Bottled Water

Here are some amazing facts about bottled water quoted from Jackie Grom's article in the 2/26 ScienceNOW Daily News:

• From start to finish, bottled water consumes between 1100 and 2000 times more energy on average than does tap water.
• Bottled water consumption has skyrocketed over the past several years. In 2007, some 200 billion liters of bottled water were sold worldwide, and Americans took the biggest gulp: 33 billion liters a year, an average of 110 liters per person.
• bottled water has now surpassed milk and beer in sales
• the global demand for bottle production alone uses 50 million barrels of oil a year--that's 2 1/2 days of U.S. oil consumption.
• U.S. bottled-water consumption in 2007 required an energy input equivalent to 32 million to 54 million barrels of oil. Global energy demand for bottled water is three times that amount. To put that energy use into perspective, Gleick says to imagine that each bottle is up to one-quarter full of oil.