Did you know that there is something like 326 million trillion gallons of water on Earth? Less than 3% of that massive number is fresh water and believe it or not, more than a whooping two-thirds of that small percentage is trapped in ice caps and glaciers. It's hard to imagine that even with all of that water, one day we could be without it or at least fighting to keep it. So, why shouldn't we take water for granted? It has been predicted that by the year 2025, most countries of Africa and West Asia will face severe water scarcity due to increasing population and the unfortunate exploitation of this valuable natural resource. Water could easily be considered "renewable" but because of Man and their processes, this resource is not renewing itself as fast as it globally should. Some of these processes that is no doubt affecting our water supply are:
To fully understand how this is a danger, you must first understand how acid rain happens. Burning of fossil fuels releases compounds into the air that interact with water that is in the air. This is how an acid raindrop is formed and this man-made raindrop is made of nitric and sulfuric acid, which pollutes the water and ground that's affected by the rain. This causes damage that is sometimes beyond repair in plant life and soil. This is the reason why soil is considered a "non-renewable" resource.
Non-point water pollution comes from indirect sources such as agricultural runoff, waste mining, paved roads, and common industrial activity. How? The toxic chemicals that is created from such as mentioned above gets washed into our water system as any other water would. Rainwater drainage is just one example of many.
The Oil Industry
You can pretty much take all of the components of the production/retraction of oil and include it in the reason why it is affecting our water supply. Drilling, laying pipeline etc. all opens up the potential of water pollution. Barges that have accidental spills have a major effect on our fresh water supply and marine life. Even though these things are not done purposely, accidents do happen and unfortunately, these accidents can and will happen more often than not.
The Popularity Of Bottled Water And The Negatives
As the groundwater sources are becoming more and more polluted, more people are realizing that it may not be safe to drink tap water anymore. Between this fact and the important role that water plays in keeping the body healthy, the popularity of glass bottled water has been on the rise. Bottled water companies have made huge profits by using their resources to bring us the best of the best in water quality and surprisingly, some not.
With parts of our world facing shortages everyday, this increases the worth of having purified water readily available to drink especially in a glass bottle. For example, makers of Bling H20 uses water from the English Mountain Spring located at the base of the Great Smokey Mountains.
This spring is located in Dandridge, Tennessee in the USA. Their water is in high demand and it's shipped from Tennessee to many highly populated and sought after locations in the world like Hollywood, Tokyo and London. The price of this high-end water probably wouldn't be as expensive if it were not for the "bling bling" bottle that it comes in. This product, endorsed by many elite celebs and athletes is on average $55 USD per bottle.
While the maker (Hollywood producer Kevin Boyd) of Bling H20 says that the "luxury" water has gained its popularity mostly from the flashy image (frosted glass bottle laced with real Swarovski crystals) as opposed to taste, we have to admit that the process that goes into making the water is state-of-the-art. The water is Filtered to clean up the taste by using ozone, ultraviolet and microfiltration. If you can't picture yourself drinking expensive water from a glass bottle but understand the appeal and want pure water in your life, you must be careful in choosing.
PepsiCo, the makers of Aquafina bottled water admitted in the year 2007 that their water is nothing more than water from the tap. Unfor