“The next world war will be over water shortages”
~ Ismail Serageldin, former World Bank Vice President

Years ago, some people forecast that bottled water would soon cost more than petrol. It has come to pass. Bottled water is now around 3 times the price of petrol. How could that be possible, if most of our planet is covered in water?

In reality, less than 2% of the Earth's water supply is fresh water. The world's population is growing fast. We're rapidly contaminating our rivers and seas which has led to more people buying purified bottled water as they believe tap water isn't as clean as it used to be. In some places this is true, but it’s also due to strong marketing from drinks companies.

In reality, most tap water in Ireland is still clean enough for drinking and cooking, but how long might it last? If you are concerned, buy a water filter jug instead of expensive bottled water. Buying purified or filtering your own water is an option, or drinking tap water, but what about the rainwater absorbed by the vegetables and fruit we buy? The water system is all connected so if we don't stop polluting it, wasting it, and clean up our act, we're only intoxicating ourselves little by little.

The less we pollute our water, the better for us, and the less of our tax money will be used cleaning waterways and treating sewage.