Unbottled: The Fight against Plastic Water and for Water Justice
"An essential book for everyone who seeks to reclaim the commons and build a just and equitable society."—John Nichols, The Nation

An exploration of bottled water's impact on social justice and sustainability, and how diverse movements are fighting back.

In just four decades, bottled water has transformed from a luxury niche item into a ubiquitous consumer product, representing a $300 billion market dominated by global corporations. It sits at the convergence of a mounting ecological crisis of single-use plastic waste and climate change, a social crisis of affordable access to safe drinking water, and a struggle over the fate of public water systems. Unbottled examines the vibrant movements that have emerged to question the need for bottled water and challenge its growth in North America and worldwide.
 
Drawing on extensive interviews with activists, residents, public officials, and other participants in controversies ranging from bottled water's role in unsafe tap water crises to groundwater extraction for bottling in rural communities, Daniel Jaffee asks what this commodity's meteoric growth means for social inequality, sustainability, and the human right to water. Unbottled profiles campaigns to reclaim the tap and addresses the challenges of ending dependence on packaged water in places where safe water is not widely accessible. Clear and compelling, it assesses the prospects for the movements fighting plastic water and working to ensure water justice for all.
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Unbottled: The Fight against Plastic Water and for Water Justice
"An essential book for everyone who seeks to reclaim the commons and build a just and equitable society."—John Nichols, The Nation

An exploration of bottled water's impact on social justice and sustainability, and how diverse movements are fighting back.

In just four decades, bottled water has transformed from a luxury niche item into a ubiquitous consumer product, representing a $300 billion market dominated by global corporations. It sits at the convergence of a mounting ecological crisis of single-use plastic waste and climate change, a social crisis of affordable access to safe drinking water, and a struggle over the fate of public water systems. Unbottled examines the vibrant movements that have emerged to question the need for bottled water and challenge its growth in North America and worldwide.
 
Drawing on extensive interviews with activists, residents, public officials, and other participants in controversies ranging from bottled water's role in unsafe tap water crises to groundwater extraction for bottling in rural communities, Daniel Jaffee asks what this commodity's meteoric growth means for social inequality, sustainability, and the human right to water. Unbottled profiles campaigns to reclaim the tap and addresses the challenges of ending dependence on packaged water in places where safe water is not widely accessible. Clear and compelling, it assesses the prospects for the movements fighting plastic water and working to ensure water justice for all.
27.95 In Stock
Unbottled: The Fight against Plastic Water and for Water Justice

Unbottled: The Fight against Plastic Water and for Water Justice

by Daniel Jaffee
Unbottled: The Fight against Plastic Water and for Water Justice

Unbottled: The Fight against Plastic Water and for Water Justice

by Daniel Jaffee

Paperback(First Edition)

$27.95 
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Overview

"An essential book for everyone who seeks to reclaim the commons and build a just and equitable society."—John Nichols, The Nation

An exploration of bottled water's impact on social justice and sustainability, and how diverse movements are fighting back.

In just four decades, bottled water has transformed from a luxury niche item into a ubiquitous consumer product, representing a $300 billion market dominated by global corporations. It sits at the convergence of a mounting ecological crisis of single-use plastic waste and climate change, a social crisis of affordable access to safe drinking water, and a struggle over the fate of public water systems. Unbottled examines the vibrant movements that have emerged to question the need for bottled water and challenge its growth in North America and worldwide.
 
Drawing on extensive interviews with activists, residents, public officials, and other participants in controversies ranging from bottled water's role in unsafe tap water crises to groundwater extraction for bottling in rural communities, Daniel Jaffee asks what this commodity's meteoric growth means for social inequality, sustainability, and the human right to water. Unbottled profiles campaigns to reclaim the tap and addresses the challenges of ending dependence on packaged water in places where safe water is not widely accessible. Clear and compelling, it assesses the prospects for the movements fighting plastic water and working to ensure water justice for all.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780520306622
Publisher: University of California Press
Publication date: 09/19/2023
Edition description: First Edition
Pages: 384
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Daniel Jaffee is Professor of Sociology at Portland State University. His previous book, Brewing Justice: Fair Trade Coffee, Sustainability, and Survival, received the C. Wright Mills Book Award. Learn more at www.danieljaffee.net.

Table of Contents

Contents

List of Figures and Tables 
Preface 

Introduction 
1. A More Perfect Commodity 
2. Making a Market, Fearing the Tap, Building a Backlash 
3. Flint: Corroding Pipes, Eroding Trust 
4. Reclaiming the Tap 
5. Cascade Locks: A Decade-Long Struggle 
6. Guelph and Elora: Watching Water, Broadening the Movement 
7. Empty Bottles: Water Justice and the Right to Drink 
Conclusion 

Acknowledgments 
Notes 
References 
Index 
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