Just Water

Do you prefer fancy-labeled bottled water to tap water? Here are some results from a taste test done by Katie Herzog:

“This tastes better than the tap water I’ve been drinking all day,” said Patrick, holding up a glass of the tap water he’d be drinking all day. “It must be JUST water.”

“This one is metallic,” said Darby. “It’s definitely tap water.” It wasn’t.

“Oh, this is harsh,” said Eve. “Tap water.” Nope. JUST water.

“This one is so smooth it’s almost thick,” said Brian, pointing to a warm glass of Seattle city water. “JUST water.”

In the end, six out of eight subjects misidentified the samples. Remarkably, they also preferred the tap water to the fancy stuff in the box.

Read the full article here: http://grist.org/article/we-tested-fancy-water-vs-tap-water-heres-what-we-learned/

Good News For Canada's Oceans

Via innovation.ca

As Canada celebrates the election of Justin Trudeau, the world celebrates the announcement that the Leader of the Liberal Party will take action to protect Canada's oceans.

         “Liberals will build a better country and a sustainable economy that gives hard-working Canadians a real and fair chance to succeed. We will improve the air we breathe, the water we drink, the parks and beaches where our children play,” said Mr. Trudeau. “From coast to coast to coast, that means investing in the protection of our oceans – the health of which is vital to safeguarding our environment and growing our economy.”

        A Liberal government will:

• Meet Canada’s international commitments by increasing the amount of our protected marine and coastal areas from 1.3 percent to 5 percent by 2017, and 10 percent by 2020;
• Reinstate the $40 million cut from the federal government’s ocean science and monitoring programs, and restore scientific capabilities at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans;
• Re-establish thorough environmental assessments, review all amendments made by the Harper Conservatives to the Fisheries Act and other legislative changes, and incorporate modern safeguards to protect our ocean and freshwater fish habitats;
• Work with provinces, Indigenous Peoples, and other stakeholders, to effectively co-manage our oceans; and
• Formalize the moratorium on crude oil tanker traffic on British Columbia’s North Coast – including the Dixon Entrance, Hecate Strait, and Queen Charlotte Sound – and ensure that ecologically sensitive areas and local economies are protected from the devastating impacts of a spill."

Thank you, Canada!


Read the full article here: https://www.liberal.ca/trudeau-announces-plan-to-protect-canadas-oceans/

Environmental Organizations Sued the US Forest Service

Here's a headline that grabbed my attention:

The Feds Just Got Sued for Letting Nestlé Bottle Water in California’s Drought Country
Is this lawsuit good news, or what?

It's pretty well known that there is a drought in California, so why would the US Forest Service still allow Nestle to pump water? And, why allow the company to "illegally divert millions of gallons of water from California's San Bernadino National Forest to use for Arrowhead brand bottled water?"

Water activists around the world have to be shaking their heads over this decision and asking how this was allowed to happen.

The plaintiffs in the case are the Center for Biological Diversity, the Story of Stuff, and the Courage Campaign Institute. They charge the Forest Service with "breaking its own policies by allowing the bottling operation to continue, as the siphoning of water from already depleted water source is harming local habitats and wildlife."

And how about this:

"Recent reports have indicated that water levels at Strawberry Creek are at a record lows," said the plaintiffs in a statement. "In exchange for allowing Nestle to continue siphoning water from the Creek, the Forest Service receives just $524 a year, less than the average Californian's water bill."

This sounds like a 5th grader would be able to determine that this was not a good deal for California, so why has the US Forest Service determined that it is?

Water activists must remain vigilant!


Read full article here: http://linkis.com/www.motherjones.com/6TRgU

Protecting Water In Colombia

I came across a great article I want to share with all of you. The topic on WaterKeeper website already grabbed my attention:

Won’t Back Down: Colombia’s Coal-War Warrior

But it was the first paragraph that got me excited to read more about who this Warrior is and what she is doing.

"There is an old saying that dynamite comes in small packages. At just a smidgen over five feet, Bocas de Ceniza Waterkeeper Liliana Guerrero is pure Colombian dynamite. From her small office on a busy street in Barranquilla on Colombia’s north coast, Guerrero is leading a determined charge to stop the destruction that multinational coal companies are wreaking on her country, and she is doing it in spite of considerable personal risk."

Trials and tribulations:

"When Guerrero started her organization, the main problem she thought she would be dealing with was Barranquilla’s untreated domestic and industrial sewage, which were polluting the Magdalena River and devastating the legendary coastal mangrove stands in the Mallorquín marshes north of the city.

“I did not think the coal industry would be the greatest threat to Barranquilla and our precious wetlands, mangroves, river and sea,” she says. “But as the industry expanded, I came to understand the magnitude of the devastation of open-pit mining in the departments of César and La Guajira, as well as from the transportation of mined coal across the department of Magdalena and the catastrophic spills into the ocean at the coal-export ports.”"

This is a great story about a water activist—her struggles and her work. Thank you for all the work you do, Liliana!

Read the full article here: http://waterkeeper.org/magazine-article/wont-back-down-colombias-coal-war-warrior/

Fatbergs: Coming To A Sewer Near You

Fatbergs are plaguing cities across the world, so it looks like educational campaigns are needed to educate people on the proper disposal of household grease and wet wipes - the biggest contributors to fatbergs. Water utility officials are spending great sums of money to clear fatbergs, and face even higher costs when fatbergs cause pipes to burst.

A fatberg filled with baby wipes, cooking grease and other waste pulled
from an Atlanta sewer. 

The word 'Fatberg' is a term that refers to a congealed lump of fat mixed with food, wet wipes and sanitary products. Earlier this year a 10-tonne fatberg was removed from a London sewer after it broke the sewer pipe.

Sally Bethea writes about the problem cities are facing with fatbergs, and will participate in a public campaign to create awareness about proper disposal in Atlanta. She commented"

      "The flow of untreated sewage and wastewater that backs up behind these gooey blobs has to go somewhere, so it spews from the pipes through manholes and cracks, and spills into nearby creeks."

Just what we need: another threat to clean drinking water.


Read Sally Bethea's commentary on fatbergs here: http://www.reporternewspapers.net/2015/09/12/commentary-lets-keep-fatbergs-out-of-our-drains/

Become A Water Advocate

The world needs more water advocates!

Whether you’re ready to tackle the task full time, or just thinking of ways to make a difference, WaterAid’s The Advocacy Sourcebook is an excellent place to start.

The guidebook was intended for use in the water and sanitation sectors, but can be used for any type of advocacy work. It helps you clearly identify issues, define your message and create an action plan.

The Advocacy Sourcebook is divided into sections to help you get started:

An introduction to advocacy

Planning for advocacy

Making advocacy happen

Advocacy actions

Monitoring and evaluation

Download WaterAid's publication, The Water Advocacy Sourcebook www.wateraid.org/~/media/Publications/advocacy-sourcebook.ashx

WaterAid is the leading charity for clean, safe water and sanitation in the world's poorest countries. Click here to visit WaterAid

Victory in California!

California Senate Approves Bill to Ban Plastic Microbeads

SACRAMENTO – Today the California State Senate passed legislation to ban the sale of personal care products containing plastic microbeads. 

AB 888, authored by Assembly Member Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) and sponsored by The 5 Gyres Institute,  Californians Against Waste (CAW), The Story of Stuff Project, Clean Water Action and the California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA) and is supported by over 75 environmental and health advocacy organizations, clean water agencies and green businesses throughout California. The bill now heads back to the Assembly for approval of amendments made in the Senate.

Read full article here:

http://www.5gyres.org/blog/posts/2015/9/4/california-senate-approves-bill-to-ban-plastic-microbeads

Bottled Water Facts - Ban The Bottle

An organization called Ban the Bottle has some startling statistics on the use of plastic water bottles in the US. Let's look at the numbers for the US, but please keep in mind that this is only part of the problem the world is facing. 

Occupy Your Water Rights urges you to stop use of plastic bottles at home, at work, and in your civic organizations. Please read the information below and share it with your family, friends and colleagues. 

Here is a snapshot from Ban The Bottle. Much more information is available at the website - see link below.

Why is bottled water a concern? Here are just a few reasons…

• Making bottles to meet America’s demand for bottled water uses more than 17 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel 1.3 million cars for a year1. And that’s not even including the oil used for transportation.
• The energy we waste using bottled water would be enough to power 190,000 homes2.
• Last year, the average American used 167 disposable water bottles, but only recycled 38.3
• Americans used about 50 billion plastic water bottles last year. However, the U.S.’s recycling rate for plastic is only 23 percent, which means 38 billion water bottles – more than $1 billion worth of plastic – are wasted each year3.
• The recommended eight glasses of water a day, at U.S. tap rates equals about $.49 per year; that same amount of bottled water is about $1,400.
• Antimony, which is found in PET plastic bottles, in small doses can cause dizziness and depression; in larger doses it can cause nausea, vomiting and death.8

Read more here at the Ban The Bottle website: https://www.banthebottle.net/bottled-water-facts/

Bottled Water Recall in US

Getty image

Niagara Bottling has voluntarily recalled bottled water produced at its Allentown and Hamburg, Pennsylvania plants due to a possible E. coli contamination.

Niagara produces bottled water under the following brand names:

Acadia, Acme, Big Y, Best Yet, 7-11, Niagara, Nature’s Place, Pricerite, Superchill, Morning Fresh, Shaw's, Shoprite, Western Beef Blue and Wegman’s.

Read the full article from ABC news here: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/bottling-company-voluntarily-recalls-14-brands-water-due/story?id=31947841 

Water Woes In Thailand

The Chao Phraya Dam continues to discharge water to downstream
areas although the water level upstream has dropped below a critical
level. (Photo by Pattarapong Chatpattarasill) 

Thai irrigation officials in charge of water management have expressed alarm at the depletion of water in the Chao Phraya Dam as levels drop below the crisis point.

The water levels were at 13.95 meters above sea level today, which is five centimeters lower than the crisis point. Although drinking water is not threatened at this time, officials called for farmers in some provinces to abandon rice farming.

Other concerns are that upstream areas could face a sudden collapse of the river banks due to the sharp drop in water levels.

Thailand is another country to watch for water issues.

Read the full article from the Bangkok Post here:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/environment/600028/water-at-chao-phraya-dam-beyond-crisis-point

NASA: The World Is Running Out Of Water

Bad news, fellow Earthlings, a new NASA study reports that satellites show that the world is running out of water. I've read various articles on the subject and hope that this study will serve as a call to action.

One key takeaway from the report is the reaction from conservationist Alexandra Richey who says "Water must be at the center of all policy." (RT)

From Genesis Nanotechnology:

        The world’s largest underground aquifers – a source of fresh water for hundreds of millions of people — are being depleted at alarming rates, according to new NASA satellite data that provides the most detailed picture yet of vital water reserves hidden under the Earth’s surface.

        

        Twenty-one of the world’s 37 largest aquifers — in locations from India and China to the United States and France — have passed their sustainability tipping points, meaning more water was removed than replaced during the decade-long study period, researchers announced Tuesday.

        Thirteen aquifers declined at rates that put them into the most troubled category. The researchers said this indicated a long-term problem that’s likely to worsen as reliance on aquifers grows. -via: Genesis Nanotechnology: http://genesisnanotech.com/2015/06/nasa-data-suggests-world-running-water/#.VYWNKFVViko

RT also has coverage of the NASA study:

        A joint study conducted by scientists from NASA and the University of California has revealed that the world’s water reserve levels have become dangerously low.

       

        The main reason is humanity’s constantly growing demand for water.

       

        The researchers have concluded that “significant segments of Earth’s population are consuming groundwater quickly without knowing when it might run out.”

       

        The scientists used NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites between 2003 and 2013 to take precise measurements of the world’s groundwater reservoirs, yielding the most detailed view of the planet’s underground water reserves to date. The GRACE satellites detected changes in the Earth’s gravitational pull, as large volumes of water under the ground create stronger gravitation.

       

        The study has showed that about one third of Earth’s largest groundwater basins – 13 of the planet’s 37 – are being rapidly depleted while receiving little to no recharge. - via RT: http://rt.com/news/267898-nasa-study-world-water/