Fine water is a growing category worldwide, even in water-stressed countries like India, where one company imports natural spring water that's bottled in sleek glass bottles in Bhutan.

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.

    • i_love_FFT@lemmy.mlEnglish
      182·
      10 months ago

      It’s a trick to start creating a water market. It will slowly and subtly grow until any drinkable water that doesn’t taste like shit will be considered “fine water”.

      Then, you’ll get capitalists assholes saying that anything better than shit water should not be considered a right…

  • foggy@lemmy.worldEnglish
    13·
    10 months ago

    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.

    • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      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.

      • foggy@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        I mean, yeah but no.

        Its not a common skill anymore but tapping groundwater isn’t rocket science. Owning land is owning land, and ground water current still isn’t excellently tracked or even understood.

        A someone who lives in an area that has dozens of community built roadside groundwater spigots, I do not fear the day you fear.

  • Kool_Newt@lemm.eeEnglish
    121·
    10 months ago

    Just another example of conspicuous consumption. It’s hard to not see those that signal wealth while the world is burning as not either idiots or psychopaths (or both). Subhumans (dehumanizing groups of individuals based on action, e.g. murderers, IMHO is not wrong).

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    2·
    10 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    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.

    A few restaurants in countries such as Spain and the United States now have menus that pair food with particular types of fine water.

    The south Asian nation, now the most populous in the world, is among many countries that have built huge plants to desalinate sea water.

    Other countries, including Singapore, are collecting and cleaning up storm and wastewater to try to solve their water woes.

    Fine water is certainly a commodity too, though its connoisseurs and those who bottle often speak of the importance of respecting and conserving an increasingly precious resource.

    The original article contains 562 words, the summary contains 154 words. Saved 73%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!