Bottled Water Banned

The mayor of San Francisco has banned city departments from buying bottled water, even for water coolers. Mayor Gavin Newsom passed the executive order, which will go into effect July 1, as a way to help stem global warming and save taxpayer money.

After announcing his decision, Newsom cited the environmental impact of making, transporting, and disposing of the bottles. More than a billion of them end up in state landfills, he explained.

A spokesman for the public utilities commission said he hoped the ban would set an example to get other cities "off the bottle".

When the ban goes into effect, city and county offices will use municipal tap water from a reservoir. Exceptions will be made in cases where the tap water is not easily available or poses health risks.

The International Bottled Water Association has protested, claiming the switch would not have much of an impact on the environment.

Information from AOL News was used in this article.