Water. It's become an amazingly huge topic in the news of late. And a topic that seems to grow more confusing the more I investigate. Yesterday, apparently, was World Water Day aimed at increasing awareness about the lack of clean drinking water around the globe. Clean water, both internationally and domestically, is a problem
The arguments over bottled water in the US began when it was revealed that most bottled water is simply purified tap water in a fancy package, and at a much higher price. The US water industry is a $12b business, so someone was making a ton of money convincing the US consumer they could no longer drink from the tap.
And it worked. There were a few years from 2000 - 2003 where I didn't drink tap water at all. I would wake up in a hotel and feel justified breaking into the $9 bottle of water because I felt I simply had no alternative.
For awhile, the big issue surrounding water was the carbon footprint created by shipping it all over the place. Attached is a great photo a friend posted on his blog that visualizes just how much oil it takes to get water to the US.
But, now, concerns about shipping something we could drink from the kitchen tap are being overshadowed by news about the trace pharmaceuticals found in our tap water. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23563705/. As the Herald Tribune recently said, "Bottled water industry faces the same federal standards for pharmaceuticals as tap water- none." So, it seems the best solution still appears to be to drink local, purified water.
This whole issues of drugs getting into our drinking water is fascinating (and somewhat scary). If anyone has a regional breakdown of chemicals by city, send it my way. Judging from the number of people who regularly take medication in NYC, I may be able to fight depression or high blood pressure just by getting my 8 glasses of tap water per day
With all of the safety concerns about pharmaceuticals in our water there’s a safe solution. According to the U.S. EPA, the vast majority of these compounds are Synthetic Organic Chemicals (SOCs) and/or Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs). You should look for filters that are certified for VOCs, THMs and Chloroform as these are representative of the vast majority of prescription drugs. You can check out information on certified filters at: www.waterfiltercomparisons.com
Posted by: Joseph | March 27, 2008 at 03:48 PM