starbucks

Think back to 2004. We were hearing more and more about Wi-Fi and how someday, real soon, we’d all have access to internet everywhere….hotels, airports, the local coffee shop. It seemed ludicrous, but fast forward to 2009 and we’re almost there. While some establishments charge for wi-fi and others offer for free, the ubiquity of internet access is upon us.

Let’s now relate this to bottled water. In the home, we’ve had alternatives for clean water thanks to Brita, Pur, and all the “under-the-sink-filter” guys. However, when we’re out of the house, bottled water was necessary to ensure we had access to clean, filtered water at all times. The excuse for bottled water is coming to an end. Similar to “hot spot” internet access, we see a growing network of “water spots” where an individual can access free, filtered water almost anywhere. The “nodes” on the network are multiplying every day. It’s what water expert Peter Gleick calls a “local water” movement.  Take for example this organized network, TapItWater, growing rapidly in New York City.  In fact, the “Sustainable Hydration Grid” has been quitely in place for years, complete with 16,120 nodes worldwide, including 11,000 in the U.S. alone.   What is this Hydration Grid called?  Starbucks.