Bottled Water Not Cool Anymore

Bottled water is pricey, contributes to global warming, litter, and solid waste, and is usually no safer or healthier than tap water. Increasing numbers of environmentalists, shareholder activists and church groups are targeting the leading sellers of bottled water.

For example, shareholders working with an activist group called Corporate Accountability International have asked Coca-Cola to report on the sources and safety of its bottled water, and environmental groups including the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club have urged their supporters to consume less bottled water.

Salt Lake City's outspoken mayor, Rocky Anderson, asked city officials to stop handing out bottled water at meetings, and a handful of high-end restaurants have stopped serving it.

However, U.S. sales of bottled water rose by nearly 10 percent in 2006. Americans consumed about 8.3 billion gallons of bottled water that year, or about 26 gallons per person

CNNMoney.com April 25, 2007

(also see http://v.mercola.com/blogs/public_blog/Bottled-Water-Not-Cool-Anymore-12481.aspx)