Water's all bottled up

It used to be that drinking water came out of a tap. It was fresh, cold, pure, and (one would hope) straight from a nearby mountain spring. Bottled water was for foreign travel and fancy-pants dining. Then something changed. Maybe it was the bad taste, maybe it was the fluoride, maybe it was that hunky Sparkletts delivery guy, but somewhere along the way we decided tap water was bad. And if tap water was bad for us, then bottled water had to be a healthy and cost-efficient option -- right? Not so fast.

Several studies have shown that bottled water is no healthier than good ol' tap water. Critics note that the bottled stuff costs more and with all that plastic actually does more harm to the environment.

But despite those concerns, business isn't too bad. Bottled water is more popular than ever. Wily entrepreneurs are opening specialized water bars and some parched rich folks are shelling out big bucks for bejeweled bling. We guess the Swarovski crystals help the flavor.

Maybe we'll just buy a water filter and stick with the free stuff from the tap.

• Bottled Water: The Corporate Cover Up - is the bottled water industry taking advantage of us all?
• International Bottled Water Association - bringing water to the people.
• All Plastic Bottles - be sure to recycle those bottles.
• Mesage in a Bottle - why do Americans spend more on bottled water than iPods?

Directory categories: Bottled Water, Bottled Water Brand Names, Promotional Bottled Water, Water

Originally posted on The Spark, a daily blog where Yahoo! Directory editors highlight new and interesting content on the Web.