When I was young, I vividly recall watching an episode of the Twilight Zone called “To Serve Man.”   It involved some nice aliens promising to help us, and happily, we let them.  The aliens carried a large book written in some strange language.  Eventually, a code-breaker determined that this peculiar book is no more than a cookbook.  The show concludes with the hero running frantically down the street screaming, “It’s a cookbook, it’s a cookbook!”  

In a similar twist, the companies who bottle water want us to think they care about us too. “Here,” they say, “we care; we’ve bottled this conveniently sized and hygienically safe water just for you. We’ve put it in individual plastic, ergonomically designed bottles and you’ll feel like you’re doing something good for yourself.”  They’d like you to think they care; but in less than 5 minutes that bottle will be garbage, and they don’t care what happens to it or you after they sell it to you.  Garbage is not their business. Selling you water is their business. “Look,” I say, “they just sold you trash.”  Watch; this is me, running through the streets screaming and pointing at all those conveniently sized bottles, “it’s garbage, it’s garbage, you just bought garbage!” Don’t fall for it again.

Fill your own bottle next time.