Earth Day Scaremonger
I’m a little behind on the Earf Day stuff, but here’s John Stossel:
Every Earth Day brings out new scaremongering from silly people.
This year, one scare is that BPA, a chemical in plastic, causes “obesity, breast cancer, to prostate cancer, diabetes, brain disorders, such as attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder, liver disease, ovarian disease, disease of the uterus, low sperm count in men.” That’s according to a new documentary called “Tapped.” So you better not drink bottled water!
Yes, huge amounts of BPA fed to rats cause problems, but there’s no good evidence that tiny amounts, locked into plastic, hurt people. In fact BPA saves lives, by stopping botulism.
“Tapped” claims that many other dangerous chemicals poison bottled water. Toxicologist Dr. Stephen King says in the film that we should be “horrified” at all the chemicals in bottled water. But when we called him, he sent us a study that says: “testing” reveals a surprising array of chemical contaminants in every bottled water brand analyzed — at levels no different than routinely found in tap water.
The director of Tapped, Stephanie Soechtig, claims that cancer rates are up as a result of these chemicals, but that’s another myth. Cancer incidence rates are flat. They would have declined, if not for new screening methods.
So ignore the Earth Day alarmism. Economic progress is what makes life better.
Tapped also suggests that because bottled water companies take water from the earth, the world will run out of water! But over the last 20 years, thanks to economic progress, a BILLION people GAINED access to improved drinking water, according to the WHO.
Even if we were running out off fresh water, modern technology would be the answer, not the problem. One desalinization plant in Florida converts 9 billion gallons a year – more than is used for all the bottled water sold in the US.
“Tapped” does get one thing right: bottled water is a waste of money. Tests I’ve done show it’s not healthier or better-tasting.
By the way, how do we get plastic? Polymers from evil, evil petroleum!