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This 8-minute video will make you think twice before buying bottled water.

environment, water bottles, recycling, education
Image via Pixabay.

A single use water bottle after its' single use.

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Natural Resources Defense Council

When someone asks if you want bottled or tap water, which do you choose?

It seems like an innocuous decision — just a matter of preference. But there's actually a lot riding on that choice, according to " The Story of Bottled Water," an eight-minute video that's drawn millions of views since it was posted in 2010.

A 2008 Nestlé advertisement in Canada infamously read, "Bottled water is the most environmentally responsible consumer product in the world."

The bold claim by the world's largest bottled water company drew the ire of environmentalists across Canada. Nestlé never proved the claim, but they sent it to print, so it must have been true, right?

Well, as "The Story of Bottled Water" notes, the energy in the oil it takes to make the plastic water bottles sold every year in the U.S. could fuel a million cars.

The Pacific Institute, a water policy think tank, estimated that in 2006, bottled water production required 17 million barrels of oil and sent 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to record high global temperatures.

Since when was it "environmentally responsible" to burn huge volumes of fossil fuels?

But bottled water companies don't stop burning fossil fuels with production. There's also the fuel involved in shipping.

Michael Warhurst, who campaigned against bottled water with Friends of the Earth, a nonprofit conservation group, says bottled water transportation makes an already bad situation worse:

"It is another product we do not need. Bottled water companies are wasting resources and exacerbating climate change. Transport is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions, and transporting water adds to that."

It's tough to know exactly how much fuel is used for shipping bottled water, but with the industry showing consistent growth, it's safe to bet its fuel needs are, too.

Bottled water also takes a toll on the global climate long after it quenches our thirst.

Up to 80% of empty water bottles end up in landfills, where waste decomposes over time, releasing methane, a potent greenhouse gas. According to the EPA, landfills are the third largest source of methane emissions in the U.S.

Discarded plastic bottles that don't meet land or sea are sometimes burned in incinerators that release more heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere.

Bottom line: Nestlé was wrong.

There's no known statement on whether Nestlé woke up to the fallacy of their claims, but it is clear bottled water is far from "the most environmentally responsible consumer product in the world." And we'd all be doing the Earth a favor by avoiding it like a planet-warming plague.

NOTE: Though we reached out to Nestlé Waters North America to see if the company's perspective has shifted on the environmental impacts of bottled water, they declined to comment.

    Watch "The Story of Bottled Water" to learn more:

    The Story of Bottled Water

    Want to be a part of the solution? Here are a few ways to get involved:

    1. Don't buy bottled water. Get a reusable water bottle. The savings will add up.
    2. Rally your schools, workplaces, and communities to ban bottled water and other bottled beverages.
    3. Demand that your city, state, and federal governments invest in better water and recycling infrastructure — especially when it comes to how it interacts with fossil fuels.
    4. Sign this petition by the Natural Resources Defense Council to tell our world leaders to act now on climate change.

    "Thank you in advance!" — Earth


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    Enter this giveaway for a free, fun date! 🌊 💗

    It's super easy, no purchase or donation necessary, and you help our oceans! That's what we call a win-win-win. Enter here.

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    Pop Culture

    Brit shares the one-word 'dead giveaway' that American actors are doing an English accent

    There's one word they never get right.

    via Warner Bros Discovery

    Peter Dinklage on "Game of Thrones?

    When it comes to actors doing accents across the pond, some Americans are known for their great British accents, such as Natalie Portman ("The Other Boleyn Girl"), Robert Downey, Jr. ("Sherlock Homes"), and Meryl Streep ("The Iron Lady").

    Some have taken a lot of heat for their cartoonish or just plain weird-sounding British accents, Dick Van Dyke ("Mary Poppins"), Kevin Costner ("Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves") and Keanu Reeves ("Bram Stoker's Dracula").

    Some actors, such as Tom Hardy (“The Drop”) and Hugh Laurie (“House”), have American accents so good that people have no idea they are British.

    Benedict Townsend, a London-based comedian and host of the “Scroll Deep” podcast, says there is one word that American actors playing characters with a British accent never get right. And no, it’s not the word “Schedule,” which British people pronounce the entire first 3 letters, and Americans boil down to 2. And it’s not “aluminum,” which British and American people seem to pronounce every stinking letter differently.

    @benedicttown

    The one word American actors aways get wrong when doing an English accent

    What word do American actors always get wrong when they do British accents?

    “There is one word that is a dead giveaway that an English character in a movie or a TV show is being played by an American. One word that always trips them up. And once you notice it, you can't stop noticing it,” Townsend says. “You would see this lot in ‘Game of Thrones’ and the word that would always trip them up was ‘daughter.’”

    Townsend adds that when British people say “daughter,” they pronounce it like the word “door” or “door-tah.” Meanwhile, Americans, even when they are putting on a British accent, say it like “dah-ter.”

    “So top tip if you are an actor trying to do an English accent, daughter like a door. Like you're opening a door,” Townsend says.



    What word do British actors always get wrong when doing American accents?

    Some American commenters returned the favor by sharing the word that British actors never get right when using American accents: “Anything.”

    "I can always tell a Brit playing an American by the word anything. An American would say en-ee-thing. Brits say it ena-thing,” Dreaming_of_Gaea wrote. "The dead giveaway for English people playing Americans: ‘Anything.’ Brits always say ‘EH-nuh-thin,’” marliemagill added.

    "I can always tell an actor is English playing an American when they say ‘anything.’ English people always say it like ‘enny-thin,’” mkmason wrote.



    What is the cot-caught merger?

    One commenter noted that the problem goes back to the cot-caught merger, when Americans in the western US and Canadians began to merge different sounds into one. People on the East Coast and in Britain pronounce them as different sounds.

    “Depending on where you live, you might be thinking one of two things right now: Of course, ‘cot’ and ‘caught’ sound exactly the same! or There’s no way that ‘cot’ and ‘caught’ sound the same!” Laura McGrath writes at DoYouReadMe. “As a result, although the different spellings remain, the vowel sounds in the words cot/caught, nod/gnawed, stock/stalk are identical for some English speakers and not for others.”

    American actors owe Townsend a debt of gratitude for pointing out the one thing that even the best can’t seem to get right. He should also give the commenters a tip of the cap for sharing the big word that British people have trouble with when doing an American accent. Now, if we could just get through to Ewan McGregor and tell him that even though he is fantastic in so many films, his American accent still needs a lot of work.

    This article originally appeared last year.

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    Modern Families

    Seasoned grandma reveals 3 crucial rules all new grandparents must follow

    "Can someone send this to my MIL please?"

    Unsplash

    Conflict between parents and grandparents is hard to avoid. A lot of the time, it comes down to generational differences. When our parents were raising us, there weren't smartphones and there was no Disney+ or Netflix (well, at least not the streaming version). In general, kids had more freedom and less supervision in the 80s and 90s. Parenting styles like gentle parenting or conscious parenting weren't things people thought about as frequently. Again, there was no Instagram shoving it in your face over and over! In some cases, research and data gathered over time have shown us a better way, even though previous generations of parents were doing the best with the information they had.

    So it's natural for grandparents to have, um, opinions about how their grandchildren are being raised at times. According to the AARP, most disagreements center on how children are disciplined, what they eat, and how much screen time they get. The sad thing is that when these conflicts become too common, or escalate too far, grandparents can start to miss out on time with their grandkids. There's got to be a way to avoid or mediate these conflicts before they get to that point.

    One grandma just laid out her three simple rules for new grandparents who want better relationships with their kids and grandkids.

    Giphy

    Maria, who goes by MomMom Maria online, took to Instagram to offer the blunt advice for new or expecting grandmas — though they can definitely apply to any grandparent.

    Rule number one. You are not the parent.

    "That is crucial. You're not this child's parent," Maria says in a selfie-style video filmed in her car. "You're privileged to be a grandmother. You're not the mother."

    It sounds obvious, but Maria's absolutely right about this one. The parents get to make the decisions on how their kids are raised, how they are disciplined, what they eat, what they can and can't watch on TV, and more. As a grandparent you're not the decision-maker and you're not the one who's ultimately responsible. You can have your own thoughts and opinions, but you don't really get a say. Harsh but true!

    Rule number two: Respect the parents' boundaries.

    "And guess what? You don't have to understand them," says Maria. "'I don't understand why she doesn't want us to kiss the baby!' You don't have to understand, respect their boundaries."

    Conflict doesn't have to come from disagreements about parenting. Some parents butt heads with grandparents over their kids being spoiled and showered with gifts (and other junk that parents then have to find a place for in crowded houses). It can be tough for grandparents to understand or agree with a boundary like "Please don't buy them anything without asking me first," but Maria argues that grandparents must respect boundaries even if they don't understand or agree with them.

    Number three, a corollary to rule number two: It's not about you.

    "You're not a victim," Maria says. “You're not a pushover. You're just being respectful of their role as parents and realizing that your role is a grandmother. I love it."

    Just because you're keeping critical thoughts and opinions and disagreements on how the children are being parented to yourself doesn't mean you're being weak. That's just being respectful of the parents' boundaries and decisions. It's a good thing that you're working to ensure a positive relationship with your children and grandchildren! That's an investment that will reap more and more dividends as the kids get older.

    Maria's tips united people from across the aisle — both parents and grandparents agreed the guidelines could make for better relationships.

    Maria's video struck a cord with a huge audience of over 300,000 viewers on Instagram. Most were fully on board with the 'new rules.'

    "Grandmother to a 7-month-old and two-week-old. Absolutely agree. And I remember how it was when I was a young mother and my MIL made unsolicited comments," one fellow grandma chimed in.

    "And remember things have changed since you were a mom: swaddling, no blankets, back sleeping, etc. Just nod and say ok!" offered another user.

    Another user mentioned that she'd had a similar conversation with their therapist, who said: "grandparents are used to being *the* parents in the room. They often times don’t know how to or otherwise refuse to fall into a secondary role.” ... "And that hit hard," the user added. "I think a lot of these grandparents are not understanding that they don’t get to parent our kids. They need to step back and let us parent. It’s time for them to relax and step into that secondary role."

    Giphy

    But not everyone agreed with Maria's advice. Some grandparents, in particular, resented the fact that they should feel privileged just to be involved in a child's life at all, or they lamented not feeling connected to the family when their wisdom and experience wasn't being valued.

    "I had one child. He grew up , got married, and is now a dad. I have one grandson," one person commented. "They live on the other side of the country. I keep my mouth shut about EVERYTHING. I text to get permission to call or be lucky enough to FT. I don’t send my grandson ANYTHING , not even so much as a cookie, unless I get their permission first. I struggle to have any conversation with him or his wife because I am not a part of their life. I keep my mouth shut, offer no opinions on anything . It is very hard to be so disconnected from them and it hurts but there is nothing I can do about."

    Another commenter was upset by feeling like they knew better, but not being able to voice it:

    "This is so hard to do as a GP. I want all organic. . Parents do not care. I want no sugar. They give lots of sugar . I want no screen time . Parents do lots of screen time . I want no cell phone scrolling. Parents scrolll constantly in front of baby. I’m trying so hard to not say anything."

    Parents aren't "always right" when it comes to these conflicts, for the record. Ideally, there would be open and honest communication, and a relationship where grandparents' experience and wisdom was valued and taken into consideration, while also allowing space and boundaries for the parents to make the final decisions. Of course, communication is hard. It takes a lot of work and it requires multiple different parties to manage their emotions and egos. Learning to communicate about boundaries, rules, and differences in philosophy takes time — but Maria's three rules are a pretty good starting point for new grandparents who want to get off on the right foot.

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    Pets

    Research shows why you should always pet your dog before leaving the house

    via Pixabay

    One of the most wonderful things about having a dog is how attached they become to their owners. I work from home and my Jack Russel terrier, Scout, lies next to me on his bed for most of the day. The only time he leaves my office is for a sip of water or to go outside and sun his belly on the porch.

    That's why whenever I leave the house and can't take Scout with me, I wonder, "Does he miss me? Is he sad that he's alone?" Studies show that our dogs miss us the moment we leave the house and that feeling slowly intensifies until we are gone for about four hours and they have a "plateau of melancholy." That's why the longer you're away, the more excited your dog is when you return home.

    The moment I pull up in my car Scout begins to howl like a wolf trying to contact someone who's miles away. It's like, "Dude, I'm 30 feet away. Give me a second to grab the groceries out of the trunk."

    Researchers from the Universities of Pisa and Perugia, Italy have found that if you give your dog some affection before you leave the house they'll have less anxiety while you're away.

    They conducted experiments with 10 dogs between the ages of one and 11 without attachment issues. The group was composed of seven mixed-breed dogs, one Labrador retriever, one Hovawart, and one Chihuahua.

    Participants in the study walked their leashed dogs into a fenced area where they were greeted by a researcher who took their dog's heart rate. In the first test, after the owners walked their dogs into the area, they talked with a researcher for one minute then left without giving the dog any special attention.

    In the second test, the dog owners petted the dog during their interaction with the researcher.

    In both tests, the owners left the fenced area and hid far enough away so that the dog couldn't smell them.

    After the owners left, the dogs looked for them for about three minutes on average. After the owners returned, the researchers measured the dogs' levels of the stress hormone cortisol as well as their heart rates.

    The researchers found that whether the dogs were petted or not, their cortisol levels were unchanged. But their heart rate showed a marked decrease if the owners petted them before leaving. Researchers later watched videos of the dogs and found that the ones that were petted showed " behaviors indicative of calmness for a longer period while waiting for the owner's return."

    Next time I'm ready to leave the house and Scout follows me to the front door after saying, "Sorry bud, you can't go with me on this trip," I'll kneel down and give him a little extra love and attention.

    Maybe that way he won't howl like the house is on fire when I pull up in my car after a trip to the grocery store.

    This article originally appeared four years ago.

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    The biggest fan of Kendrick Lamar's halftime show is a cockatoo, and he is rocking out

    Even if you couldn't care less about this Lamar & Drake beef, this is so fun to watch.

    NFL/Youtube, Photo credit: Canva

    He is Team Lamar, through and through.

    While there were certainly many folks at home bopping along to Kendrick Lamar’s epic halftime show, no one did it quite like an internet famous white cockatoo named Bandit—who seriously needs to be hired as one of Lamar’s back-up dancers post haste.

    In the video below, we get to see the entire journey Bandit takes while listening to the performance— curiosity, intrigue, trying to find the beat, feather-raised excitement as he attempts his own dance moves, followed by full on hand banging, the works!

    One thing is abundantly clear. In this infamous feud between Lamar and Drake, Bandit is definitely “Team Lamar.” Watch:

    @banditthecockatoo Bandit discovers @Kendrick Lamar and he likes it. #BanditTheCockatoo #kendricklamar #tvoff #kendrick #parrotsoftiktok #talkingparrot #cockatoo #umbrellacockatoosoftiktok #umbrellacockatoo #talkingbird #parrot #attitude #personality #bird #birb ##birdsoftiktok #birbtiktok #birbturd #birbtok #birdsofinsta #cockatoosofinstagram #parrotsofinstagram #tiktokfamous ##dancing #dancingbird #dancingparrot ♬ tv off - Kendrick Lamar

    Of course, this spurred a lot of fun comments from viewers, especially folks referencing said feud.

    “Even animals are feeling this diss track,” one person wrote, while another said “He’s feeling the power of KDot!” referencing one of Lamar’s earlier stage names.

    Another commented, “I was waiting for him to yell MUSSSSSSTARRRRD!” which Lamar himself yelled in the song "TV Off" as a nod to Mustard, his co-producer, which also became a rather famous internet meme.

    While Bandit had no actuarial awareness of the diss lyrics Lamar was spitting out, he, like many avians in the parrot family, was responding to the rhythm and beat of the music. Much about how and why these birds react to music remains a bit of a mystery, but they do seem to have their individual preferences. While Bandit clearly enjoys hip hop and rap, another might prefer classical music. One funny thing to note however—it’s been said that on the whole, parrots aren’t electronica fans. So no raves for them.

    Of course, cockatoos and parrots can have eclectic tastes too! As we can see below, Bandit also has a soft spot for Billy Idol.

    @banditthecockatoo Bandit discovers @Billy Idol (Running with the Ghost Live at the Stateline at Hoover Dam - which is literally just down the road from our house) #BanditTheCockatoo #billyidol #stevestevens #hooverdam #stateline #concert#parrotsoftiktok #talkingparrot #cockatoo #umbrellacockatoosoftiktok #umbrellacockatoo #talkingbird #parrot #attitude #personality #bird #birb ##birdsoftiktok #birbtiktok #birbturd #birbtok #birdsofinsta #cockatoosofinstagram #parrotsofinstagram #tiktokfamous #singing #singingparrot #singingbird #dancing #dancingbird #dancingparrot ♬ original sound - BanditTheCockatoo

    This charming bird has been a TikTok star for years now, entering his 300K followers with dance moves, food antics, and his own beef with “mean ol’ dad,” who has the audacity to touch his stuff. But Upworthy has encountered other cheeky cockatoos before, including one that maniacally chased its family around the house and a feathered anarchist who made headlines after uprooting anti-bird spikes.

    All of these stories make sense, considering the cockatoos general penchant for attention seeking, which can lead to erratic and destructive behavior when ignored. But, as we can see, they are also incredibly intelligent, playful, and loyal to boot, making them excellent pets…as well as entertaining content creators, apparently. So bird parents, keep those video comin’.

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    Woman gets the surprise of a lifetime after waking up ill. She's pregnant and in labor.

    She had no idea she was pregnant.

    Photo credit: Canva

    Woman didn't know she was pregnant until she gave birth

    Many women find out they're pregnant within the first few weeks. Morning sickness, extreme fatigue and a growing belly are usually fairly unmistakable signs that you should run to grab a pregnancy test. In fact, most people don't even get to the growing baby bump before suspecting pregnancy due to the extreme fluctuation in hormones that makes even mild morning sickness unmistakable.

    Of course uncharacteristic mood swings and food cravings also play into the suspicion of pregnancy, even for those around you. But surprisingly, not everyone experiences these tale-tale signs of early pregnancy. Kayleigh Tilley and her partner Nick Jerrom had an unexpected delivery on Christmas day–a baby girl. No, the pair didn't think a Christmas baby was a possibility because they didn't realize a baby even existed.

    Tilley is one of those women who didn't know they were pregnant until mere hours before giving birth to a healthy baby. The English couple had met just a year prior and spent their time going on adventures and spending time with friends like any new couple. There was nothing amiss for the pair over the course of nearly nine months.

    baby i'm sorry GIF by truTV’s I’m SorryGiphy

    The 24-year-old new mom explains to "This Morning" that she didn't physically change nor did she feel sick until a few weeks before her daughter Holly was born.

    "It was only two weeks before that I was sort of really unwell," she says before explaining further that she thought it was indigestion. "Yeah, cause we went out for like a couple of drinks as well but I didn't have like a lot to drink so it wasn't enough to make me sort of feel unwell. But after about two or three days it all went so I went back to work as normal and then it was only Christmas Eve that it all started."

    National Lampoons Christmas Vacation GIFGiphy

    Tilley woke up the night of Christmas Even with extreme stomach pains that resulted in the pair calling an ambulance to take her to a local hospital. It was there that she received the news after doctors had run several tests. The woman was eight months pregnant and primed to give birth any minute now. This life altering news was delivered while Tilley's boyfriend was in the hallway so he had no idea what was going on until he went in the room and saw his girlfriend looking shocked.

    "Forty-five minutes later I was like a bit worried and I was like 'can I see Kayleigh, is she alright.' Eventually I went in and saw her, she was quite white, pale and she literally, first words were I'm going...they told me I'm going into labor. I was like how's that...how's that happen," Jerrom tells the co-hosts.

    Nikki Bella Car GIF by E!Giphy

    Tilley is very petite, so it would seem a pregnancy would be difficult to miss but she did not put on any additional weight or have any signs of pregnancy. Her lack of knowledge about her pregnancy made her nervous as she had been out drinking, white water rafting and more throughout the pregnancy. Thankfully, baby Holly was perfectly healthy and what Tilley experienced isn't unheard of.

    This type of pregnancy is called a cryptic pregnancy and happens in about every 1 in 250,000 pregnancies. It can occur when someone doesn't get symptoms of pregnancy, have irregular cycles or in some cases continue to have a regular "period" throughout their missed pregnancy. Some people also don't easily recognize pregnancy symptoms and write them off as something else.

    While Holly's debut was not something her parents planned for, they all appear to be thrilled that she's here and so are the people in their lives who also got a shock at the baby's arrival.

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