I want you to think about a green field where wheat is grown. Done thinking? Good.

I suspect that you thought of something along the lines of Oklahoma or somewhere else along the Great Plains, but what if I told you to add Saudi Arabia to that list. Sounds weird, right? A desert growing wheat? Something seems wrong.

Nope! It is true. Saudi Arabia, a country made of mostly desert land is, in fact, practicing agriculture in the center of it all. This was all possible because of irrigation and it's not a new technique in fact. We practice the same thing in the United States, in areas like the desert regions of Nevada. This seems like a good idea for the economy perhaps (although it would take a lot to set up such a system), but what about the water supply? In these regions up to 90% of the water can be lost to evaporation. There is actually a new idea called the Sahara Forest Project which is an organization which is trying to create a sustainable way to supply water to desert regions on a wide scale. This would all be possible due to algae-based biomass cultivation, saltwater desalination, and solar thermal energy production. Sounds complicated right? Basically, the facilities would transform algae through photosynthesis into energy-rich biofuel. Still sounds complicated? Well, trust me, it is going to be cool.

Over the past years, we have seen a dramatic change in how water is being used throughout the world. Many people have socially constructed the view of water as something that is inexhaustible. This can be seen in various instances as people use water as a luxury rather than necessity.
If you were to ask a group of people to tell them something about Fiji, they would probably say something along the lines of, it's an island and it's a brand of water. People see this water bottle and put it into their heads that this water is somehow better than the water in their sinks, in terms of health and the environment. If they buy this type of water, which has a photo of the tropical nature of the island of Fiji (green-washing!), they think that it is cleaner and maybe even better for the environment and world economy (since they aren't giving money to American water brands, but rather the workers in Fiji.)
All of this in the end is a huge paradox though. The negative externalities of bottled water far outway the positive, First, water is essential for your health, but you don't need name brand water to fulfill that need. Second, bottled water can actually lead to more pollution through littering and from the transportation of the water to be sold. Third, people don't realize that the people who own FIJI Water are actually from Southern California. Finally, the most important thing people overlook is the actual lifestyle of people in Fiji because of this. Fiji has a corrupt totalitarian government that welcomes foreign investment. The FIJI Water company, along with help from the Fiji government, is stripping the country of its resources and it's doing so without being taxed. Not only that, but they are literally "protecting" the resources, such as water, from the citizens by force of artillery. There is a total struggle to live over there because of this company, and Fiji's citizens are left struggling with hunger and poverty.
Next time you go to the store and see someone looking at Fiji's water, which has largely been marketed as an "eco-friendly" product, tell them the true story behind the product.