Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

The phenomenon of bottled water has given rise to the creation of a billion pound industry. The cost of bottled water can be many times higher than that of tap water. (21) ___________, 53 billion gallons of bottled water are consumed each year. This is a shocking (22) ___________, when considering the fact that much bottled water is actually from municipal water sources; in other words, taps.

In addition, the process of bottling and (23) ___________ the water can have harmful effects on the environment. Last year over 16 million barrels of oil were used in the production of bottled water. This is enough oil to fuel over half a million cars for (24) ___________ entire year. Finally, statistics suggest that only one in six plastic water bottles is recycled. In this way, the bottled water industry can be seen as not only overly expensive for consumers, but also as (25) ___________ for the environment.

 (21) ___________, 53 billion gallons of bottled water are consumed each year.