I love my Klean Kanteen bottles. I have two bottles, one is insulated for coffee or tea, the other is for water. The first bottle I purchased had a little accident a few weeks after I purchased it. I was climbing outside and the person I was climbing with tried to lower my backpack down the wall with a rope and my pack ended up getting caught on a little ledge. Of course in the moment the best idea was to pull the rope up and let the packs weight get it over the ledge. It worked but knocked the water bottle out of the pack where the bottle careened down and slammed against the wall as it came down to the ground. As it came down and bounced off the wall I thought to myself. "Wow, it is getting really banged up and I am glad it isn't one of us." The plastic cap shattered and the metal bottle was pretty beat up. Stickers have helped to cover up some of the dents. It definitely gives it character.
Living in Colorado you understand the importance of water. It is really dry here and is at altitude. If you are not hydrated enough it can give you frequent headaches. Your skin also dries out. So Stay hydrated! Ever since I have moved to Boulder, I have realized how obsessed with bottles I have become. Some people are into camel backs. I am not. It's a great idea and can be an easy way to carry water on the go. I can't stand the taste of plastic water. That is why I have stuck with bottles. I do like the stainless steel bottles better than the plastic bottles. I have learned that the plastic can leach into the water in the bottle and possibly cause cancer. I am sure that I have already put many chemicals into my body prior to becoming more educated on the things that are harmful to the environment and our lives.
It's hard to keep track of everything that is going to give you cancer. I feel like the list gets longer and longer. I have decided that the best place to start with taking care of the environment and my health is to use a water bottle and filter water that I drink. It is hard to believe how many people still purchase cases of bottled water. There are some pretty depressing movies about how we are running out of water. It makes you think. When will we all run out of water and whom is going to be affected the most? It's already happening in some places in the world. When my friend and I were visiting India, we purchased bottled water. I had the intention of using a steripen to sterilize the water, but while I was there it seemed as if that maybe wouldn't be enough. I also had a hard time getting it to work every time. We tried to get the big bottles of water to produce less waste. It made me wonder what most Indians did when It came to water? In restaurants I would see people drinking the water that was served at the tables. An immunity must have been built up. I am sure at one point my immunity was there but it sure wasn't ready for out of the tap water. Who knows maybe at some point all the water in the US will be contaminated as well? I hope not. I know there are already places where it is happening. Methane, or chemicals from factories. It sucks that it is happening.
To me in the big picture water = life. My younger sister works as an environmental lawyer to help clean up the waterways in the Puget Sound. That is awesome and makes me happy. I know it's not an easy fight, but I know that we need more companies like the one she works for. I hope that it won't get to the point where we are all getting cancer or too sick from the water before we can really get all the water cleaned up in time. I would love for the next generation to be able to swim in a body of water that is not polluted. Those were the days of swimming in water that was "the secret swimming hole."
