Response: Max Kotelnicki's To Bottle or Not to Bottle

Bottled water runs my life. Being a tennis player i go through nearly 6 bottles of water or Powerade every single day, whether it be during a match or practice. Although i should, i never really think about "being green", but i do occasionally refill my bottles with the water from the water fountain. (Even though it tastes like iron) In Max's post he discusses the very controversial topic of the use of bottled water. He found two articles; one in favor or bottled water, and one against it. The article for bottled water discusses how tap water doesn't taste as good as tap water and how tap water could be contaminated. Coming from the suburbs of Chicago, our city officials like to tell us that our tap water is pure enough to drink is among the best tap water in the country. I still don't buy it though. My family has an entire outside refrigerator designated to plastic bottled beverages.

His second article discusses how bottled water is of bad value, creates excess garbage, and is no healthier than tap water. All of these statements are clearly backed by facts, but for some reason this article does not make me want to cut bottled water out of my life. Max does a great job of offering an alternative however. The idea of the reusable water bottle should be more active in this debate. After looking deeper into this subject what was more amusing to me was how many bottled water companies are "Green Washing" their labels. I don't know who they are trying to fool; bottled water will never be good for the environment. ever.

Must Be 21 or Older.

As i walked through the backyards of Madison's very own Mifflin Block Party, I couldn't help but notice that every single person participating in these festivities had a drink in their hand. With this being said those who enter college are 18 years old, which technically means that they shouldn't be allowed to drink alcohol until their Junior year of school. This just doesn't seem right to me. In the article Why drinking age should be lowered the author discusses many reasons why the drinking age should be changed to 18 or 19 years old. Discussed in the article is the idea that having the drinking age at 21 makes for a "forbidden fruit" effect among teens. He uses research to describe how as the age of individuals increase the percent of binging decreases dramatically. While lowering the age of drinking at controlled places such as restaurants and taverns more sensible drinking behavior would be learned, so the need to binge would become less important. The article also discusses how although per captia consumption and motor vehicle crashes has decreased, there has been an increase in other problems associated with heavy, irresponsible drinking among college students. Such problems would include: vomiting after drinking, missing class because of hangover, and fighting because of drinking.
In the opposing article the author discusses how the increased drinking age to 21 has decreased alcohol and vehicle related deaths in the 16-20 year old age range. The article also discusses how there is an extreme increase in alcohol dependency in those who consume alcohol before the age of 15.

I think that the article in favor of lowering the drinking age was more convincing. Not only did it present multiple ideas about why it should be lowered but it took into account the other side of the argument. After reading these articles my opinion has not changed in regards to lowering the drinking age. I still believe that it should be lowered to 18 or 19. I mean, if you are allowed to lose your life for your country when you are 18, then why can't you drink? I think this idea should have been discussed in the article. I wish they would have also explain that when you turn 18 you are technically considered an adult, and are given every other privilege with being an adult other than drinking.