Wouldn’t you like to expose your newer readers to some of you earlier posts that they might never have seen? Or remind your long term followers of posts that they might not remember? Each Friday I will publish a post I wrote on this exact date in a previous year.

How about you? Why don’t you reach back into your own archives and highlight a post that you wrote on this very date in a previous year? You can repost your Friday Flashback post on your blog and pingback to this post. Or you can just write a comment below with a link to the post you selected.

If you’ve been blogging for less than a year, go ahead and choose a post that you previously published on this day (the 27th) of any month within the past year and link to that post in a comment.

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This was originally posted on March 27, 2011 on my old blog.

Step Away From That Bottle of Water

There is a war being waged by some environmentalist groups against bottled water. These environmentally conscious crusaders believe that our penchant in this country for buying and drinking water in plastic bottles is not only outrageously expensive (given that most of us can get water for free from the faucets on our kitchen sinks), it is also causing significant harm to our planet.

At least one bottled water company is trying to be more environmentally considerate. Poland Spring recently introduced its Eco-Shape® plastic water bottle. Poland Spring claims that its new bottle is “not only less impactful on the environment, it’s purposely designed to be easy to carry and hold.” I’m glad it was purposely designed to be easy to carry and hold, as opposed to having been accidentally or unintentionally designed that way.

But I digress. Poland Spring brags about its new Eco-Shape® bottle, noting that “it’s lighter, it requires less energy to make – resulting in a reduction of CO2 emissions.” It’s made, they say, with 30% less plastic, has a label that is one-third smaller, and is easier to crush for recycling. In addition, the bottle’s smaller cap results in less plastic than before, when it apparently had a larger cap.

All of this sounds great, doesn’t it? Here’s a company with a conscience. Here’s a company that is doing its part to help planet Earth. Here’s a company that has it in for children.

Say what?!?
How, exactly, did I come to this outrageous conclusion? Simple. I carefully read the label on a Poland Spring’s environmentally conscious bottle. This one-third smaller label starts out, in very large letters, boasting “Smaller Cap = Less Plastic.” Yeah, that makes sense. The words “Be Green” also appear on the label. Good advice.

But then there is a section of the label that reads: “WARNING: Cap is a small part and poses a CHOKING HAZARD, particularly for children.” Uh oh. Now there’s a cause for concern, especially if you have children, know children, or are children.

Well, I still say kudos to the folks at Poland Spring. They are being proactive. They are not only doing positive things for the environment with their new eco-friendly bottle, they’re helping to address the global over-population crisis by causing children to suffer violent and painful choking deaths.

You know what they say, right? You can’t make an omelette if you don’t break a few eggs. Sorry kids.