But it looks so clean and sparkly!!

An op-ed at the NYTimes puts the lie to people's convictions that bottled water is better than what comes out of the tap. Public water undergoes more stringent regulation for bacteria and contaminents, and study after study finds that many bottled waters are worse than the average toilet bowl, but somehow the marketing gurus have convinced our hygenically paranoid populace to believe otherwise. Furthermore, the packaging, chilling, and waste disposal for all those plastic bottles is an enormous environmental cost (and nearly infinite when compared with drying off your glass).

Of course, tap water is not so abundant in the developing world. And that is ultimately why I find the illogical enthusiasm for bottled water not simply peculiar, but distasteful. For those of us in the developed world, safe water is now so abundant that we can afford to shun the tap water under our noses, and drink bottled water instead: our choice of water has become a lifestyle option. For many people in the developing world, however, access to water remains a matter of life or death.

Use a filter on your tap (or in your fridge) if you worry about your local sources, but stick with drinking fountains and tap water over the high-priced crap.

(via boing boing)