Bottled water is convenient and reliable when there is no source of potable water. Get used to it, the US just starting using bottled water in the last couple of decades, second and third world countries have a lot of catching up to do and bottled beverages are on the list. Fixing the environment is a touchy subject because on the scale of human necessity and a healthy planet the two areas collide. Even if the president and his entire staff were to stop consuming bottled water, it wouldn't make a difference. Manufacturers of food stuffs especially bottled water wouldn't even be effected by a boycott. The water can last for at least 3 years in optimal condition before corrosion could potentially occur. So if you don't buy it, someone will, or they can re bottle it, or of course send it overseas. Part of the Tsunami aid was sending over 100 million water bottles to Southeast Asia. There is nothing that is going to stop bottled water from replacing tap in the next several decades unless a clean, safe, effective water delivery system with PUBLIC access points can be built. However large industrialized populations can prohibit this from being built due to pollution and the such.

I will agree on the point that the delivery method of most bottled water is dangerous and awful for the environment. Most bottles are milled from polyethylene terephthalate because it is cheap and can be partially reused. But hating on portable potable drinking water and it's drinkers is ridiculous, hate on polyethylene terephthalate manufacturers who are taking in big profits on cheap shit, which seems to be a reoccurring American theme.

As for Ekdog I'm only going to make one comment for you since your post is riddled with inaccuracies and you clearly don't understand how conservation and environmental engineering work.

"Multinational corporations are stepping in to purchase groundwater and distribution rights wherever they can, and the bottled water industry is an important component in their drive to commoditize what many feel is a basic human right: the access to safe and affordable water.
What can you do?"

There are almost 7 Billion people on earth, take a look at India as an example of where too many people are in contact with thier "free spirited" non regulated water.

We are turning into a global society rather then a series of separate ones. Obama is the beginning of this transition for us as Americans, everyone needs to start recognizing this or they'll get left behind.

Bitch about soda, how many can's of coke do you think have been consumed in the last 100 years globally?

Bottled water is healthy water, right? In fact, most bottled water actually comes from a tap. And there’s nothing healthy about plastic waste.
Bottled water is healthy water — or so marketers would have us believe. Just look at the labels or the bottled water ads: deep, pristine pools of spring water; majestic alpine peaks; healthy, active people gulping down icy bottled water between biking in the park and a trip to the yoga studio.
In reality, bottled water is just water. That fact isn’t stopping people from buying a lot of it. Estimates variously place worldwide bottled water sales at between $50 and $100 billion each year, with the market expanding at the startling annual rate of 7 percent.
Bottled water is big business. But in terms of sustainability, bottled water is a dry well. It’s costly, wasteful, and distracts from the brass ring of public health: the construction and maintenance of safe municipal water systems.
Want some solid reasons to kick the bottled water habit? We’ve rounded up five to get you started.
Bottled water isn’t a good value

Take, for instance, Pepsi’s Aquafina or Coca-Cola’s Dasani bottled water. Both are sold in 20 ounce sizes and can be purchased from vending machines alongside soft drinks — and at the same price. Assuming you can find a $1 machine, that works out to 5 cents an ounce. These two brands are essentially filtered tap water, bottled close to their distribution point. Most municipal water costs less than one cent per gallon.
Now consider another widely-sold liquid: gasoline. It has to be pumped out of the ground in the form of crude oil, shipped to a refinery (often halfway across the world), and shipped again to your local filling station.
In the U.S., the average price per gallon is hovering around $3. There are 128 ounces in a gallon, which puts the current price of gasoline at fraction over 2 cents an ounce.
And that’s why there’s no shortage of companies which want to get into the business. In terms of price versus production cost, bottled water puts Big Oil to shame.
No healthier than tap water

In theory, bottled water in the United States falls under the regulatory authority of the Food and Drug Administration. In practice, about 70 percent of bottled water never crosses state lines for sale, making it exempt from FDA oversight.
On the other hand, water systems in the developed world are well-regulated. In the U.S., for instance, municipal water falls under the purview of the Environmental Protection Agency, and is regularly inspected for bacteria and toxic chemicals. Want to know how your community scores? Check out the Environmental Working Group’s National Tap Water Database.
While public safety groups correctly point out that many municipal water systems are aging and there remain hundreds of chemical contaminants for which no standards have been established, there’s very little empirical evidence which suggests bottled water is any cleaner or better for you than its tap equivalent.
Bottled water means garbage

Bottled water produces up to 1.5 million tons of plastic waste per year. According to Food and Water Watch [ http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water/bottled ], that plastic requires up to 47 million gallons of oil per year to produce. And while the plastic used to bottle beverages is of high quality and in demand by recyclers, over 80 percent of plastic bottles are simply thrown away.
That assumes empty bottles actually make it to a garbage can. Plastic waste is now at such a volume that vast eddies of current-bound plastic trash now spin endlessly in the world’s major oceans. This represents a great risk to marine life, killing birds and fish which mistake our garbage for food.
Thanks to its slow decay rate, the vast majority of all plastics ever produced still exist … somewhere.
Bottled water means less attention to public systems

Many people drink bottled water because they don’t like the taste of their local tap water, or because they question its safety.
This is like running around with a slow leak in your tire, topping it off every few days rather than taking it to be patched. Only the very affluent can afford to switch their water consumption to bottled sources. Once distanced from public systems, these consumers have little incentive to support bond issues and other methods of upgrading municipal water treatment.
There’s plenty of need. In California, for example, the American Society of Civil Engineers estimated the requirement of $17.5 billion in improvements to the state’s drinking water infrastructure as recently as 2005. In the same year, the state lost 222 million gallons of drinkable water to leaky pipes.
The corporatization of water

In the documentary film Thirst, authors Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman demonstrated the rapid worldwide privatization of municipal water supplies, and the effect these purchases are having on local economies.
Water is being called the “Blue Gold” of the 21st century. Thanks to increasing urbanization and population, shifting climates, and industrial pollution, fresh water is becoming humanity’s most precious resource.
Multinational corporations are stepping in to purchase groundwater and distribution rights wherever they can, and the bottled water industry is an important component in their drive to commoditize what many feel is a basic human right: the access to safe and affordable water.
What can you do?

There’s a simple alternative to bottled water: buy a stainless steel thermos, and use it. Don’t like the way your local tap water tastes? Inexpensive carbon filters will turn most tap water sparkling fresh at a fraction of bottled water’s cost.

My bad. I meant Andrew Jackson. That dude was ripped.

Does Obama have more important things to worry about than bottled water? Of course! He also has more important things to think about than almost anything you can think of. Does that mean he shouldn't wash his hands after going to the bathroom? After all, what's the big deal if he spreads a little e. coli around the White House staff? A few bouts of diarrhea and all's forgiven. Should Obama spend time trying to get the Chinese government to release political prisoners when there are any number of "more important" issues to attend to, such as the potential death of tens of millions of people from climate change?

God that he is, Obama has the capacity to walk and chew gum at the same time. Bottled water hurts so many more people than it ever helped, and that doesn't mean that the people who are helped by it shouldn't have access to it, but it does mean that it would be great if Obama would model some model behavior. If it he doesn't, no big whoop, but why beg him to do worse than the best? What if he'd been drinking Robitussin DM or (God forbid!) Coors? Neither would be illegal, and neither would be the most important thing he could worry about in his role as President, but neither would be a great message for the masses, many of whom, like jsmcdougall apparently, are apt to be influenced by what Obama says and does.

In short: less bottled water = a better world, and less reactionary commenting on basic and indisputable facts like these = a better blogosphere.

First, the fight against bottled water is a legitimate issue. Not only is it wasteful and unnecessary, but it sets a chilling precedent for the 'corporatization' and control of our other natural resources.

Second, this article is obviously meant to be humorous. For example: "I've said it before and I'll say it again: I expect more from our half-naked President-Elect." C'mon! Laugh! It's tongue-in-cheek.

I would hope we progressives and environmentalists could relax our knee-jerk reactions long enough to find humor in our struggles. There's a big difference between defensive and pre-offended.

And yes. Obama rules.