Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water
by Peter H. Gleick. 2010. 211 pages. AMACOM. $26.96.
Consumption of bottled water has skyrocketed over the last few decades, says globally recognized water expert Peter Gleick. However, he thinks that the tide may be turning. In Bottled and Sold, Gleick describes a “war on bottled water” now under way in offices, recreation centers, restaurants, and private homes across the globe.
Consumers and businesses are increasingly forgoing bottled water and getting their water exclusively from the tap, Gleick notes. Cities are banning municipal purchases of it, and some restaurants are eliminating it from their menus. Environmental concerns are a prime motivator: Every plastic bottle requires water and electricity to produce it and to move it onto a store shelf. Other critics worry about the human costs; they believe that bottled water imposes undue burdens on low-income persons. And some just hold a philosophical grudge against corporate ownership of water.
Whatever their reasons, says Gleick, the bottled-water boycotters are sufficiently numerous to put the most prominent bottled-water industry associations on “crisis footing.” Bottled and Sold is a book that environmentalists, water experts, and all who follow consumer trends will want to read.
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