The Bottle Water Crisis

The Bottled Water Crisis The convenience of bottled water has turned into a massive problem for our planet’s ecosystems. Plastic water bottles are overflowing landfills, polluting our water sources, and ultimately altering the environment in which we live. One in five Americans drink bottled water even though bottled water is thousands of times more expensive than tap water! (All About Water) The booming business of bottled water has led to significant, damaging effects on our environment and communities, thus resulting in dangerous misconceptions regarding water quality and accessibility. In recent years, the bottled water market has significantly increased in sales and consumption. More than seventy-five percent of the American population purchases and consumes bottled water. In the United States the bottled water market has tripled in the last ten years, with the average person now consuming twenty-eight gallons of bottled water per year. Interestingly enough, nearly half of all bottled water sold in the United States is tap water, which companies put in plastic bottles and sell at huge profits. The worldwide market for bottled water is estimated to be worth more than one hundred billion dollars. (Goldschein) Given the opportunity of grossing enormous revenues, it is no wonder that our capitalistic society embraces a practice that is so senseless and damaging to the environment. The environmental impacts of the bottled water industry are the most concerning aspect of the lesson to be learned regarding the bottled water crisis. Bottlers have been known to obtain water in large volumes from springs and aquifers, which can dry up wells, depleting wetlands and draining rivers. Producing bottled water is a product that we don’t need. Unfortunately, three liters of water are used in the packing of a single bottle of water. (Bottled Water is Wasteful) Bottled water companies are wasting resources and exacerbating climate change. It takes over one and a

Cited: All About Water home page. 28 Mar. 2013 < http://www.allaboutwater.org/ >. Beyond The Bottle home page. 28 Mar. 2013 < http://beyondthebottle.org/ >. “Bottled Water is Wasteful.” The Water Project home page. 28 Mar. 2013 < http://thewaterproject.org/bottled_water_wasteful.asp >. Goldschein, Eric. “15 Outrageous Facts About The Bottled Water Industry”. Business Insider. 27 Oct. 2011 < http://www.businessinsider.com/facts-bottled-water-industry-2011-10 >.