from the sources that support your thesis • closes with a prediction for the future of bottled water □ □ □ Use of Sources—primarily summary with brief, blended quotations only as needed, all □ □ □ Criteria (D-F) (C) (A-B) information (summary, paraphrase, quotation) is cited correctly to avoid plagiarism Style—no first name alone, no “in the article” or “the article says,” no article/video titles in essay except one time each in introduction ¶ □ □ □ Works Cited Page—MLA format □ □ □ Point of View—third-person □ □ □ Grammar, Punctuation, Mechanics □ □ □ MLA Manuscript (Document) Format □ □ □ Length—1200 words or more (including works cited page)

Essay Sample Content Preview:

Student Tutor Course Date Is Commercially Bottled Water a Sustainable Practice? The fact that people consume more than half a billion bottles of water every week in the US triggers the need for a critical examination of sustainability indices linked to the consumption of bottled water. More people are buying into the idea that bottled water is better than tap water in aspects like taste, long-term affordability, and environmental protection. However, more studies have found contrary results. Understanding the sustainability of commercially bottled water must stem from the exploration of the three pillars of sustainability including social equity (people), environmental preservation (environment), and economic viability. This essay investigates the sustainability of commercially bottled water through the insights from Annie Leonard's "The Story of Bottled Water," Adam Smith's "Bottled Up," and Rick Anderson's "Town Says No to Wages for Water." The inputs by the three authors should help to explore the three pillars of sustainability thereby leading to answering the question: is commercially bottled water a sustainable practice? Social equity or people is one of the pillars worth exploring in assessing the sustainability of commercially bottled water. In sustainability, social equity refers to the just and fair distribution of resources, benefits, and opportunities among all the involved people. In the context of social equity, an initiative geared towards sustainability should ensure that all its stakeholders benefit from the project by having access to its positive outcomes. Hence, social equity delineates the exclusion of people based on geographic location, ethnicity, race, or economic status in pursuit of sustainability. If proponents of sustainability consider the inputs of social equity, they stand a chance of preventing disadvantaged groups or marginalized individuals from disproportionately bearing the negative impacts of environmental degradation. To that extent, any initiative that considers social equity as a factor in sustainability must foster equitable access to resources, participation and inclusion, fair distribution of burdens and benefits, as well as emphasizing justice and rights. There is enough evidence to show that advocating for bottled water is a move aimed at faltering social equity. According to Leonard (4), commercially bottled water is linked to a marketing strategy that is only aimed at increasing the socioeconomic gaps. Leonard’s arguments are based on the fact that water bottles are 1000% more expensive while they are made to look like they have better quality if compared to tap water. In any case, the bottled water industry is highly deregulated. As such, most people do not get the taste, quantity, or quality for which they pay. By extension, the practice disfavors individuals from lower economic classes. Instead of using their little money reserves for other needs, people from the lower economic classes are forced to conform to the trends of consuming commercially bottled water. Anderson mirrors Leonard’s inputs on the social inequality outcomes that are attached to commercially bottled water. According to Anderson (3), bottled water companies exploit local water sources thereby leading to depriving the communities of access to clean and affordable water. The proposed Nestle project in Cascade Locks demonstrates this understanding. Nestle intended to bottle 140 million gallon...

Updated on September 2, 2024

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