In our pursuit of perpetual hydration, Americans are buying more and more bottled water; since 2002, bottled water production has risen more than 9 percent a year, the CS Monitor reports, adding that “production for 2007 is projected to be more than 9 billion gallons, with revenues clocking in just under $12 billion.”

Unfortunately for the beverage industry, bottled water has, like the plastic bag, become a symbol of depraved indifference to the environment, now that consumers are doing the math on all the oil it takes to make and move that bottled water. According to the Monitor, “brand-name bottlers are scrambling to reposition their products by upping their green credentials to fend off further consumer backlash fermenting in churches, college campuses, and city halls across the country.”

Learn more about the controversy over bottled water at  thinkoutsidethebottle.org.