Is bottled water contributing to higher oil prices?

In a word, yes. Slightly as it may be, consider a few highlights from the USA Today story discussing the downsides of bottled water in our society:

"Doug James, a professor of computer science and computer graphics at Cornell University and a recycling advocate, found that of the 30 billion plastic water bottles sold in the United States in 2005, only 12 percent were recycled. That left 25 billion bottles "landfilled, littered or incinerated,'' according to James' Web site."

"Plastic water bottles produced for U.S. consumption take 1.5 million barrels of oil per year, according to a 2007 resolution passed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. That much energy could power 250,000 homes or fuel 100,000 cars for a year, according to the resolution."

"On the waste reduction hierarchy, reduce and reuse should be above recycle, said Tompkins County Solid Waste manager Barb Eckstrom."

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