New York state government offices will stop buying bottled water in a move to cut costs and fight global warming, Governor David Paterson said today. Paterson signed an executive order that phases out the spending of state dollars on single-serve bottles and cooler-sized water bottles for employees at state agencies. The agencies will provide other water sources such as tap water fountains and dispensers.”Taxpayers have spent billions of dollars to ensure that we have clean drinking water supplies,” Paterson said at a news conference. “If we are going to make such significant investments, we should reap the benefits and use that water.”
It was not immediately clear how much money the switch would save because each agency has been buying its own water, the governor’s office said.
In the United States, plastic water bottle manufacturing uses 17 million barrels of oil every year, producing over 2.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution, Paterson’s office said.
{Reuters/Matzav.com Newscenter}
