Month: November 2010

The Usage of Water

The soft drink giant Pepsi has been forced to make an embarrassing admission: Its bestselling Aquafina bottled water is nothing more than tap water. From the tap, you can pour over 6.4 gallons for a penny. That makes the bottled stuff about 7,000 times more expensive. One of the things that we’re finding as we’re talking to people about this issue on the street is that they don’t know where the water is coming from. Environmental degradation in the form of depletion of the local ground water table due to the utilization of natural water resources by the company poses a serious threat to many communities. A scientific study requested by the court found that while the plant had “aggravated the water scarcity situation,” the “most significant factor” was a lack of rainfall. Critics respond that Coke shouldn’t be locating bottling plants in drought-stricken areas.

The Pepsi company is also the target of community campaigns across India accusing the company of creating severe water shortages and pollution around its bottling plants. A number of studies, including those by the government of India, have confirmed the growing water shortages and pollution of groundwater and soil by the Pepsi company. Pepsi’s operations in India have come under intense scrutiny as many communities are experiencing severe water shortages as well as contaminated groundwater and soil that some assert are a result of Coca-Cola’s bottling operations.

Last But Not Least:

Packaging used in Coca-Cola’s products has a significant environmental impact.

The Usage of Pesticide

PepsiCo holds almost the half market share of soft drink in the world. Pepsico carbonated drinks in India contain dangerously high levels of pesticides CSE tested 57 samples of PepsiCo carbonated products from 25 different bottling plants across 12 states and found pesticide residues in all samples. CSE found that the Indian produced Pepsi’s soft drink products had 36 times the level of pesticide residues permitted under European Union regulations; Coca Cola’s 30 times.

Lindane – a confirmed carcinogen – sometimes as high as 140 times those allowed by EU and BIS standards

* Chlorpyrifos – a neurotoxin – sometimes as high as 200 times those allowed by EU and BIS standards
* Heptachlor – which is banned in India and also has not been used in the US since 1988 – was found in 71 per cent of the samples, at levels 4 times higher than the proposed BIS standards.
* Malathion – a pesticide that the US EPA recommends that workers wait at least 12 hours before entering the area of application – were found in 38.6% of the samples tested.

PepsiCo angrily denied allegations that their products manufactured in India contained toxin levels far above the norms permitted in the developed world. The director of PepsiCo used Pepsi’s brand name to draw attention to her campaign against pesticides.

The 2012 Mercedes CLS 63 AMG will be unveiled very soon. I can’t wait to see the new model running on the road. For North America, the 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class reportedly reprises the current 5.5-liter and high-performance 6.2-liter AMG V8 engines. The redesigned model will feature an aggressive front fascia, LED daytime running lights, a four-tailpipe exhaust system, and AMG wheels. ower will be provided by a twin-turbo 5.5-liter V8 engine with 544 PS (400 kW/ 536 hp) and 800 Nm (590 lb-ft) of torque. It will be connected to a 7-speed Speedshift MCT transmission which should enable the CLS 63 AMG to accelerate from 0-60 mph in less than 4.3 seconds.

Here’s the spied photo

Here’s the video