© Educational Testing Service 

 ENVIRONMENT TODAY MAGAZINE 

 Opinion :   The Problem with Bottled Water    by Santiago Suarez 

 More than half of the people in the United States drink bottled water regularly . In general , 

 bottled water is considered convenient because it is portable . But that convenience comes with   problems and a high environmental cost . The problems include : pollution created during   production and transportation of bottled water ; injuries to marine life from discarded bottles ;   and ugly garbage dumps filled with empty bottles . 

 Plastic water bottles are typically made from crude oil . During their production , pollutants 

 such as nickel , benzene , and ethylene oxide are released . These harm the environment and   pollute the air we breathe . It takes 1.5 million barrels of oil to produce the plastic water bottles   we use each year . Additionally , trucks release more pollutants and use gasoline when they   transport bottled water to stores . 

 26 billion plastic bottles are made each year . That equals 

 30 million tons of plastic . Unfortunately , most end up in   garbage dumps rather than recycling centers . It takes hundreds   of years for a plastic bottle to decompose – to dissolve into the   soil . The bottles that are in the garbage dumps today will be   with us a long time . 

 Garbage dumps are often located near the ocean , and that is where many bottles wind up . 

 In the ocean , sea turtles and other animals can mistake plastic bottles for their main food source ,   jellyfish . Eating plastic can injure or kill sea turtles as well as birds that feed in the ocean . 

 Across the United States , people can turn on sink faucets to get some of the cleanest , 

 healthiest tap water on Earth . Almost all chemicals and impurities have been removed to make   this drinking water clean and safe . It is also inexpensive . On average , a gallon of tap water costs a   small fraction of one cent . Considering these facts , the obvious question is , “ Why do Americans   drink so much bottled water ? ” 

 Consumers in the United States feel bottled water is both safer and more convenient . The 

 fact is that tap water is just as safe and tap water carried in a reusable container is just as   convenient . Clearly , the advantages of bottled water are more imaginary than real . 

 It is time for major changes across the country . If every bottled water consumer in the U.S. 

 made the switch to drinking tap water from reusable containers , the environment would be   cleaner and safer for all living creatures . The percentage of plastic bottles that get recycled   needs to rise as well . Currently only about 30 percent of plastic bottles make it to a recycling   center . That means 70 percent wind up in garbage dumps ! 

 It is important to communicate information about this environmental issue with others . 

 Many people are simply unaware of the harm caused by this problem and are willing to change   their behavior when they find out how the environment is being affected . 

 Paragraph   Number  

 © The Advocacy Project 

 Plastic bottles 

 © Educational Testing Service 

 ENVIRONMENT TODAY MAGAZINE 

 Letter from a reader :   A Reply to Santiago Suarez   by Glen Styles                  Dear Environment Today , 

 Recently you printed an article by Santiago Suarez about all the problems that are caused by 

 people drinking too much bottled water . I think Mr. Acosta was far too negative . Mr. Acosta   makes it sound like people who use bottled water do n’t care about the environment . That ’s not   true . Many people who use bottled water help protect the environment by recycling plastic   bottles . The problems Mr. Acosta mentions are not as bad as he says , and there are some good   reasons why people should drink bottled water . 

 First of all , many of the numbers he uses are very old . The number of plastic bottles being 

 recycled is going up dramatically . Nearly every town in the United States has a plastic recycling   program . 

 He also does not pay enough attention to the chemicals found in some tap water . The only 

 way to avoid these chemicals is to drink bottled water . 

 Like many people , I prefer to drink bottled water . I always recycle my bottles and I care very 

 much about the environment . Instead of switching to tap water , people just need to recycle .                                                                                    -- Glen Styles , Cleveland , Ohio 

 Paragraph   Number  


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: Santiago Suarez, Santiago Suarez, Santiago Suarez
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: © Educational Testing Service 

 ENVIRONMENT TODAY MAGAZINE 

 Opinion :   The Problem with Bottled Water    by Santiago Suarez 

 More than half of the people in the United States drink bottled water regularly . In general , 

 bottled water is considered convenient because it is portable . But that convenience comes with   problems and a high environmental cost . The problems include : pollution created during   production and transportation of bottled water ; injuries to marine life from discarded bottles ;   and ugly garbage dumps filled with empty bottles . 

 Plastic water bottles are typically made from crude oil . During their production , pollutants 

 such as nickel , benzene , and ethylene oxide are released . These harm the environment and   pollute the air we breathe . It takes 1.5 million barrels of oil to produce the plastic water bottles   we use each year . Additionally , trucks release more pollutants and use gasoline when they   transport bottled water to stores . 

 26 billion plastic bottles are made each year . That equals 

 30 million tons of plastic . Unfortunately , most end up in   garbage dumps rather than recycling centers . It takes hundreds   of years for a plastic bottle to decompose – to dissolve into the   soil . The bottles that are in the garbage dumps today will be   with us a long time . 

 Garbage dumps are often located near the ocean , and that is where many bottles wind up . 

 In the ocean , sea turtles and other animals can mistake plastic bottles for their main food source ,   jellyfish . Eating plastic can injure or kill sea turtles as well as birds that feed in the ocean . 

 Across the United States , people can turn on sink faucets to get some of the cleanest , 

 healthiest tap water on Earth . Almost all chemicals and impurities have been removed to make   this drinking water clean and safe . It is also inexpensive . On average , a gallon of tap water costs a   small fraction of one cent . Considering these facts , the obvious question is , “ Why do Americans   drink so much bottled water ? ” 

 Consumers in the United States feel bottled water is both safer and more convenient . The 

 fact is that tap water is just as safe and tap water carried in a reusable container is just as   convenient . Clearly , the advantages of bottled water are more imaginary than real . 

 It is time for major changes across the country . If every bottled water consumer in the U.S. 

 made the switch to drinking tap water from reusable containers , the environment would be   cleaner and safer for all living creatures . The percentage of plastic bottles that get recycled   needs to rise as well . Currently only about 30 percent of plastic bottles make it to a recycling   center . That means 70 percent wind up in garbage dumps ! 

 It is important to communicate information about this environmental issue with others . 

 Many people are simply unaware of the harm caused by this problem and are willing to change   their behavior when they find out how the environment is being affected . 

 Paragraph   Number  

 © The Advocacy Project 

 Plastic bottles 

 © Educational Testing Service 

 ENVIRONMENT TODAY MAGAZINE 

 Letter from a reader :   A Reply to Santiago Suarez   by Glen Styles                  Dear Environment Today , 

 Recently you printed an article by Santiago Suarez about all the problems that are caused by 

 people drinking too much bottled water . I think Mr. Acosta was far too negative . Mr. Acosta   makes it sound like people who use bottled water do n’t care about the environment . That ’s not   true . Many people who use bottled water help protect the environment by recycling plastic   bottles . The problems Mr. Acosta mentions are not as bad as he says , and there are some good   reasons why people should drink bottled water . 

 First of all , many of the numbers he uses are very old . The number of plastic bottles being 

 recycled is going up dramatically . Nearly every town in the United States has a plastic recycling   program . 

 He also does not pay enough attention to the chemicals found in some tap water . The only 

 way to avoid these chemicals is to drink bottled water . 

 Like many people , I prefer to drink bottled water . I always recycle my bottles and I care very 

 much about the environment . Instead of switching to tap water , people just need to recycle .                                                                                    -- Glen Styles , Cleveland , Ohio 

 Paragraph   Number 
### Output: 