On Aug. 12, California state senators will vote on Assembly Bill 792, which could essentially force all of us to pay millions of dollars more for plastic bottled water or sodas. A nickel here…a nickel there; it won’t be much per bottle. But because there are so many plastic bottles, it quickly adds up to millions of dollars. Consumers will inevitably shoulder the costs, and legislators will inevitably blame corporate greed or environmental measures when confronted about it. Higher-priced bottled water won’t affect average Californians much; either they can afford to not think about the price hike, or they have access to safe tap water.