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My wife’s third book is arriving in stores. It’s called Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought it. As you might guess, it’s about drinking water and the recent phenomenon of people buying water in little bottles.
It is perhaps understandable, given the subject, that a trade organization like the International Bottled Water Association might be a little defensive about their trade. What’s amazing is that they’ve attacked Elizabeth’s book, issued a “media advisory” about it, volunteered to appear at media events, described in smushy detail its shortcomings, and yet they clearly haven’t read the book.
I know this because they get it exactly wrong. Elizabeth’s book is a carefully researched examination of drinking water (they say it should have been about drinking water), and she assiduously examines the benefits and costs of both bottled water and tap (they say it should have been a launch point for an examination of drinking water and environmental protection, which is in fact exactly what it is). That she makes this journey not only informative but also fun isn’t a surprise to those who’ve read Garbage Land and The Tapir’s Morning Bath.
But clearly the bottled water industry is running scared. They find a book on Amazon about them and assume the worst, butcher the author’s bio (or is an association with National Geographic meant to undermine Elizabeth’s credentials?), and issue a press release that is a paragon of ignorance and muddled meaningless writing. Their motive, to protect their industry, is to attack first with vague hifalutin-sounding jargon intended to discredit without actually addressing any of the issues at hand.
I’m linking to it here because I’m blown away by the stupidity and fundamental dishonesty of these PR people. And because their opposition is a good reason to read Elizabeth’s book and get the real story about our drinking water.