Peace Asiatics!
Today is the start of World Water Week which lasts from March 22nd until March 28th. And this - March 22nd - is World Water Day, as declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 1992.
It's hard to believe that one of our primary life givers - WATER - can also kill in unsanitary conditions. Did you know that water-born illness is the second biggest killer of children under 5 years of age throughout the world? There are nearly one BILLION people in the world without access to safe drinking water, causing more than 4,200 children die daily due to water-related diseases. Of course, the gravest problem with unsafe drinking water is the mortality rate - but also consider that when people are faced with reoccurring illnesses due to drinking contaminated water that spreads diseases like cholera, they are also unable to work, go to school, and practice hygienic care in other ways (like simply washing ones hands).
World Water Week is a time to promote public awareness of the world water crisis, and encourage water conservation, improving people's access to clean water, and the development of clean water resources in places where there are none.
In 2007, a program called The Tap Project was established in order to help UNICEF provide clean water to children around the world. This bean as a grassroots project out of New York, and in just two years has developed into an internationally recognized program operating in all states in the U.S. A mere $1 investment in The Tap Project provides clean drinking water to one child for 40 days; this $1, in so-called third world countries, is equal to a $3 to $34 dollar return.
Please visit http://www.tapproject.org/ to learn how you can get involved in relieving the world water crisis and acknowledge World Water Week by providing clean drinking water to an endangered child.
Peace!
Eboni Joy Asiatic
2 comments:
Peace,
For those of us that are fortunate enough to have "fresh" water we still must be aware of the toxins and pollutants that exist in it. It is commonly known that tap water is unfit for drinking, but still we bathe in it, play in it, and we cook with it. Even with a filter on our tap, the common filters like BRITA or PUR are not nearly sensitive enough to remove the toxins in our water like trace pharmaceuticals.
Trace pharmaceuticals exist in our tap water because of the overwhelming number of people that use medication. The body is unable to absorb all of the drugs so it is passes into our sewer system that runs into our rivers and lakes. Our rivers and lakes are the exact same place the local water authority goes to retrieve water to clean, process, and administer to the masses as tap. Governmental regulation allows about two percent of whatever is found in the sewer water to remain in the water. Those of us in New York know exactly what can be found in the Hudson River and the like.
Bottled water is no better, I would argue it’s worse, because drinking bottled water contributes to the masse of plastic and garbage floating in the pacific that is polluting our oceans today. Not to mention the cheap plastic they use to manufacture the bottles for the bottled water breakdown in short time and is consumed by the individual drinking the bottled water.
We must be mindful of what we put into our bodies, as we only one, and one chance to live our lives in a true state of optimal wellness and longevity.
There are great alternatives, I encourage any reader of this short drop to seek them out.
Peace!
Genially Green Earth
Peace Queen Genially,
Thanks for that information.
To help lead our readers in the right direction, here is some useful information regarding alternatives to tap and bottled water taken from http://www.holistichealersacademy.com/water.htm, including some info from the book "Water the Ultimate Cure":
Charcoal filters are best for extracting gases, organic, and hydrocarbon based pollutants and are cost efficient. Disadvantages include inability to remove inorganic salts such as sodium, fluoride, and nitrates, has a limited life, and provides a breeding ground for bacteria. The granulated activated carbon filter has a large surface sponge like area which can absorb literally thousands of different chemicals. For more information on this type of filtration method please see: http://www.home-water-purifiers-and-filters.com/carbon-water-filter.php
Micro straining filters strain 99% of all bacteria. Since bacteria are normally larger than one micron they don’t stand a chance at entering your drinking water since these filters can strain down to half that size. The problem is that they cannot remove all viruses or inorganic chemicals and minerals.
Ceramic filters can extract inorganic chemicals, bacteria, and have a long life. They also keep cryptosporidium from entering your water due to the size of the screens straining down to 0.8 microns.
KDF is a patented copper zinc alloy that uses a filtration process called reduction- oxidation (changes composition of charged particles). KDF eliminates chlorine, reduces heavy metals, kills bacteria and alters nature of lime scale transforming it into powder. (A good KDF filter lasts through 10,000 gallons and is equal to about a year of showers /baths).
Distillation is the process of boiling water into steam, cooling it and condensing into a chamber where collected and becomes liquid again. Distillation removes all bacteria and microorganisms including viruses as well as soluble inorganic salts, organic chemicals, radionuclides and heavy metals. It is no wonder scientists use this for their experiments; there is nothing contained in it that which would interfere with their various test results.
Reverse Osmosis is a process by which water diffuses through a semi-permeable membrane that removes organic chemicals, dissolved minerals, salts, cryptosporidium, giardia, heavy metals and asbestos. However it cannot eliminate toxic gases, chloroform, phenol, THMs, viruses, bacteria or certain pesticides. (Requires pre and post carbon filters and membrane replacement is expensive)
Ozone destroys pathogens that are difficult to kill, removes odors and tastes as well as colors, oxidizes THMs, helps precipitate heavy metals, and benefits aquatic life by reverting back to oxygen. Unlike chlorine, ozone does produce harmful THMs, prove corrosive, and doesn’t irritate our eyes, skin or mucous membranes. One major disadvantage is that it is costly. (For maximum purification it should be combine with a carbon pre-filter.
Ultraviolet Light lamps produce beams of light that destroy bacteria, viruses and microorganisms. Some say that cryptosporidium cysts need long exposure to the light in order to be effective at killing the eggs.
Bottled water is mostly classified by where it comes from (spring, spa, geyser, public water, mineral content etc.) Approx. 25% bottled water comes from the same water supply as many household taps! It’s an awful truth. If antimicrobial agents are added, companies must state this on their labels. Most States however, lack efficient rules for appropriate labeling, so there may be bottled water claims that are misleading the public.
Artesian, bottled, deionized/demineralized, ground, mineral, natural spring, sparkling and steam-distilled are the various types you can choose from. Artesian water is derived from well water which is brought forth to the surface through natural pressure. Ground water is simply underground water that does not come in contact with surface water. Mineral water contains not less than 250 parts per million total dissolved solids (TDS) and comes from a protected underground source that has been tapped at the spring opening. It is important to know which minerals you are deficient in or have in abundance of before taking in large quantities of mineral water because you can do more harm than good by not being aware.
Natural Spring water on a label does not mean the water was filtered or treated. As long as the water uses a natural source to bring it forth to the surface, a company has met the requirements of the FDA in order to use the word ‘spring’. They do however have to state from what location they retrieved the water.
Sparkling water is alright unless it is loaded with fructose or artificial sweeteners. Soda, seltzer and tonic water do not fall under bottled water classification and are regulated separately as soft drinks.
Steam-Distilled water is water that is boiled ,vaporized and condensed. This process eliminates most of the bacteria, viruses and pollutants. The steam shifts to an area called the condensing chamber where it cools off. Distilled water leaches harmful inorganic minerals rejected by the body. Most believe that distilled and reverse osmosis is the best to drink or used for cooking. Make certain you purchase your distilled water in containers that do not have the number 2 inside the triangle on the bottom of the bottle. This flexible plastic will leach into your water which is obviously undesirable. Some suggest distilled water robs us of our precious minerals since it has that ability to attract any organic material that it comes in contact with. Others say as soon as it combines with food in our digestive tract, it’s unstable nature becomes stable thus in the end it doesn’t really harm the health of the person unless fasting on this water alone.
For Your Information
Steer clear of bottles with a #2 listed inside the triangle on the bottom of a water container – means it was created with high density polyethylene (greatest potential for imparting plastic giving it that plastic taste)
A number 1 inside the triangle indicates it was made with a strong, clear plastic called polyethylene terephthalate…and is considered the most inert (meaning a better choice)
A number 3 inside the triangle polyvinyl chloride PVC much sturdier and less likely to impart plastic taste but is not widely used
Polycarbonate plastic is the stongest – highly inert! Used for 5gallon bottles, good quality baby bottles, storage containers etc. It has a number 7 inside it’s triangle
1-800-426-4791 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) number to call to find out about your drinking water and the safety standards
NSF-International (NSF) does independent testing of filters to determine if they remove Cryptosporidium. Contact the NSF in Ann Arbor, MI USA, toll free1-877-867-3435, fax 313-769-0109, email info@nsf.org, or visit their Web site at www.nsf.org/certified/DWTU/. Once there you can enter the model number of the unit you wish to buy. You'll see whether it is on their certified list! If not, you can be certain reverse osmosis is one of the better methods for this problem.
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