Archive for the 'Environment' Category
What Myths Should You Be Aware of Concerning Water Contamination?
Everyone needs water that is free from contamination. Many people keep their ears open to any news about water contamination. If you are paying attention to water contamination issues in your community, that is the right thing to do. It is important to stay informed regarding these things. You must be careful not to be swayed by myths lurking around. Here are some of the most commonly misunderstood myths that you should be aware of concerning water contamination:
Myth: Lead water contamination is caused by water treatment plants.
Truth: Lead usually does not come to you from water treatment plants, but from your own home plumbing. The pipes that carry your tap water to you may have lead in them and the lead in the pipes can easily be absorbed by the water going through them. If you want to know if you have lead in your water or how much lead you have, ask a professional laboratory to test your water for its lead content. If your lead content is more that 15 parts per billion (ppb), then you must take action. Lead is a very harmful chemical that can have an adverse impact on the health of young children and infants as well as pregnant and nursing mothers. Lead affects early childhood development and the result can be permanent health damage to their bodies.
Tip: Water that is left standing in lead-based plumbing can absorb lead even faster. Before using water, especially for cooking or for serving to your family, let the pipes flush by simply running the water until it becomes cold.
Myth: Once water goes down the drain, it is out of your life forever.
Truth: The water that you use today went down the drains of hundreds of other people before it reached your home. Actually, it might just be the water you flushed down the drain a few weeks or months ago. Some water might be used again the same week, while some water might remain unused for years. Water is not newly created every day. It is recycled and used again and again. It is another common myth that we have an endless supply of water. It is a limited and very precious resource.
Tip: Use water wisely and conserve water.
Myth: Water purifies itself.
Truth: Water goes through highly technical processes before it reaches your home. The community you live in processes water to catch some very basic forms of contamination. Public water processing, however, is in no way equipped to handle the thousands of forms of water pollution and contamination that enter the water supply every day. Every contaminant that we throw away, including chemicals, medicines, batteries, fertilizers, and industrial waste, finds its way back into our water.
Myth: Any home water purifying system will make your tap water healthier and safer.
Truth: Not all home water purifying systems will produce healthy and safe water. Some water filters will make your water’s taste, odor, and color better. That step of producing water that is clear and tastes good can give you an illusion that the water is healthy and clean. Just because your water is tasty, odorless, and clear doesn’t mean it is truly pure and safe to drink.
Tip: When buying a home water filter system, choose one that has been inspected and tested by industry professionals. This should be easy to identify on their labels and boxes. Aquasana has been tested and recommended by many industry professionals to provide you with pure and safe drinking water.
The Value of Healthy Drinking Water
Few people worry very much about what they drink. If most people are thirsty, they open a can of soda pop, drink it, and feel satisfied. The caffeine rush gives them an extra boost as they go about their day, and it tastes delicious! However, soda is not the ideal drink for anyone trying to stay healthy or get in shape. The best drink for your health is pure water. Why is this? It’s simple. You need water to live. Your body is 72% water!
Without water, you would quickly die from dehydration. Soda pop and energy drinks have water in them – that’s why you can quench your thirst temporarily with them – but they’re not a substitute for the real thing. Soda contains a large amount of sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Both of these are very high in calories. By adding a large amount of calories, you are increasing your chances of quickly becoming overweight. Water has no calories, and hydrates far better than any soda pop.
Sugar and caffeine are also diuretics that cause your body to excrete water and lead to dehydration. Pure, filtered water provided by Aquasana water filters is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Water is used to carry food to your cells in order to be converted into energy. You lose water many ways: Breathing, urinating, sweating, and digestion all require and use water. If you are walking around dehydrated, you will need to eat more food in order to get enough energy to make it through your day. Though there is no magic amount of water for everyone, your body knows how to tell you when you need more water: you become thirsty. If you are thirsty, then you are probably already dehydrated to a negative extent. Because of water’s importance to your body, it is essential to have a good source of clean water to drink.
When you know your water is pure and tastes good, you will naturally drink more and be healthier as a result.
A water filter provided by Aquasana can be the perfect way to start your healthy lifestyle.
Rep. Edward J. Markey Battles To Improve Drinking Water For All
U.S. Rep. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., is currently the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Energy and Environment Subcommittee and is also the author of a bill to establish a federal ban on Bisphenol A, a chemical used in all food and beverage containers that is an endocrine disrupter. The recent hearing entitled “Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in Drinking Water: Risks to Human Health and the Environment” provided a lot of food for thought and identified numerous other problematic chemicals that are in our drinking water, including triclosan. Triclosan definitely deserves a lot more scrutiny than it currently gets, so what better place to look at the effect it has than here?
According to Markley, “…triclosan has been shown to interfere with the development of the brain and nervous systems of laboratory animals,” and that in itself should provoke concern over our health. It can cause disorders like infertility, obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and various other disorders and health concerns that are largely long term and incurable. Although you can live with these disorders, they will severely disrupt your good health. So how does triclosan get into the drinking water anyway, I hear you ask? Well, it is actually put into the water system by us! It comes from toothpaste, soap, and other such antibacterial products and thus goes down the drain via our own hands. Everything that goes down our drain eventually winds up in our drinking water supplies.
Although Markley has asked the FDA to look into triclosan and its effects with a view to reducing its presence in drinking water, you can help yourself in the meantime and make sure triclosan is not in your drinking water. Aquasana water filters remove triclosan completely from drinking water, so you can be sure that you are not running the risk of developing health conditions like those listed above. Filtering your water is the only solution right now because you never know what you are drinking unless you do.
What is the State of California’s Department of Health Services Water Treatment Device Certificate?
When makers of water filtration systems claim that their treatment device is capable of removing contaminants from drinking water or makes other claims that are related to health, it must get certified by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). A certificate from the CDPH, as stated on their website, means that “the device has been tested by an independent, state-approved laboratory (1) to verify the manufacturer’s health-related performance claims, and (2) to ensure that materials within the device do not add contaminants to the treated water.”
The Water Treatment Device Certificate given to the water filtrations systems provide by Aquasana, certificate number 06-1792 for the AQ-4000 model, was officially issued on July 28, 2006. It certifies that the independent tests of the filtration system done by a laboratory approved by the State of California’s Department of Health and Services proved the claims by Aquasana that the system removes at least 54 common contaminants. The AQ-4000 drinking water system from Aquasana was tested and has received this certificate.
These contaminants include lead, cysts, MTBE, all VOCs, the four major haloacetonitriles, and trihalomethanes, just to name a few. Aquasana filtration systems were rated a Best Buy in Consumer Digest for 6 years in a row for this reason as well as its exceptional value and convenience. Aquasana simply produces the best water filtration systems available on the current market.
The Clean Water Act Is Not Good Enough, According To the EPA
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has severe concerns with the state of the nation’s water if a New York Times report is to be believed. A Circle Of Blue article states that the report has declared that it is all the fault of the Clean Water Act and the provisions it makes against polluting, or rather, the lack of provisions!
The Clean Water Act has long governed the state of the water supply that goes to American homes, or at least most individuals that are aware of the act believe that this is what it does, but there is a major problem with that right now. That problem is that the Clean Water Act is nowhere near transparent about the waterways it protects and the Supreme Court has never clarified this information. As such, according to Circle Of Blue, “thousands of known polluters have contaminated waterways by spilling oil, carcinogens, and dangerous bacteria” and there is little that we can do about it.
The Clean Water Act was passed in 1972 without giving clear information about what does and what does not meet federal regulation requirements. This means that around 117 million Americans may have drinking water provided to their homes that does not come under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act. Just imagine what people may have dumped in the water in that case and exactly what might be in it as a result. It definitely does not provide any comfort. The best thing, or worst thing depending on how you look at it, is that you have no way of knowing which category you fall into.
This is why having a water filter at home, like the highly reliable models Aquasana offers, is so important. These filters remove most common water contaminants so you can rest assured the water that you drink is completely clean and safe for your family.
Will the National Water Research and Development Initiative Act of 2009 Help Regulate Water Quality?
One of the goals of the National Water Research and Development Initiative Act of 2009 is to help regulate water quality in this country. We can all agree that there are too many problems with water purity that are taking place right now. There are too many times when homes aren’t getting the right quality of water through the tap that people need to drink.
It is no secret that many people deal with water contamination in their homes. In many cases, however, they don’t realize that their water is contaminated and how much of a threat it is to their health. They assume government regulation and their local water treatment processing procedures that are in place will protect them. That isn’t always the case, though. There are studies that show that dangerous chemicals and even pharmaceutical drugs are showing up in the tap water we drink.
While we are aware of the problems of water contamination, the question of what is going to be done about it still remains. Hopefully the information gained through the National Water Research and Development Initiative Act of 2009 well help society become better informed about water safety issues. The goal is to offer sufficient evidence to the president of the United States and the congress that will prompt them to regulate water quality by establishing a national office to help coordinate efforts to help us overcome the crisis we have with clean drinking water.
This particular effort to regulate water quality is definitely a step in the right direction. Perhaps some pressure from federal authorities will help those contributing to huge water contamination concerns to change their ways. It can also help get everyone aware of the real impact of unhealthy water. Too many consumers are oblivious to what is really going on.
The efforts of the National Research and Development Initiative Act of 2009 to regulate water quality can make a huge difference. It puts the issue of clean water on the agenda for the president and for congress. It can’t be pushed aside as has been the case for a very long time in the past. The Obama administration has been sincere in their efforts to make changes so we need to give them the benefit of the doubt.
One of the huge problems in the past is the lack of accountability. This act, though, is going to ensure that there is accountability on many levels. With this in place, a system will evolve that will help agencies share the responsibility and get things moving in the right direction in order to regulate water quality on all levels.
Even though the National Water Research and Development Initiative Act of 2009 will help regulate water quality, we aren’t out of the woods yet. It is going to take a very long time for studies to be conducted and data evaluated. It is going to take time and money to see the implementation of positive changes.
In the meantime, your household is still very vulnerable to drinking water contamination. You need to take steps now that will help you regulate water quality on your own. It doesn’t have to be difficult or cost you a ton of money. Aquasana offers many types of water filters. You can install one yourself and start to benefit from having drinking water that is healthy for you and for your family as well.
How Can National Drinking Water Week Help Our Water Supply?
National Drinking Water Week serves to raise awareness about the quality of our drinking water. Most people assume that water must be safe if it is coming out of the faucet. However, they need to be educated about the various contaminants that can be found in that drinking water. This National Drinking Water Week takes place annually during the first week of May.
Part of the awareness during this week is to get people to test their own water. Most people have never done so before. They assume all of the right testing has been taking place at the water treatment plant in their area. They also have no clue about how really simple it is to test your own water at home. Curiosity usually gets them involved with the use of testing strips.
It is important for individuals, business owners, and even whole communities to have a realistic idea about what is in their drinking water. That awareness can serve to encourage them to take steps that will reduce the contaminants found in them. Since there are so many different forms of contamination that can occur in drinking water, such testing needs to take place on a regular basis. It shouldn’t be only limited to National Drinking Water Week.
Most people don’t go back to just drinking tap water and take for granted that it is clean enough when they have been handed additional information. That is why the annual efforts of this program continue to get more and more people advocating for better drinking water and stricter laws about the levels of contamination that will be accepted.
As they find out a bit of information, they are more inclined to read magazine and newspaper articles about drinking water. They are also going to be surfing the Internet for great information that they can rely on, as well. In the end, many of them will become lifelong fighters in the quest for everyone to have better drinking water available to them. They will have the right information to make decisions in the future about the water they drink.
Exploring information during National Drinking Water Week can help people take action. As they learn that their water isn’t as safe as they thought, it can encourage them to take action. They can learn more about what needs to be done to improve the quality of their drinking water. No one is making a profit by offering such information, but they are improving the environment for all of us one step at a time.
This needs to start in the home with the installation of a great multi-level water filtering system. That will take plain tap water and change it into something that looks better, tastes better, and that is better for you to consume. Aquasana can be a partner to you and your family in making sure the water that comes out of your faucets is clean, healthy, and tastes good, too. As you learn more about drinking water, you will also want to be working on encouraging local and national efforts to provide everyone with drinking water that is safe.
What Steps Can My Family Take at Home to Encourage Clean Water?
What Steps Can My Family Take at Home to Encourage Clean Water?
In the last ten years, the awareness of how to live in an environmentally friendly way has risen
significantly. It has become a focus in the schools which means that even if you don’t talk much about how to “live green” at home, your kids are becoming aware of how to be good citizens of the earth at school. Being friendly to the environment is about more than just being responsible to the earth. It is about living in a clean world for our own good. This is especially true when it comes to what every family can do at home to encourage clean water that comes to your home for drinking, bathing, and cooking.
Contamination of the water supply has a lot of causes. The first big step any family can do to help the cause of clean water for your community is to become aware of water contamination. The more we talk about it, learn about why the local water reservoir is polluted, and become active to encourage public officials to do all they can to provide clean water to the community, the more that will get done. If young people are aware of clean water issues, they can talk to their friends and raise the awareness of the importance of clean water for any community. Then when the community makes it a priority that their local water reserves are full of healthy and clean water, that is when elected officials will take action.
Around the house, every family uses some hazardous chemicals that do a great job doing what they are designed to do. It is important when you are done using these kinds of chemicals that they do not get dumped down the drain, into the street, into the ground, or even put out with the trash to go to the local landfill. Any of those ways of disposing of harmful chemicals will result in them ending up in the water supply eventually. When you have old paint, used oil, furniture polish, or pesticides to get rid of, don’t throw them away or dump them. Make the effort to take them to an approved facility that will dispose of those toxic chemicals safely and in a way that does not threaten the clean water of the community.
Recycling is another great way to improve the environment and protect the clean water in the water supply. When plastics are thrown out and they go to the landfill, the residue leaks into the soil when the plastic is incinerated. This process creates both air pollution and toxins that go into the water supply. Plastic recycling has become very easy to do if you become aware of the need and make it a habit around the house to collect plastics to be recycled.
It will take time to learn these and other lifestyle habits that help you and your family stop contributing to the contamination of the clean water in the public reservoirs. While you work hard for the public good, there is a great step you can take to assure good clean water for your family right now. That step is to install a reliable water filtration system like those that Aquasana can show you. By filtering your water, you cut down on the use of bottled water which means many plastic water bottles will not go into the landfill to create air and water pollution. More importantly, your home water filtration system will provide the means for you to make sure that your family is getting clean water, free of contaminants, right out of the tap of your home. There is no question that once you provide clean and healthy water to your family, they will never want to go back to drinking anything but clean water ever again.
