Natural resources: some are more scarce than others

The United States has one of the best public water systems in the world, but Americans are avid consumers of bottled water. The price of oil is an obsession, but we pay much more per unit for bottled water… and of course, we can find water for a much cheaper price at any household faucet. The irony continues: huge amounts of oil are required to create the plastic which bottles the water and to transport water across the country. San Francisco’s mayor has recently eliminated bottled water from municipal spending to the tune of $2 million. Others will surely follow suit.