HIGHLIGHTS
May 2013 Newsletter
CENTRAL KENTUCKY’S WATER SOLUTIONS COMPANY FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS
Wilmore 859-858-4407
London 606-864-7508
Richmond 859-623-4700
AS SODA LOSES ITS REIGN,
Water Becomes America’s
Favorite Drink
The above headline capped a front-page article on MSN News (Microsoft’s regular online
portal which presents general news items from all genres.) The subhead read:
AS SUGARY DRINKS COME UNDER FIRE FOR FUELING RISING OBESITY RATES,
PEOPLE ARE INCREASINGLY REACHING FOR BOTTLED WATER AS A HEALTHIER,
RELATIVELY AFFORDABLE ALTERNATIVE.
e were quite interested, and wanted to share with our Highbridge family the
complete article, which we present below.
W
FROM THE
PRESIDENT’S DESK
(NOTE: New York City’s attempt to ban the sale of large, sugary drinks was overturned by a
New York Supreme Court Judge before it was enacted. An appeal of the ruling is expected.)
NEW YORK — It wasn't too long ago that America had a love affair with
soda. Now, an old flame has the country's heart.
As New York City's ban on the sale of large cups of soda and other sugary
drinks at some businesses starts on Tuesday, one thing is clear: soda's run as the
rocessing Magazine, an online pub- nation's beverage of choice has fizzled.
P
lication I see regularly, recently
presented an article which got my
attention.
It had to do with energy drinks,
several of which are relatively new to
the marketplace and have wide followings. Generally, an energy drink is
a type of beverage containing stimulant drugs, chiefly caffeine, which is
marketed as providing mental or physical stimulation. Some of them contain
enormous amounts of caffeine, sugar,
herbal extracts and other ingredients
which, in excessive doses, can pose
health risks.
In fact, the U. S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) has been looking into them, and has issued a recent
report suggesting that over the past
several years as many as 18 deaths
may have been caused by a couple of
them, particularly one called 5-HourEnergy, which has been linked to 13
deaths.
As a result of the findings from the
report the FDA is launching an investigation into the potential dangers that
(continued on back)
In its place? A favorite for much of history: Plain old H2O.
For more than two decades, soda was the No. 1 drink in the U.S., with consumption peaking in 1998 at 54 gallons a year, according to industry tracker
Beverage Digest. Americans drank just 42 gallons a year of water at the time.
But over the years, as soda increasingly came under fire for fueling the nation's
rising obesity rates, water quietly rose to knock it off the top spot.
Americans now drink an average of 44 gallons of soda a year, a 17 percent drop
from the peak in 1998. Over the same time, the average amount of water people
drink has increased 38 percent to about 58 gallons a year. Bottled water has led that
growth, with consumption nearly doubling to 21 gallons a year.
Related Article (same source)
T
he trend reflects Americans' ever-changing tastes; it wasn't too far back in history that tap water
was the top drink.
In the 1980s, carbonated soft drinks overtook tap water as the most popular drink.
Americans kept drinking more of the carbonated, sugary drink for about a decade. Then, soda's
magic started to fade: Everyone from doctors to health advocates to government officials were blaming
soft drinks for making people fat. Consumption started declining after hitting a high in the late 1990s.
At the same time, people started turning to bottled water as an alternative. Its popularity was
helped by the emergence of single-serve bottles that were easy to carry around.
Until then, bottled water had mainly been sold in "big jugs and coolers" for people who didn't
trust their water supply, said John Sicher, publisher of Beverage Digest.
The new soft drink-like packaging helped fast-track bottled water's growth past milk and beer. In
fact, the amount of bottled water Americans drink has risen nearly every year for more than two
decades, while the estimates of how much tap water people drink has fluctuated up and down during
that time.
Based on current trajectories, Michael Bellas, CEO of the industry tracker Beverage Marketing
Corp., predicts that bottled water alone could overtake soda within the next decade. That's not counting enhanced and flavored waters, which are growing quickly but remain a small part of the bottled
water industry.
I BROKE A CFL. NOW WHAT?
IT’S NOT THAT COMPLICATED
F
or some time (well, since the compact florescent light/lamp has been around), we have
been warned to be VERY careful in disposing of broken bulbs. Recent tips from the
Environmental Protection Agency seem designed in part to alleviate the concern. Here are
some pointers, courtesy the EPA. You might make note of the following cleanup instructions in case you should ever break a bulb again.
Before Cleanup
• Have people and pets leave the room.
• Air out the room for five to ten minutes by opening a window or door.
• Shut off the forced-air heating and cooling system, if you have one.
• Use stiff paper or cardboard, sticky tape, damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes (for hard surfaces) and an airtight
container, such as a glass jar with a metal lid or a resealable plastic bag.
During Cleanup
• Do not vacuum. Vacuuming is not recommended unless broken glass remains after all other cleanup steps have been
taken, as doing so may spread mercury-containing powder or mercury vapor.
• Thoroughly scoop up glass fragments and powder using stiff paper or cardboard. Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick
up any remaining small glass fragments and powder. Place the used tape in the glass jar or plastic bag.
After Cleanup
• Promptly place all bulb debris and cleanup materials, including any vacuum cleaner bags used, outdoors in a trash container or protected area until materials can be disposed of properly.
FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK
(continued from front)
consumption of energy drinks might
pose to various demographic groups,
including teenagers and people with a
history of certain medical conditions.
This is not some interest group
reporting, it is the FDA, whose warnings should be taken seriously.
We are not talking here about traditional soda pop such as Coke, Pepsi,
or 7-Up, or even the somewhat venerable Gatorade; but rather, concoctions
which are jammed to excess with all
sorts of things. Some of them contain
more than 10 times the caffeine to be
found in a regular soft drink.
A good idea, it would seem, is to do
some comparison checking before partaking of any of these products, at
least one of which contains the label
warning: “Consumption of more than
two cans in a day may be harmful to
your health. Not to be used for pregnant women, breast feeders, children
under the age of 16, people with heart
disease, high blood pressure, diabetes,
allergy to caffeine, and athletes during
exercise.” Goodness!
A reminder: Pure Highbridge
Spring Water poses no risks of this
sort. A superior alternative, we think.
Linda Slagel
May Days
Kentucky Oaks, Friday, May 3
Kentucky Derby, Saturday, May 4
G
et out the Mint Juleps and toast, with racing fans everywhere, to
the most storied horse race in the world. A full field of 21
Thoroughbreds will fill the gate for the “Greatest Two Minutes In
Sports.” If you’re not lucky enough to have a treasured clubhouse
box, or crazy enough to brave the chaos in the infield, we recommend
you settle in for an afternoon of classic racing, accompanied by
Kentucky’s most famous libation, mixing the bourbon of your choice
with Kentucky’s most delicious mixer: Highbridge Spring Water!
Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 12
I
t doesn’t get much better that this one. It is an American invention, and the modern holiday of Mother's Day was first celebrated
in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother in
America. She then began a campaign to make "Mother's Day" a recognized holiday in the United States. The occasion is now celebrated all over the world. In this tradition, each person offers a gift, card,
or remembrance toward their mothers, grandmothers, and/or maternal figure on mother's day.