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The presence of chemicals isn’t the only reason we should try to wean ourselves from the bottle, though. For one thing, bottled water is expensive, costing more than a Now, we are learning the stufl in plastic water bottles may be more harmful than anything in our tap water. It is found in clear, hard poly- carbonate plastic commonly used in household and commercial water coolers and some reusable bottles and it is just one potentially harmful substance associated with plastic containers. than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone numbet. name and addmss. The Sun-Nbuncmserves the right to publish or not gzbllsh and to edit I clar» Bisphenol A is just one chemi- cal that’s been in the news and in manyrplastic bottles, recently. he water coming out of most city taps in Canada is pretty clean. Yet, many people prefer to spend money on bottled water, believing it is somehow safer. This compound mimics estro- gens (human female hormones) and has been linked to breast and ovarian cancers and childhood developmental problems. I sometimes bike, savour the fresh air in one of our parks and swim at our pool at I engage in physical activities that can at least divert my attention from boredom and further isolation. lETTERS POLICY My neighbours are suburban people with young children and definitely not of the same age group as I am. Their priorities are diiferent from mine. Breaking down almost every night has been a normal occurrence to me and I’ve even considered it a necessity, lest I want to suffer mental breakdown. This is one of the ways I deal with boredom and loneliness. I find Brian luckier than I am, consider- ing he goes to school and has tons of oppor- tunities to meet friends. I live and work in the same house and meeting friends on my own is close to impossible. The fact I’m a’newcomer and have no known relatives here makes it much worse. The Sun-"Mbune welcomes your letters. All submissions must be less But let me take my case a notch further considering the fact I’m 12 years older than him and I'm not a native Stoufirilliaml arrivedhereayearandahalfagofiom HongKongtoworkasananny. Re: Nothing fi)!’ teenagers to do in grow- ing Smuflilillefllener to the editor by Brian HadawayMays’. I commend Brian for raising the issue. Here, I mougtlt I was the only one. Nothing for adult singles to do in Stouffville, either 1muon.yrmg.com You are paying more for bottled water than gas Lotta: to an Editor. m Sun-mm 6290 M St. W, ON I.“ K37 my mer lty and space LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 1mm MEDIA Marketing 8: Advertising Dawna Andrews dandmnsafyrmg. mm EnrmmAL Editor Iim Mason jmasonOynng.com Canadians consume more than 2 billion litres of bottled water a year and, globally, we consume about _190 billion lines a year. It also takes more water to pro- duce a bottle than the bottle itself will hold. Or, as the National Geographic website illustrates it: “Imagine a water bottle filled a quarter of the way up with oil. That's about how much oil was needed to produce the bottle." And from beginning to end (and for plastics, that end is a long time away), plastic bottles contribute to causing environmental problems. It takes close to 17 million bar- rels of oil to produce the 30 bil- lion water bottles US. citizens go through every year. Have we so polluted our water we feel compelled to pay a lot for it? To start, the manufaéturing pro- cess is a factor in global warming and depletion of energy resources. Unlike most nations 6n Bard), Canada has vast quantities of fresh water. comparable amount of gasoline. Unfortunately, most (if those If nothing can be done with my plea or Brian’s, then I rest my case and continue to judge Stouffville as a typical suburb devoid of life, whose inhabitants just come home to sleep. Parents can be accommodated as well, as long as they don’t bring their children along. Consider this day as a “couple's day off". This would at least relieve them from stress associated in taking care of their chil. dren. Other activities? How about trail run- ning for singles, biking for singles, book reading for singles, singles volunteering for the elderly or maybe a photography club. I would love to be there and meet other Stouffvillians who share the same interests. I would‘suggest Boston Pizza organizing a singles night with a specific theme. Nights suchasthesewillbringinmvenuetothe establishment as well. Please don’t interpret this as an ulterior motive of me looking for a date. I would suggest someone with strong organizational skills and generous help from others organize social activities for adult singles. least twice a week. This is not enough. There has to be asocialactivityAfterall,manisasocial Pnonucnon Team Leader Ann Campbell mmpbellfiynngfiom Anvmmsmc Stacey Allen sallenC’yimg.mm SfiW-fiibune PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot 6290 Main St StouMle, GM. MA 167 www.yodaeglon.com One of the most disturbing things is what happens to plastic that ends up in the oceans, which Plastic that stays on land or buried can take hundreds of years to break down and even then it doesn't completely biodegmde. Many plastic bottles end up in landfills or get incinerated and burning plastic releases toxic chemicals into the air. The pollution â€"from plastics affects our air, land and water. bottles, more than 85 per cent in fact, get tossed into the trash rather than the recycling bin. T.C. NG STOUFFVILLE Assistant Classified Manager Bonnie Rondeau hmndmufi’yrmg.mm David Suzuki In 4 ft?‘ Mg Au’ti‘fl Bum MANAGE! Robert Lazurko Eamon m Cum Debora Kelly USINIIO MANAGE! Dnncmn Inn-um Mann a Tmowcv Iohn Futhey Duuacmn. We a Durnmmou Barry Black Nurdles also soak up toxins, adding to the poisons consumed by animals and every creature up the food chain. More than one million birds and marine animals die every year from eating plastic waste or from becoming entangled in plastics. If the environmental dam- The tiniest bits of plastic, called nurdles, enter the food chain when eaten by marine animals and birds. In a recent column for CBC’s website, writer Heather Mallick described it as “a hideous chyme stretching and pulsing in the sea like an underwater gob of spiky Phlegm"- Plastic doesn’t biodegrade. Rather, it photodegrades, which means, under sunlight, it just keeps breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces. is about 10 per cent of all plastic produced, according to Green- peace. About 900 kilometres off the coast of California, a massive, expanding island of plastic debris 30 metres deep and bigger than the province of Quebec swirls in what is known as the North Pacific Gyre. ADVERTISING 905-640-2612 ,lmificd: 1-800â€"743-3353 Fax: 905-640-8778 Fax DISTRIBUTION 905-640-2612 905-640-2612 x: 905-640-8778 EDITORIAL A York Region Media Group community newspaper The Sun-Tribune. pubiished weryThursday and Saturday. is a division ortha Metroiand Media Group Ltd, a whoiiyowned subsidiary ofTorsiar Corporation. Metroiand is comprised of 100 community publications across Ontariomevork Region Newspaper Group inciudosme Uberal, serving Richmond Hill and momhiii, Vaughan CitizanJhe Eraâ€"Banner (Newmamet/Aurora), Markham Economist Sun. Georgina Advocate. York Region Business Times. North at the City. yorkragioncom and Your Region Printing. Dmncmn, Clncuumou Syms Lynn Pashko Dutncmn. Ammsmc You REGION Pnuu'rmu gum-Tribune The federal government must address any existing concerns about drinkingâ€"water quality with enforceable standards designed to protect human health. There is also a danger gov- ernments may use the growing reliance on bottled water as an excuse to avoid their responsibility to ensure we have access to safe drinking water. That's right, they are taking your tap water and selling it back to you at a markup that caii be as high as 3,000 times the price you pay for it through your taxes. Coca Cola filters and bottles water from municipal sources in Calgary and Brampton for its Dasani brand. Pepsi’s Aquafina comes mostly from Vancouver and Mississauga. age caused by plastic bottles or the existence of potentially toxic chemicals in the bottles isn’t enough to make you avoid them. how about some reasons that hit closer to home? First, there is the fact many bot- tlers get their water from munici- pal supplies. 0mm MANAGER Bob Dean