While the prior piece focused on problems caused by a tiny half invisible drilling company for a small Caribbean island nation, this examines the coast to coast run of conflicts and scams Nestle has visited upon water supplies around the US. As is typical of a huge clumsy multinational corporation, the footprint is large and sloppy.
Moreover the whole neo moron phenomenon of paying for bottled tap water with an evocative brand slapped on it is the closest a corporation gets to the holy grail of something for nearly nothing. And the growing array of bottled water opponents rightly point out that the collateral impact has been to undermine public confidence in water systems even as the bottlers further stress them.
My favorite ridiculous Nestle story involves substantial use of the MWRA water supply in Framingham to concoct 'Ice Mountain". It's grotesque inflation of 'Poland Spring ' riled Maine residents in several communities who are pushing back on Nestle's mining operations there while another controversy visits the small semi rural towns of Western and Central Massachusetts. Versions of the conflict have also occurred in Michigan, California and Washington State .
Toronto is one of a number of Canadian cities that have decided to elminate bottled water vending from their facilities. New American Dream and Think Outside the Bottle both offer a wealth of information about the whole preposterous phenomenon.
