“Examines the role of the bottled water industry and its effects on our health, climate change, pollution, and our reliance on oil.”
Directed by: Jason Lindsey & Stephanie Soechtig Rated: Not rated, 76 mins
This post was originally written by Page Marie. Find her @PageMarieH
Documentaries like Tapped are both terrible and wonderful things. It is to be expected that after watching almost any kind of environmental documentary, you will probably feel like a piece of crap for something that you do, buy, eat, or don’t recycle. On the other hand, you will certainly finish the film having been thoroughly schooled on whatever the subject is, and given a number of ways to contribute and take action. Tapped is a prime example of a good environmental documentary as it does both of those things perfectly. By the end, it will have you not only wanting to change your behavior, but also give you a surprising glimpse into the dark side of something that most people consider positive and healthy – bottled water.
Everyone knows that water is healthier than sugary sodas. It’s naturally a good decision to grab a bottle at a restaurant, gas station, drugstore, or wherever you are throughout the day, right? It keeps you hydrated, is good for the skin, not to mention how sexy and intriguing it makes you look while driving. Just look at Jennifer Aniston.
Smart Water allows her to drive a vehicle without looking or steering. How? She’s super smart.
Tapped immediately breaks down the false notions surrounding the so called “benefits” of bottled water. It points out that 40% of bottled water is merely filtered municipal water – looking at you, Dasani and Aquafina. They also point out numerous times that it’s no safer than municipal water because the bottled water industry is largely unregulated whereas municipalities are held to strict testing under the EPA. But that’s just the tip of the bottled water-berg. Nearly the first half of the film documents the plight of a Maine town in which Nestle has moved in and taken over use of the city’s groundwater. This water source is governed differently than ponds, springs, rivers, etc. Essentially, whoever has the abilities to pump the most water, gets the most water. Nestle accesses the water for free, then bottles it and sells it for a profit. This leaves townsfolk unhappy as their own municipal water supply dwindles and must be transferred to another water well, resulting in service interruption which doesn’t seem to affect Nestle’s operation in the slightest. Water companies operate like this all over the country – moving into rural areas to perform “water mining,” wherein they extract water that is free and then sell it for billions of dollars.
Next, we’re given a look at the other reason bottled water is so awful, the actual bottle. Plastics used for bottles are made from byproducts of oil refining which most people know by now is terrible for the environment. Petrol processing has been known to introduce benzene to water supplies as well as emit harmful gasses into the atmosphere and affect communities surrounding refineries. In Corpus Christi, home to at least four different refineries, birth defects are 84% higher than the national average. Cancer is common among those in poorer areas that surround the refineries, and many of those people cannot move because their houses will not sell. Tapped uses powerful images of menacing refineries pumping out smog day and night, and the imagery is effective. It is moving and it made me feel the plight of people in those communities as if we are all a collective David fighting a huge and all-powerful Goliath.
A creepy skyline of oil refineries makes the outskirts of Corpus Christi look like something from a futuristic dystopia.
I would like to point out here, though, that the refineries are oil refineries. They aren’t owned by Pepsi or Coke, they’re owned by BP, Citgo, and Amoco. So they aren’t just making plastics for bottled water. Of course, if the bottled water industry tanked, they’d have a much harder time selling off those byproducts, but I doubt their operations would totally cease. That isn’t to say there isn’t a tremendous case to be made for advocates of environmental justice, just that for a film focused on bottled water, this one example (that takes up a large portion of the film) is not solely a water issue.
Something that is a water issue (or any bottled beverage, really) is the leaching of harmful chemicals that contaminates water as it’s sitting on the shelf. Advocates grabbed several bottles of water from store shelves and had them tested for various toxins. And just like that, the argument that bottled water is safer than tap goes right out the window. Results showed numerous carcinogens and teratogens in even the most pure and refreshing brands. Benzene, arsenic, phthalates, PVC, and the now notorious BPA were present, despite the manufacturing companies’ claims that the water was absolutely safe and free of contaminants. Tapped was released in 2009, so many companies have gone BPA free since then, which is a step in the right direction.
Of the 80 million bottles of water consumed daily, 30 million end up in landfills worldwide.
If you couldn’t tell, Tapped is chock full of data and statistics with no shortage of scientists, professors, activists, environmentalists, and even a former EPA employee to back it all up. Lindsey and Soechtig have done their research, and it shows. They’ve also done an excellent job of making the viewer feel connected to the victims of the bottled water industry (Mother Nature included), even if it doesn’t affect you personally. They travel to beaches where broken bits of multi-colored plastic has replaced grains of sand. There are shots of tropical fish swimming gracefully alongside discarded bottles. Peaceful riversides with bits of trash and drink containers lapping up onto the banks. Even if you don’t see this happening in your every day life, the images might make you think twice about tossing your empty bottle in the trash. After all, it ends up somewhere.
But even if the sight of floating garbage patches in the Pacific Ocean that are twice the size of Texas doesn’t entice you to stop buying bottled water or at least cut down on your consumption, your city just might force you to. Many communities, businesses, and universities around the country have banned the sales of bottled water. And because of films like Tapped, it would not be surprising to see more places following suit. For the people affected by the bottled water industry, the answer is simple: Use reusable bottles and fill them up with municipal water (filtered if you prefer), and you can save money and protect the environment and your health all at the same time. There is one argument against this, however, and while it isn’t a great one, it is an important one. The argument of convenience. Carrying a reusable bottle around and using public water fountains is not as convenient as spending a buck on a personal serving of water that you can toss when you’re finished. Or throw on the floor of your car and let it rattle around for a couple weeks until you finally clean all your junk out. This is especially since many people believe public water to be dirtier and less tasty than bottled. So, while Tapped is a great documentary and offers a trove of information, I think there is still a ways to go before the general public abandons bottled water.
Overall: 7/10
Discussion: Would you be able to give up bottled water in favor of tap? If so, would your sacrifice be due to environmental reasons or health concerns? If not, why?
The Cinematic Katzenjammer 