Coke, Grand Canyon bottled water controversy gets murkier

[The Straight Story]

Coke, Grand Canyon bottled water controversy gets murkier

The National Park Service chief has said that his decision to block a ban on selling bottled water at Grand Canyon National Park was based on safety and contracts, but emails released Friday indicate an early concern was how Coca-Cola, a major water vendor as well as parks funder, would react.

"While I applaud the intent, there are going to be consequences, since Coke is a major sponsor of our recycling efforts," NPS Director Jonathan Jarvis said in the email exchange posted by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. The watchdog group obtained the documents through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Jarvis then directed two deputies to further "talk about this before GRCA pulls the plug" -- GRCA being shorthand for Grand Canyon. He further noted that the president of the National Park Foundation, through which Coca-Cola and other private entities help with funding, "would like to host a meeting of the beverage reps, which makes some sense to me."

Coca-Cola did contact the foundation with concerns, National Park Service spokesman David Barna told msnbc.com, but "that just started the conversation."

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/02/9170388-co...