From Answers.com:-

"97% of the water on Earth is in the ocean, or saltwater. 3% is freshwater. (Of the 3% that is fresh, about 70% is locked up as ice in ice caps and glaciers.)"

Haven't checked the figures personally, but that seems roughly in line with what I remember from a recent TV program. By my reckoning, that leaves about 1% to maintain life on earth, in the form of humidity, clouds, rain, snow, rivers, lakes and groundwater, ourselves and the rest of the animal and plant world (fish included - fish and other sea-life don't drink salt water). And as for "creating" new water from the combination of hydrogen and oxygen - where do you think the petrochemicals come from in the first place? It's just another (very slow) part of the cycle.

Provision of potable water will be this century's major physical and political problem (war, pestilence, famine - sideshows). Bottled water cannot solve it - buying the stuff only diverts resources - and as somebody above pointed out, it isn't always what it claims to be:-

Things get worse with Coke (Guardian, 20 March 2004)

Come to think of it, haven't seen Dasani in the shops since.

I should say I do occasionally buy bottled water - I don't drink fizzy pop and sometimes it's the only way to stay hydrated on a long day out - but I could never make a habit of it.

Ross