pollution

From H2″NO” to H2O!

Posted by: Rhona Reid On May 22, 2018 7:00 am

 
Three students from Washington DC, Bria Snell, India Skinner and Mikayla Sharrieff, collectively known as S3 Trio, have been named as the only East Coast finalists in the NASA “OPSPARC” Challenge for coming up with an innovative way of cleaning up lead-contaminated drinking water.  

NASA student scientists: The future is in good hands.
S3 Trio at Work

The all-female team identified that water from public school fountains often contained impurities, putting the health of students at risk.  

“Our product will purify public school systems’ water by detecting impurities such as chlorine, copper, and bromine.” ~ S3 Trio 

Community Concerns

The dynamic 11th graders opted for a community project, working on the serious health issues posed …

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LeeAnne Walters: An Everyday Hero

Posted by: Rhona Reid On May 1, 2018 7:00 am

The Goldman Environmental Prize is awarded to a small handful of people from around the world in recognition of their grassroots environmental activism.  

Heroes are not born, they are made…

Selected by an international jury, this year’s seven winners came from places as diverse as Vietnam, Colombia, South Africa…and Flint, Michigan.  

A Short History of Environmental Heroism

Just after Flint officials notoriously switched the city water source in April 2014 to save money, LeeAnne Walters started to become concerned that the water she and her four children were drinking was harmful.

She was, of course, right, but proving it was a struggle.  State authorities didn’t want to listen and LeeAnne worked tirelessly with the EPA and Marc Edwards, a …

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Filter Facts: Why a Water Ionizer Beats a Pitcher Hands Down

Posted by: Rhona Reid On April 17, 2018 7:00 am

Let’s not beat around the bush.  If we ignore for a moment all the important benefits of hydrogen alkaline water and look purely at the issue of filtration, it’s no secret that there are cheaper ways to filter your water than with a water ionizer.  

Even the best jug filters can’t compare to a water ionizer.

At some point, many people consider buying a jug filter.  Pitchers are cheap and easy to use, but how do they really compare?  

Putting You in The Pitcher

Even the most high-end and technically advanced filter pitchers have only a tiny proportion of the capabilities of a water ionizer.  They remove some impurities from your water and make it taste better, but quite often, …

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The Sins of Saint-Gobain?  

Posted by: Rhona Reid On April 10, 2018 7:00 am

Back in 2016, French multinational corporation Saint-Gobain ‘fessed up to releasing carcinogenic chemicals from its premises in Merrimack, New Hampshire, causing private wells in the area to become contaminated though the local groundwater.  

Industrial waste: Leaking into the landscape
Bottled Water Hand-Out

Following the spill, bottled water was provided to residents with a private well within a one-mile radius of the plant, which meant supplying around 400 properties with bottled water.  

The state gave Saint-Gobain strict deadlines to fix the problem, requiring the 350-year old corporation to conceive, design and install a water treatment solution to clean up the contamination.

A Satisfactory Solution?

Flash forward to March 2018, and state officials have reached “a monumental agreement” to ensure that …

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Coal Ash Ponds – Are They Contaminating Your Water?  

Posted by: Rhona Reid On March 22, 2018 12:00 pm

Look, don’t shoot the messenger, but there’s something else to worry about in America’s water.  

Is there coal ash contamination near your town?

Bosses at coal-burning power plants country-wide are required to file reports with the Environmental Protection Agency this month, looking into the toxins that are being released into groundwater from vast, unlined “ponds” containing coal ash and debris.

“Coal ash ponds need to be addressed as potential environmental and human health issues.”

~ Avner Vengosh, Professor of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Duke University

Coal Ash Court Cases

130 million tons of coal ash is produced each year.  Arsenic, Chromium-6, mercury and radium are just a few of the dangerous substances potentially leaching into the water supply.  And …

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Will Air and Water Borne BPA Change the FDA’s Tune?

Posted by: Rhona Reid On March 20, 2018 7:00 am

It’s almost funny.  The FDA is militant about not allowing perfectly edible and delicious unpasteurized Camembert and many other legendary cheeses into the country, but it is far more laid back when it comes to the controversial chemical BPA – linked to low birth weight and certain types of cancer.

More dangerous than carcinogens in your bottled water?

According to the FDA, unlike a decent wheel of Brie de Meaux, BPA is “probably alright in very small doses.”  We’re paraphrasing here, by the way, but you get the gist.

Narrow Sighted?

“Probably alright in very small doses” is fine when you’re talking about certain things.  Cleaning your teeth with the kids’ toothpaste for a day because you’ve run out? …

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Bottled Water – The Biggest Con of All?  Part II

Posted by: Rhona Reid On March 15, 2018 12:00 pm

So, we’ve laid bare the extortionate cost of bottled water and highlighted the practice of selling tap water in bottles at a hugely inflated profit.  Persuading people to buy filtered tap water in a bottle with a slick label is quite a coup for the drinks industry.  

Ingredients: Tap Water
BPA is Here to Stay?

But it’s not just the ever-rising cost to both your pocket and to the environment.  Bottled water is problematic in other ways as well.

“Certain chemicals found in plastic bottles can have effects on every system in our bodies.  They can affect ovulation, and increase our risk of hormonally driven problems like PCOS, endometriosis and breast cancer, among other things.”

~ Dr Marilyn Glenville …

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Bottled Water – The Biggest Con of Them All?  

Posted by: Rhona Reid On March 13, 2018 7:00 am

The PR job is a good one, to be fair.  When it comes to bottled water, people are prepared to throw a lot of money at it, regardless of the environmental price and the sky-high cost to their pocket.  

Tap Water: Now Available in Bottles
Water Check

Bottled water costs more than tap water.  A lot more.  In fact, a new report from The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) found that some people are paying an astonishing 10,000 times more per gallon for bottled water than they are for the water that comes out of the tap.

But here’s the next shocker: frequently the water that you buy in a bottle is…erm…tap water.  

“We don’t believe that consumers are confused

…
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America Brings Home Report Card; Gets a D

Posted by: Rhona Reid On March 1, 2018 12:00 pm

America’s Water Infrastructure Report Card for 2017 is in and it’s fair to say that there’s room for improvement. It’s not exactly new news to talk about the state of America’s pipelines and how millions of Americans are drinking water that might be harmful to their health, but the report card highlights another aspect of the problem – the waste.

Must try harder?
Pipe Down

Many pipes were laid during the early-mid 20th century and have a lifespan of 75‐100 years.  There are an estimated 240,000 pipeline fractures every year and with an average annual repair rate of 0.5%, the repairs will take around 200 years to complete, by which time the pipelines will have been around for …

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The Great American Water Taste Test!

Posted by: Rhona Reid On February 22, 2018 12:00 pm

In early February, the 18th annual Great American Water Taste Test took place at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.  

After days of testing, judges finally found some clean tap water in America.

Over two days, water samples from around the country were blind-tasted by a panel of judges, tasked with finding a winner.  What are they looking for?  Taste, smell and clarity are the watchwords according to The National Rural Water Association, the main sponsor of the event.

Water Good Winner!

After some serious sipping, the gold medal was awarded to Arcadia Water Utility of Wisconsin, which beat off some stiff competition from the City of Salisbury, MD Paleo Water and the Southeast Water Users District, ND, …

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