Without water, people have only days to live. It's a lubricant. It regulates metabolism and controls body temperature. It helps move joints and eases food through the digestive system. It's calorie-free and readily available at almost everyone's fingertips. And water is water, right? Not so fast. Some water really is more environmentally friendly than other water.

Bottle or Tap

Water bottles have become fashion accessories. No longer just for athletes, these days water bottles labeled with picturesque mountain streams and clear springs help hydrate everyone from business executives to school kids.

Bottling companies rarely put the source of the water on the bottle. That's because chances are it didn't come from the clear running stream shown on the bottle. The labels do include contact information for the company, so consumers can call to find out the source of their bottled water.

Unless you are traveling in an area where the water isn't safe to drink, there's no need to avoid the tap. Public water supplies are regulated and, by law, are required to be tested regularly. Bottled water, although it's been found to be safe, isn't required to meet the same criteria as public water supplies.

Water quality isn't an issue, but delivering millions of gallons of water in separate bottles is incredibly inefficient. Rather than taking advantage of existing treatment and distribution systems, bottlers individually package their water and ship it across the country. Plastic bottles are made from petroleum, and trucking them across country uses a lot of gas.

The surge in bottled water has left mountains of plastic in its wake. Plastic bottles can be recycled for use in a variety of products, from other bottles to carpet, but most inevitably end up in landfills and incinerators all over the country.

Currently only 11 states have bottle bills that require refund systems for returning used water bottles. Companies that purchase recycled bottles for use in manufacturing prefer to buy plastics from states with bottle bills. The streams from these states contain only plastic bottles, making them much easier to use because additional sorting isn't necessary.

There has been quite a bit of debate lately over whether people should reuse single-use water bottles or toss them out. (Single-use bottles are the ones the water comes in from the store, not the sport bottles made to be reused over and over again.) The concern is twofold: whether the bottles can be adequately cleaned to remove bacteria, and whether the actual cleaning promotes the release of chemicals from the plastic.

Disposable bottles have narrow necks and can't be easily washed. This makes washing them nearly impossible. Bacteria from people's hands and mouths make their way into the bottles where they can make people sick.

The primary concern with releasing chemicals during the washing process is phthalates. Phthalates are added to some plastic to keep it flexible so it won't crack. Avoid water bottles with the recycle number three in the triangle on the bottom of the bottle. Water bottles with the recycle numbers one and two are considered safe.

Phthalates, the most common being di (2-ehtylhexyl) phthalate, are suspected of being endocrine disruptors that interfere with reproductive organs of both males and females.

The FDA has approved of phthalates in plastics that are used to produce food and drink containers, but other agencies like the National Institute of Environmental Health (NIEH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are concerned with the potential impacts of phthalates in plastic.

If you look further into this matter, you may find stories about dioxin being released into the water from plastic bottles. However, there are no dioxins in plastics, so this should not be one of the deciding factors when considering whether to reuse bottles.