Bottled water is a delight for health concious urbanites from joggers to thirsty commuters wanting to avoid the calories of a soda. There is a.... Bottled water is a delight for health concious urbanites from joggers to thirsty commuters wanting to avoid the calories of a soda. There is a downside to the bottled water craze, however. From my own research I discovered boiled tap water is cleaner and safer than most any water you can purchase or filter (though filtering can get rid of some contamination boiling can't). It's a distrust of tap water of course that has spawned the rush to bottled water. Bottled water, however is adding up to problems for the environment.

Here is a paragraph from a recent USA Today Article:

"In addition to such environmental harm in watersheds, bottled water causes more water to be used in making bottles. Producing one kilogram of PET [#1] plastic requires 17.5 kg of water and results in air emissions of hydrocarbons, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide. And non-recycled plastic bottles can wind up right back in our watershed's streams and lakes, like salmon returning to spawn, in ever greater numbers. Whether there'll be enough water left for real salmon is anyone's guess."