•I found this research to be particularly interesting: How much cheaper tap water is than bottled water, for being practically the same thing.
•This part of my annotated bibliography was surprisingly difficult: Finding out about the author when it wasn't listed.
•Next time I would do this differently: Take more time to find a topic that interests me.
Is Bottled Water Safer than Tap Water?
Stinchfield, Kate. "Is Your Bottled Water Safe." cnn.com. CNN, 13 Jul 2009. Web. 10 Feb 2014.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/07/13/bottled.water.safety/index.html
This article is based on two new reports during the time stating that bottled water is less regulated than tap water. It states that municipal water utilities (the regulators of tap water) are required to provide public safety reports while bottled water makers are not. it also is said that bottled water companies do not have to have water tested by certified labs and are not required to notify customers within 24 hours if contaminants are found. It then goes on suggesting alternate ideas to tap water besides bottled and gives list of good filters that can be put on faucets.
This source was a little outdated, but with my topic it doesn't matter except if it was before 1996 when new FDA standards were set. The article held a good amount of useable links but the author had no contact info or a biography making it hard to determine if she was authorized to write about this topic. But because she had to get it obviously reviewed by CNN Health I think I would use this source. It had many good, verifiable facts and came off unbiased and meant to just inform the public.
This wasn't my most useful source I found, but I think it has some very good facts that weren't mentioned in other articles that will help me defend one side of the argument.
NRDC, . "Bottled Water." Natural Resources Defense Council. NRDC, 25 Apr 2008. Web. 10 Feb 2014.
http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/qbw.asp
This article discussed more specifically about the effects that bottles used for bottled water can have on people's health. This organizations studies provided there information and has statistics like: 22% brands of bottled water that were tested contained at least 1 chemical contaminant leading to possible causes of cancer. It then had a question and answer format answering common questions the public may have. It answered questions like "How do I find out Where the water in my bottled water is coming from?" And "How does bottled water effect the environment?"
This article I found was sponsored by the Natural Resources Defense Council which I found out to be a very credible organization (environmental action group) that has been around for 40 years. After more research on them they seem very authorized to be writing this article and have clearly done there research (their studies discussed prove it). It was published in 1999 but then revised in 2008, so it is pretty up to date on the issue. No biases really stuck out to me, it was mainly stating their findings and facts that are meant to inform and teach people. I will definitely use this source.
I think this will be a helpful source for me because it touches more on the environmental side of the issue and how bottled water effects the environment, while providing some shocking statistics for verification.
Baskind, Chris. "5 reasons not to drink bottled water." Mother Nature Network. Mother Nature Network, 15 Mar 2010. Web. 10 Feb 2014.
This blog states the "5 Reasons Not to Drink Bottled Water." These include:
1. "Bottled water isn't a good value"
2. "No healthier than tap water"
3. "Bottled water means garbage"
4. "Bottled water means less attention to public systems" &
5. "The corporatization of water"
As bluntly obvious this article/blog is just one mans opinion and his point is to persuade his audience. It does have a few links backing up of few points, but nothing that really stands out. The author is a full time bicycler and writer on environmental issues and simpler living, and came to conclusion not fully authorized. Although I do agree with a lot of his points and the information is relate able to my topic, I would not use this source due to the lack of evidence behind his thoughts and the authors background.
As said before I agree with his arguments and may even develope some similar this source will not be very useful for me because its not very credible and has little to no evidence for it's opinions.
Baumgartner, M.. "Study: Bottled Water No Safer Than Tap Water." abcnews.com. ABCNews. Web. 10 Feb 2014.
This article on ABC News really focuses on the environmental side of the issue a previous source. It has one opinion that "Bottled water isn't a long term sustainable solution to securing access to healthy water," but it has many facts to back up his argument. Along with this the article talks about the plastic in bottled water specifically that causes toxic chemicals released into the environment and the release of carbon dioxide becoming a major threat to the ozone layer.
This article was based of the author, who is a scientist at a university's study he conducted. Because it is mostly all his findings, there are no links which makes it hard to tell if this information has been reviewed by anyone other than the author himself. It does though provide contact information for the author and is sponsored through the university. Like mentioned before there are some opinions throughout the article which makes it seem like the audience is meant to be persuaded rather than informed but still many good facts. It is tough to say if I would use and cite this source.
Although I am unsure if this is a useable source I did find it helpful. It talked a lot about the environment and how bottled water can affect it. This helped me take an even stronger side on the argument presented.
Nelson, Jennifer K.. "Tap Water or Bottled Water: Which Is Better?." . Mayo Clinic, 21 Mar 2012. Web. 10 Feb 2014.
This article discusses both bottled water and tap water and comes to the conclusion that they both have similar standards they are required to meet by the FDA (bottled) & the EPA (tap). So it makes the point that is comes down to preference on "which is better."
While being sponsored by the Mayo Clinic, I knew that this source it was a credible and reliable source. The author has a biography locatable on the website proving she is fully authorized to be writing this, and is clear on her position that she is not biased. She simply provides the facts and lets you decide how you choose to take them. This shows that the purpose of this article was to inform and teach the general public about both bottled water and tap water and the regulations both types of waters are required to go through.
This article was pretty short but gave me a good look to both sides of the argument. It also provided counter arguments that can make my argument more understandable and stronger later on. It was not my most useful source because of the length but it was very helpful and provided me with very reliable facts.
Szaflarski, Diane. "Tap vs. Bottled Water." Cruising Chemistry. University California, San Diego. Web. 11 Feb 2014.
http://people.chem.duke.edu/~jds/cruise_chem/water/wattap.html
In "Tap vs. Bottled Water," it informs you about how bottled water companies used to be able to label the products any way they would choose. That was until 1996 when the FDA set new standards. These standards included things like: making sure the bottles were clearly labeled, meet FDA standards, and be "processed, packaged, shipped, and stored in a safe and sanitary manner and be truthfully and accurately labeled." The article also then discusses minerals in the two types of water and has evidence that more Ca & Mg, minerals proven to lower death rates, have been found in tap water more than bottled.
Although this website/webpage had no links or a published date to be found, I did find that this website is a project created by professors at University of California, San Diego along with students there showing their studies and knowledge about this and other topics similar. Because of their studies and findings they had a lot of evidence to back up there information that could be verified. No biases were shown, solely facts, that proved their purpose was not persuasion, which is why I do think I would use this source and their studies.
Although this was a very different source, I found a lot of very helpful & credible facts, that along with the Mayo Clinic source, provided information on both sides of the two types of waters. It again helped me see both sides while still helping me take a side on the argument.
Owen, J. "Bottled Water Isn't Healthier Than Tap, Report Reveals." National Geographics. 24 Feb 2006: n. page. Print.
This article like, previous sources, focused on the environmental aspects of the topic and how bottled water effects it. Talking about things like how the packaging of bottled water threatens the environment, and facts like 2.7 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water worldwide, it continues to discuss the most common plastic used for bottled water being, Polyethylene Terepthalate (PET). Then goes on to explain this plastic is derived from crude oil and how bottled water can be 10,000x more expensive than tap water and no healthier.
I this article it referenced the NRDC, which was one of my previous sources, so I knew that it was credible. With the heading "Tons of Plastic," it provides very good statistics that help my side of the argument. And although it seems sometimes biased, it has the evidence to back it up. The author has a full biography on the site, proving he is authorized, and being in National Geographics shows it was reviewed before being published which is why I would use this source.
I found this source extremely helpful specifically for my argument because it provides awesome facts that back up my argument while still maintaining no bias.