Activists have been deluging city councils recently, demanding that they ban bottled water in the cities. Activists say that these bottles are bad for the environment, that they use too much energy to make and fill our overtaxed landfills. To the activists' delight, city councils are rolling over to the activists' demands. Dozens of city councils have adopted bans of bottle water in municipal buildings and meetings.
The problem with this approach is this: without bottled water, consumers drink canned soft drinks, bottled fruit juices, or bottled sports drinks. 70% of the beverages that consumers drink come in packages. Shouldn't these city councils ban all packaged beverages then? Come to think of it, shouldn't they also ban all packaged food? Of course not. So why single out bottled water, which is actually healthier than many of its competitors?

Don't city council members believe that their constituents can make educated, informed decisions about their own food and beverage purchases?