On the other hand, there's the growing majority that demands bottled water at a cost that routinely tops the cost of gasoline. Just why Americans are 10 times likelier to drink bottled water today than a generation ago is something of a mystery.
Most water has no discernible taste or flavor.
It's abundant and available free. Death by tap water is about as likely as death by lightning. To marketing experts, the explanation is clear as Perrier. Consumers say they're environmentally conscious, but plastic bottles are a landfill bane in communities where they're not recycled. Plastic bottles cost about 10 cents or more, making them, like beer cans, far more expensive than the contents that consumers say they're buying.