I do wish smokers would get pestered to death first. At least bottled water is still water, which (in spite of nasty leaked chemicals) is pretty essential for life. Smoking is nothing but a slow suicide bombing.

I disagree. I delight at the thought of such uselessly consumptive actions being frowned upon just as much. Bottled water is just as harmful to the environment in any run; there's a video on youtube about the amount of plastics in the ocean being more than the amount of plankton! Not to mention the nasty leaking chemicals into the body. Tap water works just as well, as long as it's cold.

Heh, that's a pretty good analogy Bram.

The issue with cigarettes is littering and air pollution. The issue with bottled water is production and waste (and plastic is not very good to recycle either).

Both are a waste of your money on a level so high that you really need to sit down to truly comprehend it.

let people kill themselves smoking, population control.

bottled water is far more wide spread and should be the main focus of everyone's ire.

In Washington, DC, the tap water in many homes is tainted with high levels of lead. Children have been poisoned and many communities are up in arms. My own kitchen tap was been tested to reveal lead at 23 ppb, even after the water has been allowed to run for 3 minutes. There is no safe level for lead in drinking water but the EPA sets the legal limit at 15 ppb. The city is working to fix the problem; there will be a public hearing in my community next week.

The public schools in this city often do not have working drinking fountains. That is because the fountains in our school systems were found to be contaminated with lead. If you enter the halls of Congress on a hot muggy DC summers day and need a cool drink, I recommend you go buy water at the cafeteria. The drinking fountains there, too, were tested and found to be contaminated.

Ten years ago, the water in this city got contaminated with cryptosporidium. Many people were exposed and bottled water sold out at every market. As shocking as the fact that such a thing could occur in the capital city of the wealthiest country on the planet, worse is that it happened before. Remember in 1993 more than 400,000 people in Milwaukee were sickened after being poisoned by contaminated drinking water coming out of their taps.

Very few people who live in this city drink tap water, unless it is filtered. For a while, the city even handed out Brita filters. They work for lead but not, I understand, for all contaminates. I buy my reverse osmosis filtered drinking water from the local co-op and bring my own refillable 5 gallon bottle each time. However, it is difficult to find filtered water when one is on the go. Sadly, bottled water is generally safer, smells better and tastes better than any tap water available in this city. It is not the greenest choice, but it can be the healthiest choice available.

"let people kill themselves smoking, population control"

If it wasn't for the polution that would be fine. Think about all the energy that goes into producing, processing and distributing cigs. Then think of all the disguarded cigarette butts....

Nope sorry, both are bad and both need to go away.

I'm all for people killing themselves, if they want to do it by screwing up their lungs that's fine, bordering on excellent considering it's a pretty painful way to go. Howeve, second hand smoking really bugs me. Tell one smoker to buzz off and smoke elsewhere (or even a less politically correct version of it) and a million of them gang up on you telling you to lighten up. Filthy bloody habit it is.

I'm not sure which industry pollutes more, tobacco or plastic bottles, and I'm sure any sane person of both were to disappear entirely.

I wish smoking would kill faster.

Oh, by the way: if I've offended any smokers with my comment, so much the better :).

This is one of the best reasons that rainwater harvesting is so important. It can work anywhere in this country, all we have to do is add it to our infrastructure and it would solve some of the many problems that we have. I'm guessing Washington, DC is going to need quite a bit of retrofitting in it's public buildings though. Here is a couple of links to an NPR feature on rainwater harvesting. It's a fantastic read with great possibilities.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17977057

http://www.harvestingrainwater.com/

Mike A
Coos Bay, Oregon

When they institute the indoor smoking ban here many non-smokers were finally able to enjoy trips to the bar or getting something to eat at a bar and grill. It also put an end to my smoking (which was fueled by alcohol consumption and friends willing to let me bum a smoke).

While I certainly am not perfect when it comes to bottled water use, I still think that anybody drinking the "Voss" glass bottles of water is a D-bag. Those are people who have truly bought into the hype.

Also- how are people in the Washington DC area not outraged about their water situation? I realize that many people take their tap water for granted, but that situation still strikes me as astounding.

Planet Organic is a big organic grocery chain up here in Canada. I was mortified recently to see them selling European spring water in heavy glass bottles. Disgusting!

This discussion is very strange to me.

You know what it reminds me of? Every time I read about new advances in nuclear energy, I read excitedly waiting to read the magic words. :We've found a sensible and safe way to dispose of the waste." Instead, I never see those words. In fact, i never see the word waste at all.

In this discussion, the word I never see is chlorine. Maybe you like drinking the stuff, but I'll pass thanks. At home, I have a counter top carbon filter (better than a britta and the filter lasts a year) When I leave the house, I try and bring water with me. But at a restaurant, I'd rather have a bottle of peligrino than a bottle of swimming pool water (swimming pools have LESS chlorine than tap water because the chlorine evaporates into the air)

So there, I've said it CHLORINE. It's better than cholera, but it is not great to drink.

Ellen - so then I agree with you: bottled water should only be used in emergencies. And a lot should be done to reduce the packaging of the water.

I agree with Brennan that shipping water from europe in heavy glass bottles is about as excessive as it gets, but I bought one and have refilled it over one thousand times (over one year's time - and it has even survived two falls to the pavement somehow).

Bottled water drinkers the new smokers?! Doubtful. As long as the water is derived from reverse osmosis, then it's cool to buy and drink. Otherwise, you're just buying tap water put in a fancy plastic or glass container.

One can safely assume that the same kind of ignorant slob who flicks their lit butts into the street or on the sidewalk really doesn't care all that much about what they're doing to the environment in addition to drastically shortening their lives. The same could easily be said of ignorant bastards who buy froo-froo bottled water.

Gerald may be right about reverse osmosis, but he does not address the cost of transport from bottling plant to market. If you live in such a grossly polluted environment like the District of Columbia, you have much bigger issues to address than bottled water. I know, because I grew up inside the beltway in Bethesda. The water was so chlorinated, that even after running the tap for a couple minutes, it still tasted like a swimming pool.

I get incredibly pissed off at the Jedi Mind Trick being pulled to sell bottled water from exotic faraway lands (and the knuckle-dragging morons who buy this crap by the case), and they're not aware of actual costs, nor are they likely to give a crap. And then there's the cost of recycling. Just because bottles can be recycled does NOT mean that they should be recycled or actually are. I see lots of PET bottles crumpled and left on the sidewalk.

Shouldn't we be more concerned about sugar water sold in plastic bottles?? Sodas, isotonics, juices, all of which are contributing to the obesity of America? I bet all of you who are blaspheming bottled water are sitting there sipping your Coke right now!

I despise senseless, wasteful packaging. But what I don't see mentioned here is the fact that not all bottled water is the same. Bottled water can be horribly wasteful (financially and environmentally) bottled tap water, "engineered" water, or authentic natural spring water. The bottled water boom started back when it was actually spring water--a healthy alternative to nasty sugary drinks.

I for one want to be able to make the choice to purchase and consume natural spring water rather than drink chemical-laden municipal tap water--even after it's been run through a pitcher filter.

Let's not throw the baby out with the tap water (sorry) by lumping truly unique natural spring water with the junk that the big beverage companies have dumped on the market at a huge profit.

The bottom line is you should know where your water comes from and make the choice that's right for you.

In the meantime how about bringing your own bag to the store next time to save some truly unnecessary plastic consumption?

For starters, he's talking about mineral water bought in restaurants and of course, any restaurant worth the attention of a food critic at the leading newspaper in any major international city would sell water in glass bottles. Therefore, the issue of PET bottles is inconsequential.

He mentions Badoit and Perrier, sparkling mineral waters, but says that it's no different from tap water. Clearly, being sparkling they're different. Anyone who has had both would know that the difference between the two brands is quite large. That's why the better establishments have water sommeliers. Just like wine, there are slight yet distinct differences and some notions can even be transferred, such as that of 'terroir'.

He also goes on about the expense of mineral water. Surely it's one's own prerogative to spend their money however they like.

He comments on how imported mineral waters mean unnecessary food miles. Has he never had real Wagyu beef in London? Pacific salmon? Scampi even? There are alternatives found in the UK, but you'll still find these items on the menu. And of course, fresh food is flown to its destination rather than shipped, as most, if not all, mineral water would be, making it even worse. It's odd that he is in adverts for Bird's Eye and still tries to maintain credibility as a food critic. I read somewhere that after closing a factory in England, all Fish Fingers are made in Germany and distributed all over Europe, yet he still defended his decision to take their money by saying that it's an environmentally conscious company.

Read his article "A car manual dies - and so does a woman" (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/giles_coren/article2007475.ece) and hopefully you'll also see more examples of his bigotry. I personally take offence from his claims that "the modern teenager is as hardwired for incomprehensibility, solipsism and brutish collision with its environment as your new 4x4." That's a fine example of solipsism in itself, and brutish collision in his lack of genteelness.

Another thing I find unnerving is the comments on this matter expressing a hope for smokers to die. Where's the civility in that?

Anyway, despite Coren taking personal responsibility for such a social revolution, I will continue drinking imported mineral water. I'll be the "bling bling guzzler", but I won't order with a blush or apologise for it. Suppose I am preposterously vain, at least I wouldn't credit myself single handed for a social revolution.

The environmentalists have hooked onto bottled water as a bone to gnaw, as usual, without any thoughtful research. So once again they propose a completely ludicrous solution, which is to destroy an industry that is successful because people find it useful. Carrying bottled water in a purse or knapsack is doable. It's better than carrying a pepsi. The issue is not that the water is in a plastic bottle - its that people don't recycle. The Environmentalists refuse to address that, but instead, because they are simply anti-capitalist goons, they argue that the industry itself should be destroyed. Why don't they argue that we should all recycle? PET Plastic bottles are 100% recycleable. But they don't argue that. Instead they tell everyone, "You're a snob idiot if you want bottled water, destroying the world". Meanwhile that same Environmentalist is using plastic all day long in 100 diffrerent ways. The hypocracy is astonishing. But bottled water is just their latest beat-up fad. First it was cigs. Now bottled water. Next it will be ... whatever. I think the point is that these people just really want to control other people's lives and don't care at all if their arguments make no sense. Next on the their list: your clothing has a high carbon footprint - you selfish b*stard! I think these are fascists, frankly. And potentially dangerous ones if they gain enough power. Think 1984. That's them.

Hi there. I think people should recycle. PET bottles are recycleable. Personally, I like the option of having bottled water. But people should recycle. I think that's the solution. That's all. Very simple.

Michael raises a good point about civility. I regret that it doesn't seem possible to fight mamalukes from: a) smoking, b) drinking ridiculous froo froo bottled water, or c) both.

Where's the civility in some shtugotz throwing a lit butt out of their car? I wish I could pick up every lit butt that some idiot throws out of their car and toss it right back into their lap. Or what about the congregation of smokers outside a public entrance to a building? I should feel better about the fact that they have to smoke outside now, but I have to walk through their cancerous smoke to get to where I'm going? And what about the idiot who buys a bottle of water from a far off land strictly for the allure of buying an overpriced bottle of water? It's not just the bottle material, but the cost of transport that also affects the environment. Those are hidden factors for getitng your hoity toity mineral water.

This ceased from being an issue where you can treat these kind of people as you would want to be treated. If you do something self-destructive, and it has a minimal impact upon the environment, and others, then I say have fun walking on the green mile. But if you want to take me down with you, then I'm going to fight because my life could be grossly affected by your actions.

Why is bottled water the villian? I am a staunch conservationist. I recycle everything, I have a compost pile, and I drive a hybrid just to name a few things. But I refuse to drink chlorinated tap water. Not only is chlorine a carcinogen, but tap water is well known to contain thousands of environmental toxins, pesticides, detergents, antibiotics, and other pharmaceutical by-products. Don't kid yourself into thinking that those filters remove all of those things, because they absolutely don't. Filters remove the taste of chlorine, but not the actual chlorine. Many of those other toxins have no taste so you are not ware of them. And for the guy that "runs" his tap until the chlorine is gone, are you kidding me? Do you think the chlorine is just in the first few feet of pipe, it's everywhere dude!

Bottled water is an alternative to other beverages that are also sold in plastic bottles. Don't you realize that soda, lenonade, iced tea, etc... are just bottled water with sugar and flavorings added. I never see people complaining about drinking these products. Don't you think the plastic leaches into these as well.? Doesn't it cost money to transport these products? Don't these bottles end up in landfills? How many of you righteous Treehuggers drink these products? The main problem with bottled water is not the plastic, it's that most are just purified tap water with many of the toxins still in it. If someone would actually sell a real spring water from a clean ecosystem - I'd buy it and drink it exclusively! I can recycle the bottle, but my body won't know what to do with all those toxins in tap water. If you really care for yourself, don't drink tap water!

PS. the smoker analogy is frightening!

According to this story 3 litres of water is wasted to produce one liter bottle water.

I smoke and drink bottled water, I don't drink soda or wine (yuppies), I do drink tap beer. My tap water is terrible. If you are against it, don't do it, if you are going to yell from a "posh" restaurant and spend $50 on a meal, maybe you should be spending $50 feeding a homeless person instead.