irony

What to hear some irony? The Los Angels Department of Water and Power spent $70,000 on bottled water last year. Yes, you heard that right LA's water department is buying bottled water for employees to drink. Keep in mind Los Angeles is touted for having some of the best tap water anywhere. (Debatable I know, but statistically it is very clean.) Granted we steal our water from Colorado and Northern California, but all the same it is good water and our Department of Water and Power is buying bottled water! In plastic bottles! Our mayor Villaraigosa tried to put his foot down on this expense after his first election, but it’s still happening. Less money has been spent each year, for the last four years, but still $70,000 last year is a lot of money. Well, in walks 'The Great American Economic Crisis' and now the foot is really going down. No more water encased in wasteful plastic for you Department of Water and Power—it costs too much!

The economy has had the same effect on my university's bottled water buying proclivity. I was recently at a meeting where we were told there is no more bottled water for lunch meetings due to budget cuts. Apparently, the presentation I gave a the monthly faculty meeting back in October about reducing, reusing, recycling and ecological stewardship was not as effective as the “presentation” the economy is currently giving the budget office. Either way I am happy...I guess. If economic destruction is the only way for people to start reducing their unnecessary plastic consumption I’ll take it…although I think we could have made these practical change just as easy without the whole economic crisis thing.