Move over bottles, here is something cleaner

We all know water is essential for life to exist. Water covers 71% of the Earth's surface and 70-75% of your total body weight is comprised of water. It also acts as your body's most important nutrient. At a minimum, it is recommended that you drink at least 64 ounces of water each day. That's a lot of water. With water being as important a resource as it is, shouldn't we also take into consideration the sources we get our water from and the impact it can have the environment? Whether for your home or the office you work in, there are sustainable approaches to obtaining pure filtered drinking water that are less harmful for the environment, cost-effective and provide great tasting water. Consider these important facts regarding bottled water. In the U.S., water bottles account for 2 million tons of the trash in landfills. Each one of those bottles will take between 450 and 1,000 years to biodegrade. Incinerating the bottles produces toxic fumes and only one out of five bottles is made with plastic that can be recycled. Additionally, producing water bottles is wasteful. Each year, the U.S. uses 1.5 million barrels of oil in connection with water bottle manufacturing. In order to produce one liter of water in a bottle, it requires three liters of water. So in fact, water itself is actually wasted in the production of bottled water. Transporting the finished product uses a significant amount of energy, also proving to be wasteful. So why do people continue to buy bottled water? The most common reasons are convenience and taste. Taste varies significantly from manufacturer to manufacturer as does the source of the water and the process to filter and purify the water - if it is done at all. Several studies have documented that a high percentage of the water coming from bottles is often relabeled municipal tap water and not water coming from natural streams and springs often claimed by manufacturers. Convenience - well, we as responsible citizens should be concerned with the impact bottled water has on our planet and need to make a conscious effort to minimize the negative impact bottled water has on our planet. Yes it's easy to quickly grab a bottle of water to go to the gym or bring to work. Alternatively, You could fill up a reusable water container from a filtered water system in your home or office - helping the environment, saving money and drinking water that is clean and refreshing. Filtered water systems provide a sustainable approach to pure, clean drinking water including key benefits such as Energy Star ratings. It is important to note that not all water systems and water providers offer this beneficial technology so it is important to understand your options that are available and choose a system and provider that offers the latest in sustainable and sanitary technology as well as provide the ability to properly install and maintain the system. Mike Nosek is the senior director of sales at Atlas Watersystems, Waltham, Mass. and is the monthly contributing Water Purification author for the New England Real Estate Journal's Green Building section.