Coal is a fossil fuel, one of the greatest source of energy in the world used to produce electricity. It is naturally occurring and is present in rock strata in layers called coal beds or seams. This ‘black gold’ covers the mountains of West Virginia and gets the nickname because it is a very lucrative financial source for the state. Coal covers the beautiful mountain top in West Virginia, but is it worth losing the state’s most valuable resource, water?

West Virginia is facing the destruction of natural resources by continuing the mining project, not only dealing with the 2300 acre land damage, but the loss of the streams will cause damage to drinking water sources. From 1985 to 2001, 1200 miles of streams have been covered up or polluted and at least 535 miles since then. Iron and Manganese concentrations exceeded the EPA’s drinking water guidelines in at least 40% of the wells and 70% of the wells near reclaimed surface coal mines. The pollution usually contains arsenic mercury, lead, copper, and chromium. An EcoloBlue appliance conserves natural resources by utilizing the humidity in the air instead of reducing natural sources of water.

Have you noticed the slew of cities impacted by water rate increases? Many have already announced rate hikes and many more are planning increases soon. These are not all small percentages either; in fact, they range from 3% to even 25% increases.  The Los Angeles Dept of Water and Power are calling for a 5% increase. The list of potential rate hikes include Palo Alto, Seaside, Port Richey, Sioux Falls, Iowa American Water, Fairfax, East Bay Municipal, Warrenton, Grosse Ponte Woods, American Fork, Jennings, Funkstown, San Luis Obispo, Jefferson Co, Westboro, Santa Barbara, Atlanta, Algood, King George, Rock Hill, St. Clair, Kennewick, Porterdale, Arcata, Lexington, Swartz Creek, Columbia, Northeast Ohio, and so on and so on.

The customers of Iowa American Water are asking why and are voicing their concerned as they are struggling to pay yet another increase in utilities. To help ease the burden of the increase, some utility companies are spreading the rate increases over time.  Many are taking up to three years to span up to reach their 25% rate hikes goal. Still many have not been very clear on the intention for such a rise in fees and. others have included multiple increases in budget plans. Glendora Water Commission approved a three year 10% increase to assist in funding water division and construction costs, which includes higher energy costs and rising cost of water they purchase to distribute to customers. They also say rates SHOULD stabilize in 2015 or 2016. Even though we are not sure what is causing so many increases across the nation, it does not appear that there is an end in sight.  Get involved in your community and monitor your city’s rates and you won’t be surprised if or when your rates drastically increase.

As a mother, I share the passion to make sure that our children are healthy, by eating healthy foods and drinking safe water. Moms are always reading labels and checking the safety of all the products our kids come in contact with. How often do you read the label on bottle water? That’s right-- there is no ingredient label or label indicating the place of origin. Where did most of the water come from before it went into that bottle? We don’t know. They don’t have to tell us. There is an addition of fluoride in some of the cutie kid water bottles. A child receives fluoride in toothpaste, at school in a mouth swish cup, in tap water, and now in some bottled water. How much fluoride does it take to deteriorate your teeth? Is it less for kids than adults?

Clean.  Refreshing.  Sustaining. Water. The body of every human in the world demands drinking water every day just to survive. The quality of that drinking water will determine how the body thrives or dies. The very definition of drinking water or potable water is “water of high quality that can be consumed or used with very low risk of immediate or long term harm.” Would you assume that everyone around the world or even in every area of the United States would have this definition of drinking water available to them?  Years ago, perhaps most would have answered that all or the majority of American citizens would have access to drinking water. Over the last few years, the awareness that all parts of the U.S. do not have access to a municipal water source is coming to light. There is a greater awareness about the quality of the water in the wells and other outside municipal water systems as well as the municipalities. There is a growing concern for nitrates in ground and well water systems. Arsenic, iron and manganese levels are also higher in these water sources. There are regulations in place for municipal water systems to reduce contamination. The concern is that there are certain things not required to test for, elevated levels of restricted materials often take years to reduce, plumbing infrastructure contributes to leeching toxic materials into the water and there are daily water main breaks allowing contamination into the lines. Human negligence is not something we think about. However, there has been concern and even conviction of employees who failed to test the water and falsified documentation to say the water was within limitations of restricted materials, even when levels were elevated. Daily drinking of excessively high minerals and other contaminants slowly poison the body. This poisoning of the body’s systems often causes cancer, brain damage, or other diseases.

With all this information in mind, this blog is meant to bring awareness to drinking water in general and not to water systems. It is important that you know the quality of your drinking water is essential. It is also imperative that you know what can happen to your body if you do not have quality water. However, there is a message in this blog that I would like for you to take away for drinking water awareness week, as I continue to explain.

What is the most important aspect of drinking water awareness you should be concerned about? As we all know, water is vital to the body’s functions. Without water the human body cannot survive, let alone thrive. What we do not realize is the amount of water we should be drinking daily to ensure the best impact on our body. There is information about drinking too much water can be harmful to the body and not drinking the right kind of water can be harmful as well. So, as the primary message of this blog, what kind and how much water should you drink daily?  This is an easy question with a not so easy answer. There is no great formula to calculate this in standard measure for every person. The basic recommendation is reported in most research as the average healthy adult living in a temperate climate should consume approximately 6 to 8 cups of water per day. For your particular body, consider either a replacement approach by drinking a little more than 8 cups to replenish the average amount lost through daily functions or the 8 x 8 rule of drinking eight 8 oz glasses of fluid daily. The daily dietary report from The Institute of Medicine has shown that men consume an average of 13 cups of beverages and women consume an average of 9 cups of beverages daily. The kind of water you drink should be considered when you realize that food and water provide the required minerals needed for the body’s functions. The EcoloBlue appliances utilize a re-mineralization process that provides essential minerals in your 99.9% pure drinking water. If you have a question about how much water you should consume daily, contact your physician to discuss your particular needs. 

The next step after learning about solar energy and how to capture it is the amount of wattage you will need to power your device. Electrical power is measured in watts. Energy consumption is measured in kiloWatt hours (kWh). Thus, solar energy is measured in kiloWatt Hours. Consider that 1000 Watts is equal to 1 kiloWatts. The next step is understanding the calculation used to determine the kilowatt hour. Simply, the kilowatt hour is determined by the amount of electricity used in kilowatts multiplied by the number of hours the energy is used. The calculation would indicate the amount of time, such as one day, one month or one year. The best example would be if you had a 100 watt light bulb on for 10 hours during a 24 hour period, then the consumption would be determined as: 100/1000(kWh)  x 10 (hours)= 1kW per day. To determine monthly usage you would factor the same equation times 30. The breakdown would be as follows:

Solar power is a great way to start your green modifications and get off the grid. Now that you know it exists, what exactly can you do with it? Solar energy can be used in your home or even your business. This is a great energy source to power small items around your home or heat and power your entire home. You can power outside your home, such as your garage, pool, outside lighting, etc.  Solar power can be used to heat your home, light your home, heat your water heater or pool, power and charge small devices, and also operate your EcoloBlue appliances. You may connect your solar into your grid to alternate power sources. However, please note that you are not off the grid if your solar is tied into your home’s electricity. In fact, some electrical companies welcome you to tie your solar into your home’s electricity so that the company is able to utilize your stored solar energy for their use as well.

Not all solar panels are the same. You must determine the size of the solar panel you want to use or build by the devices you want to power. Every device requires different wattage of solar to operate. Please note that the device will use a different solar wattage than electrical. For example, the EcoloBlue 30 appliance will use 280 watts of electricity, but it requires a 300 watt solar panel to operate.  Keep in mind that solar panel wattage is not what it may appear. A 300 watt panel may only capture 260 watts of energy from the sun during certain periods of the day. Therefore, it is very important to determine the wattage you need for specific devices. 

Solar energy is all a buzz recently for a new green friendly generation of off the grid power. Sifting through all of the information for solar energy, you can become inundated with the terminology of the new technology fairly quickly. The most basic question is what is a solar cell and how is it different from a solar panel? Even though the concepts can get complicated, there is a simple answer to the question. A solar cell is a solid state device that converts energy from the sun directly into electricity. This process is called a photovoltaic effect (photo meaning light/voltaic meaning electric). The difference between the cell and panel are simply in assembly. Putting solar cells together creates a solar modular, also known as solar panels. The energy that is generated from this process is known as solar power. To make use of the energy generated from solar cells, the electricity is fed into the electrical grid using an inverter. You can also have a stand-alone system in which batteries would be used to store the energy that is captured and not utilized immediately. Solar Panels are used to provide power to a variety of devices. Solar power can also be used to recharge devices. They are so versatile that you can power something as small as your cell phone to as large as your entire house. Just remember if you are looking for an off the grid solution, keep your solar off the grid.

Solar power has become a great source of energy. This form of power is energy that comes directly from the sun. As a plentiful source, even the small amount of sunlight touching the earth could produce over 8000 times the energy to meet the demand of the entire population. The use of solar energy is completely free and there are no worries of depletion. In fact, you can use as much as you can harvest from the sun. There have been many new technological advances to harvest and utilize solar energy. Solar energy can be used to power small items, such as calculators or coffee pots. It can also be used as a power source for your entire home.

Solar energy is a great choice of power for a positive environmental impact. There is no fuel, as with coal, oil, kerosene and other energy sources. These historical forms of energy produce fumes, chemicals and other pollutants, but there is no pollution with solar energy. Additionally, there is no waste expelled with solar energy compared to other forms. The sustainability and the independence that solar power brings you is well worth your investment. Solar energy can get you off the grid, leaving you water independent if you choose an EcoloBlue solar option.

What you say if you were told that the U.S. is not required to screen for parasites, such as amoebas in your water.  Even though latest studies show they can carry serious waterborne diseases that affect humans.  Drinking water systems around the world suffer from amoeba contamination. These amoebas are responsible for sparking diseases from rapid brain inflammation to blinding eye infections. They also carry diseases that multiply inside the cell and are resistant to the disinfectant agents that water treatment plants use. In a recent study of water systems, 26 studies from 18 countries showed amoeba contamination in all drinking water systems. In fact, 16 studies that checked for tap water contamination found it in 45 percent.

Thinking this will not happen to your family? Well, years ago, two young Arizona boys died from encephalitis, a fatal brain disease. Although chlorine limits amoeba contamination, it does completely ensure safety. Areas with well water that has not been treated are especially susceptible. It is believed that the boys got the amoebas from submerging in their tub during a bath.  Unfortunately, the reality is that we are not completely protected from things we cannot see. However, EcoloBlue is a step toward knowing your glass of drinking water is not a science project.

Do you check your local news for boil water advisories due to water main breaks every morning before you take a drink of water or brush your teeth? If not, are you at risk of serious water contamination every day? Experts report that across the U.S., more than 700 water main breaks are responded to daily. Washington D.C. is riddled with water main breaks, reportedly suffering as many as 300 in a two weeks span in December alone. "Anytime you're breaking the seal of the system that brings water into your homes and apartments, you're risking contamination from bacteria and viruses," said Eric Goldstein, member of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). A broken water main can create havoc on roadways or residential areas and can be a serious threat to public health.

The drinking water system of the nation is in despair. Our failing infrastructure is one of the contributing factors to water quality concerns across the U.S. Leaking pipes are reported to waste  7 billion gallons of water per day, according to The American Society of Civil Engineers, who also gave a grade of D minus in their 2009 Report Card of America’s Infrastructure.  Infrastructure was identified by the NRDC as the culprit of a 2008 salmonella outbreak causing more than 250 people to become ill.

One of the reasons for the failing infrastructure is age. The Environmental Protection Agency reported that 30% of the pipes in water delivery structures to 100,000 people are 40 to 80 years old. An additional 10% of pipes in those same systems are even older. Now that the problem has been identified, why is it not being fixed? Instead of continually repairing only the pipes that burst and need immediate attention, why not re-do the entire plumbing infrastructure? The answer is not as simple as the question. New technology may hinder an overhaul of the water infrastructure. There are: cable, phone, electrical, fiber optic and other lines in the under-land of the city that we not there with the first water delivery infrastructure system.  It is estimated that revamping this system may cost well over 335 billion dollars and take over 20 years to complete. D.C. is replacing the oldest cast iron (pre-civil war) pipes at a rate of 11 miles per year to work toward a newer system with less water main breaks. In the meantime, water quality is a concern and residents will still need to boil their water before using it when there has been a break in their area.

Get up in the morning and drink your glass of water with confidence that you are drinking uncontaminated, clean and delicious water. Feel secure when grabbing a cup of coffee or making dinner or brushing your teeth. Forget about the worry and inconvenience of checking the local news on tv or turning on the radio. Place an EcoloBlue appliance in your home and feel safe that your family is not in danger of water contamination.

Poor water quality not only prevents your flowers from flourishing, but it can burn or even kill them. Are you considering the quality of water used for your household plants? There are a variety of chemicals in tap water that will not allow your house plants to reach to their full potential and beauty. The use of tap water is more dangerous to house plants than outdoor plants. This is due to the chemicals used to treat tap water which collects in the soil around the plants. Outdoor plants have the benefit of rainwater that washes away most of the chemicals left behind from the tap water. However, indoor plants never receive the benefit of rain water so the chemicals continue to collect in the soil with every watering.

There are a number of reasons why tap water may not be the greatest for your plants and flowers in your home. Chlorine is a chemical that is used to disinfect your water supply and it is lethal to your house plants. Signs of poor water quality damage can be brown or yellow leaf tips and veins, root burn and failure to bloom. Hard water has an excessive amount of magnesium and calcium which collect in the soil and cause damage. Salt is also added to some water supplies to prevent hardness. The salt also causes significant damage to plants. Over time, even filtered tap water can leave unwanted deposit buildup that can harm your plants. This buildup will present as a thin white colored crust on the top of the soil or on the leaves. If you see this, flush the plants and soil to remove the deposits at least once a year. Fluoride is another toxic chemical that house plants just cannot handle. In addition to all the chemicals, if the ph level is unbalanced in the tap water, it can be damaging or lethal to the plants. So, if tap water and filtered tap water are harmful to the flowers and plants in your home, what water allows them to be healthy?

The Organic Administrative Act of 1897 states the forest reserves were responsible to protect and enhance water supplies, reduce flooding, secure water flow, protect from forest fires and depredations as well as provide a continuous supply of timber. National forests in the West continue to operate today as they did in 1915 with the original 162 million acres. Public demands for land forests in the East resulted in the passing of the 1911 Weeks Act, which allowed the acquisition of Federal lands to protect watersheds.  This also reported on the role of forests in water supplies. This would include water quantity, water quality, flood reductions and economic benefit of tree cover for storm water reduction in urban areas.

According to the Water Quality Association, reverse osmosis filtered water at room temperature is the best water is the best for watering household plants. The humidity around your plants also plays a vital role in how your plants grow.

EcoloBlue appliances clean the air in your home, stabilize the humidity around your plants, and provide reverse osmosis filtered water- all of which provide all the right conditions for your flowers and plants to flourish.

The water in the atmosphere is completely regenerated every 8 days!  The U.S.D.A. Forest Service has been committed to protect our water and national forests since the inception of forest reserves in 1891!

The federally protected forest reserves were started in 1891 as a result of public concern for maintaining adequate supplies of clean water. Having healthy forests are imperative to maintaining clean water supplies. Forests are so vital because they provide approximately 80% of the scarce freshwater resources in the United States. The forested lands soak in rainfall, which refills ground aquifers, reduces speed of the storm runoff, minimizes flooding, cools and cleanses rainfall, supports watersheds, as well as provides vital habitat for fish and other wildlife.

The Organic Administrative Act of 1897 states the forest reserves were responsible to protect and enhance water supplies, reduce flooding, secure water flow, protect from forest fires and depredations as well as provide a continuous supply of timber. National forests in the West continue to operate today as they did in 1915 with the original 162 million acres. Public demands for land forests in the East resulted in the passing of the 1911 Weeks Act, which allowed the acquisition of Federal lands to protect watersheds.  This also reported on the role of forests in water supplies. This would include water quantity, water quality, flood reductions and economic benefit of tree cover for storm water reduction in urban areas.

From the beginning, water has played a part in developing forested areas, deciding settlement areas, routes of travel and transportation and has shaped land use.  Considering approximately two-thirds of the nation’s runoff comes from forested areas, without protected forest areas, there would be a fatal impact on plant and animal life as well as the nation’s water supply as a whole. Over a third of national forest lands and waters have been identified to play a critical role in aquatic biodiversity and anchoring species.

Water is not only vital for all life in forest lands across the U.S., but it is vital to all human life as well. The necessity of water to all life creates a monetary value for it as well. The U.S.D.A. Forest Service reports the value of water from national forest lands to be more than 3.7 billion dollars annually.  The Forest Service recognizes the overall value of water and has created a specific plan to continue to protect this precious resource. The growing population has impacted natural water resources and forested areas. The population of the West has increased by 50 percent over the last 20 years and is said to increase an additional 300 percent by 2040.

The Forest Service identifies part of their role is to protect instream water flow and groundwater. That role demands that they provide an active participation in the processes that allocate surface water, ground water, and water rights. They identify as part of their role, that their participation must be timely and of the highest standards of technical quality. The Forest Service commits to ‘systematically restore damaged watersheds on the national forests, mitigate additional watershed damage from the land uses and the inevitable major wildfires, and foster partnership efforts to meet the most pressing watershed restoration needs when they fall outside of national forest boundaries’.

Approximately 1 percent of the earth’s water is available to provide us with drinking water. That water goes through a renewal process, but the rates of renewal are very different. The nonrenewable resources because when people use or degrade these water supplies, the useable water resources are lost and natural water cycles may be disrupted. The renewal periods for glaciers, groundwater, ocean water, and lakes can be up to hundreds or even thousands of years. The flowing water in rivers is completely renewed on average every 16 days. The water in the atmosphere is renewed every 8 days. EcoloBlue utilizes this atmospheric water to generate a 99.9 percent pure water to drink. 

Can the Chesapeake Bay be restored? There are current efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay Bridge as well as clean up the water. The Environmental Protection Agency is undertaking new regulations in a plan of restoring the 64 thousand square mile project. The plan is described as the largest ever undertaken in the history of the U.S.  

Individual plans with six states are included in the overall restoration plan. The plan will significantly decrease the amount of pollutants that are choking the ecosystem and crippling the environment in the Bay. One of the problems is, the restoration goal is 2025. Unfortunately, there is so much damage and it encompasses so great of an area, it will take a significant amount of time to restore. Not only does the watershed area contain six states, but 17 million people as well. The 200 mile long Bay has been left with “dead zones” as a result of the pollution leaving the areas oxygen depleted from the algae blooms that prevent sunlight from reaching the marine life below.

The causes of this horrendous pollution is a result of farming and urban runoff as well as air pollution and sewer over flows. The plan calls for a 6.5 billion pound annual reduction in sediment alone. We are looking at this level of pollution all around the world, if we do not take preventative measures instead of restorative steps.

Our Estuaries, lakes, rivers, and streams are being impacted by waste every day. We need to stand up and keep our waters clean so that we do not have to spend years trying to clean them up. It is imperative that we take responsibility for the trash and chemicals that we each contribute to our own local bodies of water and aquifers

Most people are not familiar with thyroid calcification, but to understand either calcification or cancer, we need to know that the thyroid is one of the largest endocrine glands in the body. These glands play an important role in how quickly the body uses energy, makes proteins and controls the sensitivity level to hormones. Calcification occurs when calcium is collected in the soft tissue and becomes hardened. A diagnosis of thyroid calcification does not mean it is definitely cancer, but benign or malignant cancer cells may be present.

Aside from nitrates and fluoride, a chemical in rocket fuel is also known to cause thyroid cancer. You may be thinking, how in the world could rocket fuel effect your drinking water and contribute to Thyroid Disease. It may impact you more than you realize. A chemical called Perchlorate is found in explosives, weapons, rocket fuel and the production of matches and fireworks.  It is also found in some tap and well water. Perchlorate is a regulated drinking water contaminant in California, up to 6mcl per liter, since 2007.  Barstow and Indio, California are the two most prevalent areas not allowed to drink their water due to this contamination. It has also been found in the Colorado River which supplies water to 15 million people. Clean up cost just to remove the Perchlorate from the Colorado River would include billions of dollars. So, it is unlikely a clean-up is occurring soon, leaving over 15 million people at risk for thyroid disease.

A few months ago, I read an article about the human right to water and sanitation. It was informative as well as interesting to learn about the international view of humans having a basic right to clean water and sanitary conditions. Humans have already been established to have a basic right to many things, such as human right to life, food and other standards of living. However, it took many decades for there to be a written acknowledgment to include the right to have clean water and sanitation.

The Human Right to Water, At Last

I've often daydreamed about what an alien civilization would think about Earth if it were ever to come visit, given our fractured ethnic, political, and economic planet, the epidemic violence, our ecological ignorance and mismanagement, the miserable way so many people live in poverty and misery, and our global failure to eradicate basic diseases such as cholera that simply require safe water and sanitation systems available to everyone reading this column.

One of these global failures was the failure to acknowledge a formal human right to water. There is a formal international human right to life, to human health, to an adequate standard of living, to adequate food, and more. But until a few weeks ago, there was no formal human right to water.

There is now. On September 24th, the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva adopted a binding resolution that
"Affirms that the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation is derived from the right to an adequate standard of living and inextricably related to the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, as well as the right to life and human dignity."

This declaration was a long time coming. The planet's bedrock political and civil human rights laws were put in place over 60 years ago. The United States played a leading role in formulating and supporting those laws, in line with our democratic principles, our commitment to rights, and our national character. And while there are occasional controversies over definitions, and occasional government policies that ignored or flouted these principles and rights, the US continues to be a leading voice for these rights.

Conversely, the United States has not played a leading role in, and indeed has often been in opposition to, extending human rights law into the area of social, economic, and cultural rights, even though major international covenants covering these rights were passed by the UN in the 1960s. And the US has never supported a human right to water. Until now.

More than a decade ago, I wrote a journal article on the human right to water that stated:

This is a first step, not a last step. Will finally acknowledging a human right to water and sanitation solve the world's water and sanitation problems? No.

Water Number: 4 Good Reasons for the Human Right to Water.

But here are four reasons why it is a good idea:
1. Acknowledging such a right will encourage the international community and individual governments to renew their efforts to meet basic human needs for water for their populations.
2. By acknowledging such a right, pressures to translate that right into specific national and international legal obligations and responsibilities are much more likely to occur.
3. This clear declaration will help maintain a spotlight of attention on the deplorable state of water management in many parts of the world.
4. Finally, explicitly acknowledging a human right to water can help set specific priorities for water policy, which is often fragmented, uncoordinated, and focused on providing more water for some people, rather than some water for all people.

What is needed now is to develop appropriate tools and mechanisms to achieve progressively the full realization of these rights, including appropriate legislation, comprehensive plans and strategies for the water sector, and financial approaches. As the UN has noted, the right to water also requires full transparency of the planning and implementation process in the provision of safe drinking water and sanitation and the active, free and meaningful participation of the concerned local communities and relevant stakeholders, including vulnerable and marginalized groups. And it is time to acknowledge that even here in the richest country of the world, there are people without access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, and to work harder to meet those needs as soon as possible.

Acknowledgement: Gleick, P. Oct. 2010. “The Human Right to Water, At Last.”  San Francisco Gate, San Francisco Chronicle.

Citrus- Fresh fruit? Sure, but also try frozen!

Enjoy crisp clean taste? Add cucumber slices to your pitcher of water. The slices not only add a crisp, but add fragrance to the water as well.

In the United States, we use over 2.5 million water bottles every hour. In 2008 alone, 16 billion dollars was spent on bottled water. Those are staggering numbers, but do you ever wonder how much water it takes to make all those water bottles as well as all the products we use every day?

Water is a primary product from the beginning in all of the products we use. Not just in what we drink, our food, our clothing, but even in our vehicle manufacturing as well. It takes 1800 gallons of water to grow enough cotton to manufacture one pair of jeans. Your favorite t-shirt requires 400 gallons of water to produce. I was most surprised at the 39,000 gallons of water it takes to make one car. With all this water usage and consumption every day, how can we not be more aware of the need to protect our water sources and conserve when we can?

I have received a great deal of feedback about the “endless supply” of water in the water, so I want to address the questions and comments. The fresh water supply is so scarce that one in five people (over 884 million) do not have access to safe drinking water. Only 2.5% of the world’s water is not salty. Two thirds of that small percent is icecaps and glaciers. About 20% of the remaining portion is in remote locations and comes in unwanted ways, such as monsoons and floods. The world’s water percent that is actually available to humans is less than .07%. Over the next two decades, the world’s water use is expected to increase by 40%.

In 1999, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) provided a report that 200 scientists in 50 countries identified a water shortage. The scientists also reported that it is one of the two most prominent problems. Where is all this water going? It is estimated that 70% of the water used is directed toward agriculture. The World Water Council reported that by 2020, we will need 17% more water for agriculture (just to produce our food supply) than what is available in the world. So, not only will we go to bed thirsty, we will also be hungry. Today, every 20 seconds, a child dies from a disease directly related to a lack of clean water. If there were an endless supply of water, I would certainly hope we could change those statistics.

In December 1948, 58 member states of the United Nations General Assembly agreed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Thus, declaring political, economic, social and cultural rights inherent to each human being. Over 60 years later, 192 member General Assembly announced a new addition to that historic declaration. In 2010, water and sanitation were recognized as a basic human right. Although, there were no votes in opposition, 41 countries abstained from the vote and 122 countries voted in favor. The United States was one of the 41 to abstain from the vote.

There is a formal international right to human life, to human health, to a sufficient standard living and to adequate food. So, why has it taken so long to acknowledge the importance of water in human survival? Why are there deplorable water standards around the world and will this declaration help clean the world’s water supplies? Perhaps these questions cannot be answered, at least, not yet. It should prompt us, as the human race that depend so greatly upon clean water, to hold the people who can answer these questions accountable to help provide clean water. We waited around for over 60 years for water to be recognized as a vital human survival component. It should not take another 60 years to make sure the generations that follow us conserve, protect and clean our water resources.

When you hear the words “fall colors,” do you immediately feel warmth on a fall day? I feel soothing emotions as I picture all the beautiful oranges, browns and yellows of the leaves falling from the trees. In a nut shell, it invokes a safe, comfortable feeling of transition from one season to another. If I said the water coming from you tap has the new fall color, would you not feel a sense of safe transition subconsciously?  However, if I said the water coming from your tap is a variety of orange and brown, would you still feel safe?

The citizens of Portland are experiencing this same issue with their tap water. The bureau says not to worry about the “fall color” coming from your tap, it is a normal occurrence. They blame it on run off from the flush of organic material into streams and the reservoir. The water utility says not to be concerned because the water still meets federal standards to drink. Should we look at what those standards are before we allow our families to consume fall colored water?  Importantly, you should know the water from this system in unfiltered. The bureau’s website is clear to indicate in the first section not to drink your water if it is brown. The description of the brown water being caused by a disturbance in a water main is not consistent with the explanation given a few paragraphs later that it is due to organic run off. However, they go on to say how safe it is to drink. Do they recommend to drink it or don’t they? I was confused doing the research on Portland’s water system, as I am sure the citizens are too.

Arsenic is a naturally occurring colorless and odorless element in rock and soil used in various industry and agriculture processes. Arsenic has a reputation for being notoriously poisonous. Most people identify arsenic as a lethal chemical. So, why is it a concern when we think of our drinking water?

Many natural water sources are declining at a serious rate not only impacting our water supplies, but possibly increasing arsenic levels in our drinking water as well. When groundwater levels drop, arsenic dissolves out of the soil and rock contaminating the water source. Thousands of pounds of arsenic are also released into the environment by industry every year. Arsenic is then removed from the air by rain, snow and even just settling to the ground over time.

There is research on the correlation between arsenic and an increased risk of strokes. The Michigan based study shows the need to have more research information over a broader area to determine the specific connection. The report indicated that the risk of stroke hospitalization was more than double in areas of elevated arsenic levels in drinking water. The EPA allows up to ten micrograms per liter of arsenic in drinking water.

In December 1948, 58 member states of the United Nations General Assembly agreed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Thus, declaring political, economic, social and cultural rights inherent to each human being. Over 60 years later, the 192 member General Assembly announced a new addition to that historic declaration. In 2010, water and sanitation were recognized as a basic human right. Although, there were no votes in opposition, 41 countries abstained from the vote and 122 countries voted in favor. The United States was one of the 41 to abstain from the vote.

More importantly, have you ever really felt extreme thirst? Next to air, water is the most important thing to human survival. Therefore, to say water is important is a gross understatement. Water makes up over two-thirds of the weight of a human body. The human brain is comprised of ninety-five percent water, the lungs are made up of ninety percent and blood contains eighty-two percent. Without water the human body would die in a matter of days. In fact, if the body sees as much as a two percent drop in water, signs of dehydration begin. Fuzzy or short term memory, difficulty focusing on small print, inability to compute basic math, and even daytime fatigue are only a few symptoms of dehydration. Since drinking water sources are so widely available, why are over 75 percent of people mildly and chronically dehydrated?

Not only is water a vital necessity, it also prevents disease. Drinking eight glasses of water every day can decrease your risk of getting colon cancer by forty-five percent and up to fifty percent for bladder cancer. Water benefits the body by serving as a lubricant, regulating body temperatures, forming fluid around joints, and regulates metabolism among many other functions. So if water is so vital and beneficial to us, why do we take it for granted? Natural water resources are all around us. The problem is, we are very quickly depleting and destroying all of our natural water resources without plans to replenish. What can we do? Implement water saving and conservations techniques, help keep rivers, lakes and oceans clean, reduce pollution, and let your representative know you are concerned about preserving water sources. Make sure to drink water daily and make sure the water is free of contaminants and pharmaceuticals. EcoloBlue can help you and your family has safe, clean, delicious drinking water.

Minerals are essential to facilitate basic body functions. The right minerals in productive amounts benefit the human body in many ways. They keep nerve and muscle functions normal, grow connective tissues, regulate fluids, assist in controlling bone growth, keep metabolism up and a host of other benefits. In addition to helping the body, some minerals also improve the taste of water. Therefore, the food products made with the mineralized water taste better.

Magnesium is one of those important minerals because it controls blood coagulation, energy production and muscle contraction as well as helping protect against diseases such as gastric cancer. Calcium is also essential to bone growth and nerve transmission. Sodium is naturally occurring in water due to underground salt deposits. In healthy amounts, sodium is necessary to carry nutrients throughout the body.  Potassium helps to reduce bone loss as well as reducing the risk of kidney stones. Zinc is one of the most important to develop the immune system to aid in resisting infections. Zinc is also imperative to the growth of body cells. It plays a vital role in children’s growth and development of the mind and body.

I wanted to write about the most common water contaminants, but there are too many to write about in only a few paragraphs. Each water source is threatened by a different set of contaminants. Additionally, there is a vast range of health effects linked to each contaminant exposure. Just to give you an idea how many contaminants we are dealing with in our water supplies, I composed a list of a few.

Do you use weed killer around your home or live near a farm? Altrazine is one of the most widely used herbicides in the world. Like many herbicides, it is sold under a variety of names.  This weed killer is both effective and inexpensive so it is used by many farmers. Approximately 76 million pounds of Altrazine was used in the United States in 2003 alone. Every spring since then, Midwest farmers apply 150 million pounds of herbicide and pesticides to their crop fields and it is leaching into our ground water.

A report on an area of Florida showed that 3 deformed babies were born within a 7 week period to workers employed at the same farm. The infants had a variety of defects including no limbs, no ears, no visible sex organs and one was missing a nose. After all the evidence and commonalities linking the birth defects to farm chemicals, the state still said they could not be certain of the cause. In fact, the state said they did not know what caused 80 percent of birth defects. With the uncertainty of officials, we need to pay attention to what we and our neighbors put on the ground that may impact our children so dramatically.

There is a misconception that well water is somehow better than city or county water. It actually has just as many natural toxins that are harmful to your family. Manganese is naturally occurring in the soil and is proven to have a negative impact on the human body. Therefore, those individuals who depend on wells for their supply of drinking water are the ones greatly affected. Unfortunately the impact of consuming this metal is greater on children.

A study in 2006 showed that boiling or storage had no effect on the levels of haloacetic acid. The only effective method to make sure the substance is decreased in your water is filtration. We should recognize that it is only decreased and is still present in the water just at a lower level. For years these by-products have been scrutinized for being a potential hazard to development and reproduction. There have been studies that looked at the effects of this chemical on pregnancy. Studies have also shown a possible link to stillbirths. A study in four regions of a Maryland county from 1998-2002 found an elevated risk for intrauterine growth retardation when exposed to the five haloacetic acids and total trihalomethanes. Research indicates that there is a link between exposure to haloacetic acids during the second/third trimester and birth defects. Cardiac, respiratory system, oral cleft and urinary tract were only a few of the marked defects found in studies of newborns.

Chlorinating the water helps kill bacteria, but it also causes birth defects. The chemicals used to disinfect our water are also creating by-products that are toxic to the human body. In fact, there are a group of chemicals that are created when the natural products in water come in contact with disinfectant products. Haloacetic acids are among the chemicals in that group of undesirable by-products as a result of chlorinating water.

A study in 2006 showed that boiling or storage had no effect on the levels of haloacetic acid. The only effective method to make sure the substance is decreased in your water is filtration. We should recognize that it is only decreased and is still present in the water just at a lower level. For years these by-products have been scrutinized for being a potential hazard to development and reproduction. There have been studies that looked at the effects of this chemical on pregnancy. Studies have also shown a possible link to stillbirths. A study in four regions of a Maryland county from 1998-2002 found an elevated risk for intrauterine growth retardation when exposed to the five haloacetic acids and total trihalomethanes. Research indicates that there is a link between exposure to haloacetic acids during the second/third trimester and birth defects. Cardiac, respiratory system, oral cleft and urinary tract were only a few of the marked defects found in studies of newborns.

Water is also on the top of the list for scientists to discuss when they are looking at solar flares and the possibility that earth will be affected. NASA reported that a severe space weather event in the United States could bring about ground currents that may knock out 300 key transformers in a span of 90 seconds cutting the power to approximately 130 million people. They also report that the first convenience that will go after that is drinking water. Electricity pumps water through reservoirs so that we can receive it. One of the largest problems we may have is that the electrical grid is intertwined with other infrastructures that support our everyday functioning. Those would include water and sewer treatment facilities. Bottled water would only last for a short period of time then many people would be searching for ways to have potable water.

A Lack of Data is not a Lack of Evidence