Phantasy Star: Fringes of Algo

It seems that bottled water is fast rising in popularity and possibly becoming a rival for soft drinks and other drinks.

How many of us drink more bottled water now than we used to years ago? Think about it. I know I certainly do. For various reasons, I really just don't like the taste of tap water anymore and also you really never know what may be in there. Although I haven't given up on my colas and sodas completely, I still drink more bottled water also.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/201 ... /85554612/

How about everyone else? Are you drinking more bottled water than you did a few years ago?

Actually, consumers really don't know what's in bottled water either, and you can find out what's in tap water. The regulations governing them are largely comparable, though the FDA handles bottled water and the EPA handles tap water. The EPA does also tend to be more stringent, so tap water may be more strictly regulated. Bottled water just has slick marketing behind it, as well as stoking consumer fears regarding tap water. Truth be told, municipal tap providers have to provide annual water quality reports, as well as warn consumers when a safety issue is found. You can call your municipal provider and ask them to send you the latest quality report, and they are obligated to do. There is a good chance that the bottled water in the store is essentially tap water, not likely form some super pure mountain spring as advertised. To say nothing of the amount of waste generated by bottled water, or basically any bottled drink. Plus, the plastic that the bottles are made from contain BPA, which gets into the water. There is some evidence that it has adverse health effects and is an endocrine disruptor, though it's still under study.

https://www.nrdc.org/stories/truth-about-tap
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news ... is-better/
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifes ... q-20058017
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifes ... q-20058331

Not saying tap water or the system surrounding it is perfect (it isn't, infrastructure is a serious problem as Flint showed us), or that bottled water doesn't have a place in society. But I am saying that tap water is probably cheaper, equally safe, with more publicly available information and a lot less wasteful. There's no evidence to suggest bottled water is any better, and some reasons to believe the opposite.

I did a report for a class a few years back on municipal water regulation, management and purification processes. Unless an explicit issue is spotted, I trust my tap water, and I also trust that IF an issue is found, the provider will let us know. Even consumer tap purifiers are largely pointless/a waste of money.

That said, it is good that water is overtaking sugary drinks, that are most definitely linked to a lot of adverse health effects when consumed in excess. But oh man, the plastic waste...