During our last day of class, our invited guest, Joshua Kogan from the EPA brought something to my attention that I had not really thought of before. What is our national government doing to reduce our plastic consumption? He briefly touched upon bills that were passing through Senate and later to the House of Representatives. However, I was curious and wanted to see what kind of measures the government was taking and how much influence big powerful corporations have when lobbying

After a simple Google news search I came across an article that seemed to confirm my suspicions. There is currently an effort by national parks to ban bottled water in the parks in order to decrease the amount of waste left behind by park visitors. By banning bottled water, the parks have proposed to add water refilling stations so that guests can refill their water containers. When reading this article, the argument made by the parks seems completely sound and logical. This new method was also another way to promote a healthier lifestyle and decrease our carbon footprint. Yet I was still waiting for big industry to interrupt this plan.

Upon reading the article further I discovered that the International Bottled Water Association was lobbying against these plans and even had Congressmen fighting for their cause. The IBWA has put confusing language and absurd economic demands in order to stop the passage of this bill. In this classic David and Goliath story, I hope David comes out on top.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2015/12/17/water-industry-wins-round-in-fight-against-ban-on-plastic-bottles-in-national-parks/