Water, Hydration, and Plastic Pollution
Chapter 8. Water: Hydration, Fluoridation, and Plastic Contamination
This chapter explores the role of water in human nutrition, public health, and environmental sustainability. It explains why water is an essential nutrient and highlights its role in health and kidney disease while dispelling hydration myths. The chapter reveals global disparities in tap water quality, which varies by socioeconomic and geographic factors, and examines the role of fluoride and fluoridation in dental cavities. It describes the rise of plastics in food containers and critiques designer bottled water, highlighting the roles of BPA, forever chemicals (PFAS), and fossil fuels used in plastic production that contribute to health risks, air pollution, and climate change. While many plastics are recyclable, the chapter reveals that most end up in the ocean, where they compromise wildlife and threaten biodiversity; microplastics also end up on human plates (and in human bodies and brains), emphasizing the need to reduce plastic production and consumption to protect public health and the environment.
Core Topics This Chapter Addresses
Guiding Questions
⮞ Why is water essential for life and health? Do you really need to drink eight glasses of water daily to stay hydrated?
⮞ Why is fluoride added to drinking water in some places—and is it safe?
⮞ Can drinking water facilitate weight loss or prevent kidney stones?
⮞ Is tap water just as safe and nutritious as bottled water?
⮞ Why should you ditch drinking bottled water—and your other plastic habits, too?
The Water Footprint of Food
Address health and sustainability challenges from a water perspective, suitable for environmental policy curricula and green media reporting.