The city of Seattle should impose a tax on bottled water. I.

Inherency The status quo is not suitable for long-term sustainability a. Attitudinal People do not currently understand the harm bottled water causes i. Seeing environmental problems in the long term is a historically uncommon trend ii. Convenience iii. Supposedly more pure or safe to drink b. Structural There currently is not enough of a deterrent for people to stop their current habits i. Current city ban on bottled water not enough 1. While the city is no longer buying bottled water, which only means bottled water will no longer be purchased for water coolers for its workers or city-sponsored events (Seattle Times, 2008: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004280866_webw ater13m.html) a. Affects very small scope, mostly those working for the city b. Vendors on city property, such as the KeyArena and Seattle Center, are still able to sell bottled water i. Availability has gone down only a miniscule amount c. Need to reach people on a personal level for an attitudinal shift to occur i. Needs to affect people more than the ban currently does, in order for people to realize their personal responsibility in keeping our city at its best d. The city of Seattle still bought about $55,000 in bottled water in the 12 months after Mayor Nickels sent his executive order (http://www.kirotv.com/news/20132778/detail.html) ii. Need to tax luxury items Need people to be deterred from living beyond what is necessary, for the good of the environment and the rest of the population iii. State needs money Taxes (specifically for luxuries) are viable way to work to decrease deficit, as opposed to increasing tuition for college students c. Prevailing Nothing to stop people from continuing current habits i. Some may say this problem could go away with time, once people start to realize the consequences of their actions 1. We dont HAVE time 2. The effects are there, and they are impacting us negatively NOW ii. The privatization of water bodes severe consequences for the future

II.

Harm Bottled water is causing significant environmental problems a. Existence we see plastic bottles littering the streets and trash cans all the time

i. Great Pacific Garbage Patch 1. High concentration of suspended plastic a. concentrations of plastics at 3.34 pieces per square meter with a mean mass of 5.1 milligrams per square meter (http://www.alguita.com/gyre.pdf) i. Swallowed by animals 1. Hormone disruption 2. Food chain ends up back in humans ii. Plastic takes thousands of years to biodegrade 1. Harm to terrestrial and marine animals, because we line in an area that both inhabit a. Need to be EXTRA careful iii. Chemicals in plastic bottles 1. Havent been around long enough to know of long term health effects a. Bisphenol-A b. Phthalates iv. Queen Anne dude? b. Qualitative Who/What is it affecting? i. Queen Anne dude? ii. Few big name companies have made an effort to be more environmentally sustainable (Arrowhead) iii. Quotes from people who see harm iv. Hermit crabs in bottle caps? c. Quantitative How much has it affected the city? i. STATS STATS STATS ii. 3.9 liters of water per liter of bottled beverage

III.

Solvency Imposing a tax on this luxury item would encourage more responsibility for the health of our community a. Workability Takes minimal effort to impose tax i. Inevitably, people will be resistant to change, especially if bottled water is habitual for them ii. Not getting rid of bottled water altogether, just discouraging excessive use/frequent consumption iii. Once the transition period is over, people will have found viable alternatives and realized tap water is no worse b. Advantages i. Brings money back to the state ii. Discourages use, encourages conscious decision-making c. Disadvantages

i. Taxing people during a time of economic uncertainty is always a touchy and questionable [decision] 1. Bottled water is a luxury item a. Water isnt being taxed plastic is b. The amount of water and petroleum used to produce such a small amount of water is entirely unnecessary ii. Permanent plastic bottles could be potentially health-hazardous 1. Can be perfectly safe (*steps to ensure this*) 2. Metal water bottles