Americans buy more bottled water than any other nation in the world. 29 billion bottles of water are drunk each year. It takes 17 million barrels of oil to make these bottles. That's enough oil to keep a million cars going for twelve months.
So why don't more people drink water from the tap in the kitchen? Some people drink bottled water because they think it is better for them than water out of the tap, but that's not true. In the United States, the government makes sure water from the tap is safe.
People love bottled water because it is convenient to take with them. But maybe if they understand the problems it makes, they will try drinking from a glass at home or carrying water in a reusable bottle instead of a plastic one. Although plastic water bottles can be turned into some other useful things, only a small number of them are reused. The rest are taken away in rubbish trucks, or even worse, they end up as rubbish on the land and in rivers, lakes, and the ocean. Plastic bottles take hundreds of years to break down.
Water is good for you, so keep drinking it. But think about how often you use plastic water bottles, and see if you can make a change. If you take one to school, don't throw it away — bring it home and put tap water in it for the next day.
