The Physics
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Volume of Bottled Water Consumption

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Bibliographic Entry Result
(w/surrounding text)
Standardized
Result
Williams, Stephen P. "Put the lid on bottled water." Newsweek. Vol. 137, (21 May 2001): 61. "The WWF estimates that people worldwide drink 89 billion liters of bottled water each year." 89 Gl
(world)
Environmental News Service: Tap versus Bottled Water Debate Boils Over. Environmental News Service. (May 3, 2001). "The world bottled water market represents an annual volume of 89 billion liters". 89 Gl
(world)
Bottled Water Sales Leaped 10.1% in 1998 July 7, 1999. "Sales of bottled water in the United States have continued to experience a huge increase in 1998, growing by 10.1% to 3.6 billion gallons". 14 Gl
(US)
Children's Teeth May Suffer From Bottled Water Boon. Noonan, Erica. (November 31, 1999). "Last year, Americans consumed an estimated 3.4 billion gallons of bottled water". 13 Gl
(US)
Bottled Water May Not Be Better, Environmental Group Reports CNN (March 1, 1999). "Americans drink an estimated 3.4 billion gallons of bottled water." 13 Gl
(US)

The production of bottled water is monitored by the International Bottled Water Association. It is categorized into five types by the Food and Drug Administration. They are:

Bottled water is becoming one of the more popular beverages in the world in the years of 1998-2001. According to a Coca-Cola businessman, in the year 1999, bottled water started to "steal" the profits from Coca-Cola. As people are becoming more health conscious the amount of bottled water that they consume are increasing. These consumers are mostly women of the ages of 14 to 32 who are concerned about their weight and their appearances. However, the bottled water is still far from reaching its market saturation point. There are many people around the world especially in the underdeveloped countries who still do not consume a sufficient amount of water.

In a 2001 survey, the World Wildlife Fund estimated that people all over the world drink about 89 billion liters of bottled water a year (1 billion liters = 1 gigaliter = 1 Gl). This worth about 22 million US dollars. In the US, Americans drink about 13 billions liters of bottled water. A 2000 report conducted by Yankelovich Partneers of the Rockefeller University discovered that 2.3 eight ounce servings of the total 6.1 servings of water that are consumed daily are bottled water in the US.

Naomi Saint Jean -- 2001

Bibliographic Entry Result
(w/surrounding text)
Standardized
Result
Water Facts. The Bottled Water Store. "In 1998 over 4 billion gallons of bottled water were sold in the United States." 15 Gl
(US)
IWBA: National fact sheet. "America's poor drinking habits contradict knowledge of health risks." "On average Americans consume 17.6 eight ounce servings of beverages each day. Of that amount, 6.1 servings are water, including 2.3 servings of bottled water." 0.0016 Gl
(US)
Bottled water drinking may pour Money down the drain. "Furthermore around a quarter of 90 billion liters of bottled water drank each year was consumed outside the country of origin." 90 Gl
(world)
Mayell, Hillary & Pat Murphy. The bottled water craze. Environmental News Network. 13 November 1999. "Large bulk bottled water and individual bottled water sales in the United States in 1998 amounted to a staggering 3.8 billion gallons -- up 10 percent over 1997." 14 Gl
(US)
"Yearly consumption, Hemphill said, was nearly 14 gallons for each American." 13 Gl
(US)
Tap Versus Bottled Water Debate Boils Over. Environmental News Service. "The world bottled water market represents an annual volume of 89 billion liters, and is estimated to be worth US$22 billion. No one drinks more than the Italians (107 litres per year per inhabitant) and Western Europeans as a whole, drink nearly half of all the world's bottled water. In United States, 54 percent of Americans regularly drink bottled water." 89 Gl
(world)

Many people are afraid of drinking tap water because there is a perceived risk of catching a disease or consuming a toxic substance. This is why people have turned to bottled water. It is free from artificial colors, sweeteners, sugars, and caffeine. It is also regulated in the US by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where there are specific guidelines that must be followed and checked for every company that sells bottled water.

The average American drinks approximately 14 gallons of bottled water a year. Assuming a population of 250 million, this comes to a staggering 13 billion liters (13 Gl = 13 gigaliters). Among all the beverages consumed in the United States, bottled water is the sixth most popular drink among them and is predicted to become second in the next 10 years. There are over 108 bottled water products available on the market and over 700 different brand names. Most of the water we get from bottled water comes from protected springs and wells. These water sites are protected by organizations such as the American Water Works Association nd the World Water Federation. These organizations fight and work hard so that people can drink healthy water and not have to worry about getting a disease or an infection from the tap water most people turn to, when bottled water wasn't around.

Meredith Barricella -- 2001

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