Results tagged “bottledwater”

A coalition of bottled water companies—including Nestle Waters, which owns Poland Spring, and Keeper Springs, a smaller company owned by environmental advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—filed a lawsuit yesterday to challenge a new state law that would require bottled water companies to charge a 5 cent deposit fee. The complaint argues that the law violates the Constitution’s equal protection clause because it exempts drinks with sugar added, such as competitors like Glacéau, makers of Vitamin Water. Lawyers also say the deposit would violate the Constitution’s interstate commerce protections the law because it could be interpreted as prohibiting companies from selling the New York-labeled bottles in other states.

The growing backlash against bottled water as an environmental abomination is stretching into some of NYC's premiere eating and drinking establishments. Ten years ago it was the de rigeur of fashion to be toting a bottle of water everywhere one went; now it marks you as a polluting pariah. According to the New York Post, bottled water is being banned at places like the Waverly Inn, Il Buco, Del Posto, Gemma in the Bowery Hotel, Bobo, Gusto Organics and Broadway East.

Despite years of sake drinking experience at many of New York City’s finest izakaya ranging from the rarefied Sakagura to the funky yakitori spots on St. Marks nothing could have prepared us for the Joy of Sake. Hordes of revelers gathered in the Puck Building last week to sample more than 300 hundred sakes, many unavailable in the U.S. Just because of the sheer variety of rice libations on offer, the three-hour event was overwhelming, although it did eventually take on a somewhat rosy glow.

THEATER: Sarah Maxfield, the brains behind theater collective Red Metal Mailbox, brings THROW, the bi-monthly performance series she curates, to The Chocolate Factory in Long Island City. Imbibe cheap beer and vibe new work by Rebecca Davis, Betsy Miller & Dancers, and Tara O'Con. After each experiment, Maxfield moderates an exchange in which each performer interrogates the audience in hopes of culling constructive criticism from the increasingly lubricated crowd. Who’ll be the first to declare, “Worst performance art EVER”? - John Del Signore

- Don't be a MetrotardAnd yeah, a lot of these are similar to advice you'd give tourists. But in some cases, these students are four-year tourists.

Chicagoist is gearing up for this weekend's annual Air & Water Show along the lakefront. In what's becoming an annual tradition around there, staff member Todd McClamroch even got to fly with one of the participants. Chicagoist's decidedly opinionated readership was also appalled that one of their staffers found a popular local brewpub to be a great place to bring a kid. They also think that an unlikely activist for immigration rights should just take her medicine and offered their own suggestions to how the city should capitalize on the local music scene. And everyone thinks that a suggested tax on bottled water is a great idea.

Last month, the city embarked on an advertising campaign to tout the benefits of NYC tap water, to encourage people to save money and reduce waste. In fact, a 2005 20/20 segment found that there's really no difference between bottled water and NYC tap water, and the city's tap water has long been heralded as one of the nation's best. However, in 2004, there were concerns that some water quality results were manipulated and in May, some trace amounts of a chemical known as perc (used in auto body shops and dry cleaners) were found in a Queens drinking water supply.

Imagine having your apartment cleaned and keeping things "green" around your home, all at the same time. Enter Zen Home, the eco-friendly, chemical-free cleaning service that embraces the non-toxic approach and leaves your home smelling of lavender instead of ammonia. Upon your return home you'll be greeted with an apartment aromatherapy treatment, and even an organic chocolate on your pillow!

After higher-than-safe levels of the chemical terachloroethylene, also known as PERC and used by dry cleaners and auto body shops, were found in Queens drinking water last month, a Queens politician wants to phase PERC from use. State Senator Malcolm Smith proposed legislation to help businesses switch to environmentally friendly products by 2012. Sounds like a no-brainer, but probably having the Department of Buildings check up on whether buildings have backflow preventer valves would help as well.

The Department of Environmental Protection says that Thursday afternoon tests of tap water in southeastern Queens found little or no traces of tetrochloroethylene, aka perc. The chemical, used in dry cleaning and in auto repair, can cause cancer if exposure is high, but the DEP says that the higher-than-normal levels found last week were "minute" and "were not expected" to lead to health risks. Here's the DEP's press release:

After conducting extensive inspections of water/sewer connections at businesses in portions of the Queens neighborhoods of Queens Village, St. Albans, Cambria Heights and Hollis, DEP has identified a potential source of the PERC contamination discovered during routine water testing earlier this week by DEP scientists. PERC is a chemical commonly used in dry cleaning and auto-body repair.

Continue reading "DEP Says SE Queens Tap Water Safe, But Worries Abound"

Thank goodness for routine drinking water testing? The NYC's Department of Environmental Protection found higher-than-usual (and higher than what's safe) amounts of tetrachloroethylene, commonly known as PERC, in the drinking water of southeastern Queens. DEP investigators believe that the chemical might have seeped in from an auto-body repair shop or dry cleaners, because it's commonly used as a degreaser and cleaning agent. The agency is looking for the source.

While the Department of Homeland Security is enforcing a no-carry-on-liquids ban for the safety of airline passengers, some desperate people are thinking of ways around it. Namely women who cannot lie without their cosmetics. CNN reported that a woman embarking on an 18 hour flight sneaked her lip balm on her plane via a candy bar wrapper. And to that, we just shake our heads. The NY Post interviews female travelers who wish they could have their beauty aids but generally understand they have to do without creams, facial sprays, and make-up if they want to get on their flights. At least travelers in the US get to bring their laptops, iPods, and other gadgets on flights - in Britiain, you can't even bring a newspaper on the plane! (They can be checked in, natch - let's hope that the TSA workers don't take anything.) Certainly, this screws things up for duty-free retailers, but it's probably a boon for book sellers and local convenience stores near airports for people to stock back up on their liquid necessities. But while we love our lip balm, hand lotion (planes are so drying - even three hour flights) and bottled water, we'll buck up and pack less. Will you?

The NYC Department of Health issued a drinking water advisory after the yesterday's flooding may have affected NYC's Hillview reservoir. The DoH says that "higher than normal levels of particles" have been detected in the water supply. While that water has been diverted, they ask that "infants, the elderly, pregnant women and New Yorkers with conditions that compromise their immune systems– those with HIV/AIDS, especially those with CD4 counts less than 200; those with leukemia; and those who are post bone marrow transplantation - use either boiled or bottled water as a precaution for the next 24 hours (until noon Friday)." The NYC DoH has information on what you should do with your water in the meantime; it's unclear whether a Brita filter works, so perhaps boiling water is just the safest thing. [Via Marisa]

Columbia Presbyterian Hospital enjoys one of the best reputations in the country. So, when you hear that a man died of Legionnaire's disease while being treated there, you're perturbed. Especially since the Legionnaire's outbreak was apparently in the hospital's water supply, and the patient had water sprayed into his throat for sleep apnea. Since Legionnaire's can be especially harmful to people who had weak immune systems, having Legionnaire's bacteria in a hospital is very bad. Columbia Presbyterian is now using bottled water while their water pipes are being sterilized, but state health officials are now looking into another Legionnaire's death at Columbia Presbyterian from earlier this year.

You can learn more about NYC's drinking water quality from the DEP, but given this new information, who knows how accurate it is. An FDA article about whether bottled water is better than tap, and the NRDC on grading tap water in US cities (NYC isn't included). Plus DCist on DC's these tap water woes.

With the forecast calling for possibly more than an inch and a half of rain over the next few days, the Mets will be lucky just to squeak in one game in their home opening series against the Braves. But the rain ensures that our reservoirs will remain in good shape especially compared to two years ago when we found ourselves in a Stage 1 drought emergency with the total level at 57.5%. The total reservoir storage level is currently at 98.3% (above the 96.4% normal level) with some reservoirs even reporting over 100% capacity (wouldn't that imply they are overflowing?)

Alice has more helpful information on the safety of your NYC drinking water.

No, these are not more pictures from the blackout, these are kids who tried out for American Idol at the Jacob Javits Center. Newsday reports that these hopefuls "." Hmm, that does sound like a blackout story. Except for the McDonald's part. There were about 10,000 American Idol wannabes waiting all weekend along Eleventh Avenue outside the Javits Center for yesterday's tryouts.

The L.A. Times looks at the world of Los Angeles dogwalkers, the celebrity gossip, the nutty owners, the lifestyle. One dogwalker who makes $150,000 a year with her doggie exercise is the focus, as her clientele is mostly star-driven. Annie Lever, laughs at owners who feed their dogs extravagantly and give them bottled water ("they lick their own butts") and she says her day is filled with saying stuff like, "No humping. Don't pee on your brother." Wait, to the owners or the dogs?