PSFK just reminded me that the idea that we'll be living in a Blade Runner-eque future where freshwater is a thing of the past is nearly present. A growing international water crisis is forcing governments to rethink how they value and use and manage water, especially because economic development hinges on water availability. By 2025 more than half the nations in the world will face freshwater stress or shortages and by 2050 as much as 75 percent of the world's population could face freshwater scarcity. For a visual primer on the situation check out Good magazine. Some countries such as Pakistan or China are facing an imminent water crisis. Even good ol'Illinois is feeling the burden. Then there's the droughts in Atlanta and the 50 percent chance Lake Mead (on the Arizona/Nevada border) will be dry by 2021.

Meanwhile, one bottle of bottled water takes three gallons to produce because of the length and complexity of the various "purification" processes and the evaporation loss that takes place.

And guess what? New bottled water brands keep being introduced to the marketplace. Check out the ad for a UK brand launched in 2006 (a little late the game for sure) called Drench which labels itself as a

"bottled water for the 21st century with added brand appeal for health conscious men and women aged 18-25."

Hmm... if you're health conscious you probably know better than to buy bottled water considering that it takes 15 million barrels of oil per year to make all of the plastic water bottles in America and 1,000 years for them to break down, CRI estimates. With college students acting up over the bottles and Nestle under attack for its Poland Spring brand one has to wonder how far a seriously fab (gawd it's pretty good, no?) can take Drench. I'm going to guess not nearly far enough.