Millions of people worldwide don’t have clean water to drink, even though the United Nations deemed water a basic human right more than a decade ago. Yet, even as extreme heat dries up more aquifers and wells and leaves more people thirsty, luxury water has become fashionable among the world’s privileged, who uncap and taste it like fine wine.
Fine water is drawn from volcanic rock in Hawaii, from icebergs that have fallen from melting glaciers in Norway, or from droplets of morning mist in Tasmania. The rarest of all, often bottled in collectable glass, sell for hundreds of dollars apiece.
Associated Press teams reported on the trend from India, Bhutan and Greece.
Dammit I’ve been making this joke as a hipster business for like 20 years.
I shoulda taken the risk.
Fun fact: you can lie about the source of your water in most states. It’s not well regulated. So you could say "my Alaskan Galacial Melt is $4 for a 10oz serving, my Icelandic volcanic ash filtered water is $6, and my reverse osmosis is $5.
And it’s all tap water.
Ask any brewer how easy it’d be to subtly change your water lines to all be slightly different in taste/feel/quality.
What bothers me a bit is if cost disease keeps up, while global warming keeps doing it’s thing, and the population grows we might see the day where automated water dispensing systems become a lot more normal.
Kinda dark the idea that you will have to have your tank. People run low on cash and they run low on water and bacteria builds up in those tanks. I know someone who is investing in this these and I can’t honestly say it is a bad business venture.
I mean, yeah but no.
Its not a common skill anymore but tapping groundwater isn’t rocket science. Owning land is owning land, and grou deater current still isn’t excellently tracked.
A someone who lives in an area that has dozens of community built roadside groundwater spigots, I do not fear the day you fear.
You are aware this isn’t the norm right?
You’re aware there’s nothing stopping you anyone from searching for groundwater deposits on their land right?
P.S. they’re fucking everywhere.