Easy Green Tips for Protecting Groundwater

Although the average human being can last up to three months without food, it can only last three days without water. Climate change and unwise uses of water supplies have lead to massive droughts in Australia, Europe and North America. For example, Spain decided to cater to the tourist industry by building many golf courses. Unfortunately, grass golf courses require lots of water in order to maintain. Spain now is in the midst of its worst drought in recorded history.

Certainly by now you know about conserving water as much as possible. But you also need to protect the water we have left. Much of the drinking water supply comes from groundwater, which (as its name implies) means that it is located just underneath the ground. Because it is just under the ground means that it is very easy to contaminate.

The best thing you can do to protect groundwater is not to dump harmful chemicals into it. But you don’t do that, you say. Oh, do you really Do you add fertilizers and insecticides to your lawn. Those wash off easily and sink into the groundwater. And what about the cleaners and washing detergents you use. Many of these harsh chemicals are destroying groundwater.

Use only a fraction of the recommended amount of laundry detergent. You will still get the clothes clean but without dumping so many chemicals in the groundwater. Better yet, use environmentally safe cleaning products made of botanical oils, bleach or vinegar. Look for a label showing the word with the words Design for the Environment U. S. EPA on it.

Instead of using chemical foam drain cleaners, use a couple of cups of baking soda and a kettle full of boiling water. It may take longer to work than a foam or liquid commercially made pipe cleaner, but it won’t harm your pipes, the groundwater or your kids.

Polluting Yourself

There is no sense talking to your kids about environmental issues if you do not treat your own body with respect. You may not think that your body has anything to do with the environment, but it does. The way you treat yourself is often subconsciously reflected in the way we treat the environment.

Kids can easily recognize hypocrites. They will nod in agreement with you only to please you but then ignore all of your advice and teachings if they think you are a hypocrite. There is no sense preaching green tips if you drink, abuse drugs or smoke. Abusing alcohol, drugs and tobacco not only harms your body but also harms the environment.

How does smoking affect the environment Guess what the most prominently kind of trash is found on beaches all over the world Lighters, cigarettes, matches and tobacco pouches. Tobacco is poisonous to many creatures such as small dogs that can die from eating a few cigarettes.

Every little bit we consciously choose to do, is in some small way either helping or destroying our planet. Now is up to you to go the right way.

Visit What’s up Zone website to read about different topics to talk about, including environmental issues. Also learn how you can help with the quest of saving our planet from environmental destruction by using environmentally safe cleaning products.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anna_Hugi

Because of the continued use of industrial technology, the world more and more wonders, “Where on earth are we going to be in the near future environmentally?” More people would admit that they are very worried, if one were to ask how they felt about the current state of the environment. There are a number of primary causes and effects that the general public should be aware about regarding some key issues. Global warming is at the top of this list of concerns and one must acknowledge what strategies various agencies have in place and educate the general public on how they can eventually make the world a better place.

With the world’s increased use of emissions, coupled with a current state of anti-terrorism, there are a number of treaties that have been erected that will hope to resolve environmental conflicts before they start. The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty was erected to prohibit the testing of nuclear weapons in all environments. Another strategy is the Kyoto Protocol, which is an internationally set forth agreement which sets limits on emissions of greenhouse gases from industrial countries. Participating countries agree to only emit a certain amount of carbon. If a country can’t afford to meet this limit, they can buy credits from a country that has produced less than the agreed amount.

While doctrines such as treaties and protocols are productive one must never forget that they are useless without a consistent fresh water supply. Because water covers 70% of the Earth, and only 2.5% is freshwater, and of that, only 1% is suitable drinking water, this means that more than 1 billion people on this earth lack safe drinking water. With global warming, the increasing temperatures would lead to floods and the loss of freshwater ecosystems. This is essential to understanding the primary causes of global warming. What causes global warming is carbon dioxide released when fossil fuels, such as oil, are burned for energy. Thus, one must be conscious and limit their use of burning energy and power plants, vehicles and homes, for example.

There are a number of things beyond the scope of doctrines, treaties, and environmental consciousness that individuals can do collectively that will make a world of difference. One might consider replacing light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. These last 10 times longer and can lower the household energy bill while considerably reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Another thing one can do is get vehicle engine tune ups and keep tires inflated. This makes the vehicle work less strenuously and more fuel efficient. There are a number of energy-efficient appliances that are becoming more readily available. The first appliance that should be considered in the refrigerator, which consumes the most electricity at home. Also make sure the dwelling is equipped with adequate insulation and is draft-free. Lastly, it is time in one’s life to switch vehicles consider driving a hybrid car. These are just some of the things that the Environmental Protection Agency supports and will continue to purport until their goal of reducing global-warming emissions is met.

Almost every night I turn on the news and hear a story about how unhealthy our environment has become. The ice caps are melting, our drinking water is contaminated, and even our air is full of dangerous chemicals and toxins. What kind of world are we leaving for our children?

Rather than just sit by and do nothing my family has decided to start living a greener lifestyle. It’s a small start but we hope that by being a good example others will follow our lead and by working together we can really make an impact.

So to help you get the ball rolling I’ve put together a little list of green living tips you can practice at work. Be a good example for your coworkers and encourage them to do the same.

1. Recycle as much as possible, including paper, glass, and plastic bottles. Make sure you place collection areas wisely. Many people just will not walk across the building to drop off their soda cans and newspapers. But if you can make it easy and convenient for them they’ll be more likely to recycle.
2. Another way to recycle is to use refillable ink cartridges in printers and copy machines. As an added bonus, these recyclable cartridges are usually cheaper too.
3. Ditch the styrofoam coffee cups that will be sitting in a landfill for generations. Instead use a coffee mug that can be washed and used over and over again.
4. Use email whenever possible and don’t print out every email you get. That defeats the whole purpose!
5. Re-use printer paper for scrap rather than tossing it in the trash.
6. Replace lights with more energy efficient bulbs and encourage everyone to use power saving modes on their computers.

If you’re an office manager or employer you can implement these suggestions right off the bat. Otherwise you can try going to your boss and start making suggestions. Try to emphasize the financial savings the company could see and they may be more open-minded. These simple green living tips may seem insignificant by themselves but if we all make minor adjustments to our daily routine we can have a huge impact on our environment.

Stop me if you have heard this already. The water being supplied to our homes is nothing but impure and terribly unsafe drinking water. The very thought of over 80,000 pollutants present in this water really gives me chills.

We need to accept the fact that this water is coming after traveling a long distance. It needs to cover the entire span from a natural reservoir to the water supply company’s reservoir through old, rusty pipes and finally to our homes.

While covering this distance, there are a whole lot of chances for it to become polluted. First there are animal feces and debris that can easily get into the open natural reservoirs. Then there are pesticides and fertilizers that seep into the ground and contaminate the water.

This water is then collected in a big reservoir by the water companies and disinfectants like chlorine are added to keep the bacterial growth at bay. This addition of chlorine is nothing but one more step towards producing unsafe water.

Then there are old rusty pipes which are ideal dwelling homes for bacteria, algae, cysts and viruses. Finally when the water reaches our home – no prize for guessing – it is badly contaminated. It has various types of pollutants ranging from organic to inorganic, from chemical to synthetic products.

It is not difficult to imagine the consequences of consuming such impure and unsafe drinking water. It leads to various health ailments ranging from acne to stomach infections; from cholera to typhoid and from cancer to heart and brain disorders.

After knowing all these facts, would you let your family consume such unsafe drinking water? I couldn’t.

I started researching about the ways and options to ensure the purity of the water. While using bottled water was one easy option but there are numerous unanswered questions on its quality itself.

So, instead I opted for a home water purifier system. There are many available in the market today. While any purifier is better than having no purifier at all; you must keep in mind one important consideration.

The purifiers which are based on Reverse Osmosis strip off essential minerals present in the natural water. These minerals are very much required for the normal functioning of the body and drinking water rich in them is one way to ensure their regular dose.

So, don’t go for these purifiers unless you decide to take natural supplements to compensate for the multiple mineral deficiencies.

Instead select an advanced purifier based on cutting edge technologies like ion exchange and sub micron filtration. These filters are economically priced and are very easy to maintain.

Not only do they effectively filter out all impurities; they also ensure that the natural minerals are not removed from the water. This makes the water safe and ideal to be consumed.

Understanding the serious consequences of consuming unsafe drinking water, it is time for you to start exploring the option of having a home water purifier. After all there is nothing more important than the health of your family. Start your research today. If you want to know about the water purifier that I use and recommend, visit my website listed below.

Are you using the water which is being supplied to your home by a municipal supply department? If you are using this water and if you completely believe the promises made by the supply department then you are in trouble.

Municipal supply systems guarantees to provide safe and healthy water to your home but the process which they are using to purify the water adds both chlorine and fluoride which in itself can cause some serious damage to your health.

If you really want to have pure, healthy and clean water for a better life then a drinking water filtration system must be your solution.

These systems are basically a combination of different types of sub systems. They work according to where the water comes from. It removes different impurities from the water and some of them remove other unwanted contaminants.

One of the best drinking water filtration system processes is reverse osmosis which is capable of removing up to 99% of bacteria with the help of a membrane which helps to block all the impurities in the water, and from passing through these membranes, it gives you high quality water which is safe and healthy for you.

Reverse osmosis also uses the technology which specifically attacks the DNA of viruses which prevents the water from bacteria reproducing.

After reverse osmosis, comes the activated carbon filter procedure. Sometimes these two types of filters are combined with each other to purify each and every drop of water.

The water thus obtained from this type of system is 100% pure, healthy and clean from all the impurities and many harmful substances which you now know can cause serious problems to you and your families health.

So both reverse osmosis and activated carbon filtration are considered good options.

There is another filtration system its known as a pitcher filter which are usually installed by default in our refrigerator doors so that we can obtain pure healthy water every time the fridge is opened.

The users of outdoor wells sometimes complain about the smell, odor and color of the water when they are drinking it. Well with any of the drinking water filtration systems mentioned in this article this can be resolved.

All of these systems are designed and developed in such a way that they can provide you with healthy safe water for drinking and for your other house hold activities.

So if you want purified water to flow from each and every tap in your home why not invest in a good filtration system.

What do you see when you look at a glass full of tap water? Though you may not be able to see bacteria in water from naked eye and it may appear real clean to you, but the truth is that it is highly contaminated. There are numerous impurities in it and many of them have proven to be associated with cancer too.

If you take a sample of tap water and use a standard home testing kit to check its quality, you will realize that it has all types of impurities including chlorine, pesticides, cysts, virus, metal traces etc.

The very thought of consuming viral and bacteria water makes me feel sick.

If you have a strong immune system, you are lucky because you will be saved by the harm that bacteria water can cause to you. But this water is extremely harmful for people who are on medication, pregnant mothers and kids. Their immune system is not that strong to combat these hazardous micro organisms.

Remember the typhoid epidemic which broke sometime in the late 60’s? It was caused due to the presence of bacteria in water. They can also cause other waterborne diseases like cholera and dysentery.

Water supply companies do take some action to control the growth of bacteria in water. While the correct ways to do this would be via using ultra violet light, adding iodine or boiling the water; they are not used by most of the companies.

The reason for not using these recommended techniques is the cost and effort required in them. Instead the technique they resort to is – using Chlorine.

Chlorine is an excellent disinfectant – no doubts about that – but it kills not only the bacteria in water but the cells in our body as well. If such chlorinated water is consumed, it can lead to various serious ailments including rectal and bladder cancer.

The bottom line is that the water supply companies cannot do anything better than adding chlorine to take care of bacteria in water. But at least you can do something to remove this deadly chlorine and other contaminants from the water, before your family consumes it.

The best way for ensuring the quality and purity of the drinking water is to have a water purification unit installed at your home. The Environment Protection Agency recommends the ones based on advanced filtration techniques like carbon filtration, sub micron filtration and ion exchange.

Such purifiers are capable of handling practically all types of organic and inorganic contaminants.

The best part about these purifiers is that they are very reasonably priced and are very easy to maintain. There are some which produce quality water in less than 10 cents per gallon. Is it not an insignificant amount to ensure the health of your family?

Now that you know about the presence of contaminants and bacteria in water, why not start looking out for a good purifier for your home? You can start your research by visiting my website listed below. You can find more information about an effective and efficient water purifier detailed there.

We finally have to recognize the fact that industrial water pollution has simply gotten out of control. It has gotten so bad that we have to be cautious about how much seafood we have in our diets, and we can’t even trust the water that is flowing through our taps. How did we allow things to get so out of control that we have just about ruined one of our most precious resources, and a necessary source of life?

When people think about all of the water that this planet has they imagine that water is something that we are never going to run out of. What most of us do not realize is that right now only about one percent of the water on the planet is fit for human consumption, and we are quickly filling that with toxic contaminants. Unless we take some sort of action to filter our water we will all eventually fall ill.

This massive influx of contaminants is largely industry water pollution. For decades big companies were allowed to freely dump whatever waste they had directly into our streams and rivers, and to some extent this is still being done. Penalties for these actions are not nearly enough to drive billion dollar companies to change the way that they do things, as they just pay the fines and carry on.

There are about 80,000 toxic chemical agents being used worldwide on almost a daily basis, and the vast majority of them are going to end up in our groundwater system.  There are currently more than two thousand chemical agents in our reservoir system that are known to be carcinogenic, and the disinfectant agents that the water treatment facilities pump into the water are carcinogens also.

We cannot depend on the water treatment facilities to keep us safe from this industrial water pollution, because the basic design of the system they use for cleaning our water allows these facilities to perform little more than demineralization.   Many of these systems are old, and they were designed when chemical contaminants were not as big a problem as they are today.

These systems they use employ porous membrane filters that are suited for removing particulates, but allow all of the chemical traces and toxic metals to pass freely. So every time that you take a drink of water that has traveled through to your tap, you are ingesting these poisons, and at some point in time this is going to come back to haunt you.

You have got to protect yourself from industry water pollution by installing a drinking water filter system in your home. The best systems employ a dual filter set, which features a multi media block, a granular activated carbon filter, an ion exchange, and a sub micron filter. This will give you everything that you need in order to keep these hazardous chemicals at bay.

Industrial water pollution is a serious issue, and serious measures are necessary to keep contamination at bay. Installing a water filter system in your home is one of the smartest things you will ever do.

Removing ecoli in drinking water can be critical to human health. E. coli is a type of fecal coliform bacteria that lives in the intestines of humans and animals. However as you will see, it is a mixed bag.

On the one hand, it actually helps you but on the other – it can be very destructive.

Health Effects.

Not all ecoli is dangerous. There are many strains of this bacterium that lives in the intestines of humans and animals and are mostly harmless. As a matter of fact, some strains provide us with necessary nutrients like vitamin K and B-complex vitamins.

However, there is one particular strain that is getting a lot of press – the E. coli O157:H7. This one is particularly dangerous to children and older people.

Since this contaminant is everywhere in our environment, anytime we eat something or drinking something, there is the potential that we ingest this bacteria. Ingestion can result in abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhea and kidney failure.

Removing E. Coli

The EPA lays down the guidelines for your municipal water supplier to follow. Your supplier is duty bound to notify you if your drinking water is not safe.

But if past experiences is anything to go by, water quality monitoring doesn’t always operate the way is supposed to and an ecoli outbreak is possible.

You could take extra precautions and boil your water or you could subject all your drinking water to ultraviolet water filtration or distillation.

The advantage of the latter is time. Most people can’t be bothered to boil water for drinking and cooking. By using a distiller or UV filter, you can have instant bacteria-free drinking water 24/7.

Also, distillers remove more than just e.coli and other pathogens from your tap water. They also remove a wide range of other drinking water contaminants as well.

What If I Own A Private Well

If you get water from a private well, make sure you get your water tested for this contaminant. Remember that as a private well owner, you are totally responsible for the safety of your water.

By calling the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791, they can put you in touch with a certified water tester with the expertise to advise on matters of well water contamination.

What to do Now

Take precautions today to safeguard your family from unsafe drinking water. By getting a water distillation device or ultraviolet water purifier, you’ll be removing ecoli in drinking water as well as other hazardous pathogens.

There are several causes of water pollution, and some of the contamination of our water is due to natural occurrence. The vast majority of the contamination of our water supply has come by our own actions however, and we don’t seem to be learning from our mistakes. Our water supply is filled with toxins that were invented, and used by man in our ever consistent attempt to make life easier for us.

We use petroleum products to keep our machines running and in good working order, we use chemical cleaning agents in order to make everything nice and shiny, and we use fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides in order to have our lawns look unnaturally green and healthy and our crops abundant. Each and every one of these chemicals ends up in our groundwater system, and our health is being negatively affected because of it.

The manmade causes of water pollution are avoidable, or at least they were at one time. Faulty storage, careless handling, industrial dumping, and just our undying need to use chemicals in almost every facet of our lives has turned the water that we depend on for life into a toxic mess. There is no way at this point that we are ever again going to be able to enjoy water that is not contaminated to some extent.

There are currently tens of thousands of chemical contaminants in our reservoirs, and of these there are more than 2,000 carcinogens. You absolutely have to make sure that your family, and especially your children are not ingesting these chemicals. Don’t depend on the water treatment facilities to keep you safe, because they are simply not equipped to do that.

The EPA and the water treatment facilities would like people to think that they are in control of the causes of water pollution, and are able to protect you. The truth is that the devices they are using in an attempt to keep your drinking water clean are designed for removing particulates from your water, but not the chemical agents and toxic metal traces that are present.

These facilities add to the chemical pollution of our water through the chemical disinfection process meant to kill disease bearing parasites and bacteria present in our water. Of course, this step is absolutely necessary in order to prevent spread of widespread outbreaks of disease, and the consequential high death toll that would result. These disinfectants are carcinogens that you are guaranteed to ingest every time you take a sip.

The causes of water pollution can be thwarted by the use of a home drinking water purification system. A high quality unit will feature activated granular carbon and a multimedia block for the removal of chemicals from your water, a submicron filter for blocking parasites that survived disinfection, and an ion exchange for catching toxic metals, introducing electrolytes back into the water, and keeping your pH balanced. You have to do what you can to avoid the pitfall of the causes of water pollution, and a quality home purification system is probably the best step you can take in order to keep yourself safe.

The studies done to determine to what extent groundwater pollution is affecting our water supply have been coming up with increasingly frightening results. Even though it has been widely reported that our reservoir systems are becoming increasingly tainted by the toxic chemicals we have allowed to seep into the earth, many people do not seem to be taking the warnings seriously.

There are literally tens of thousands of petroleum chemicals, fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides in our drinking water right now. All of these chemicals are to some degree toxic to humans, and more than two thousand of these agents have been positively identified as carcinogenic. Not to mention that on top of these we have heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury, lead, nickel, and cadmium present as well.

The groundwater pollution problem has gotten so bad that it is not even recommended that we eat many varieties of fish, because of the PCBs, dioxins, furans, and toxic metals that they accumulate. This includes many ocean fish, so the extent of our poisoning is not just limited to our rivers and streams. The problem has become far larger than that, and now we are forced to look for ways to protect ourselves from the damage we have done.

Many people have turned to drinking bottled water as a way to avoid the contamination of our water, and some just drink it because they say that it tastes better, and give no thought to it otherwise. The fact is though that no matter what your reason for drinking packaged water products, they may be no better than the water you would be getting out of your tap.

Bottled water does not have to be any purer than tap water, and the majority of it does not come from a cool mountain spring as the bottlers would like you to think. Those that do come from springs are subject to groundwater pollution, and those that don’t may actually come straight from a tap like your water at home. Bottled water is frequently just filtered to remove chlorine and odor, and little else.

The safest bet for you if you are concerned about the level of contamination in water, is to purchase and install a home countertop or under counter water purification system. The top rated countertop water purifier only costs around $125 and it employs a four layer filtering system guaranteed to remove up to 99% of the contamination present.

This system uses an activated granular carbon filter, a multi media block, a sub micron filter, and an ion exchange. These filters will effectively remove the groundwater pollution as it enters your home, and will protect your family’s health for years to come. Just remember to change the twin cartridge filters every six months, and your water will remain clean and pure.

Groundwater pollution is a serious problem, and we have to do all that we can to make sure that our loved ones aren’t exposed to toxic contaminants. Get yourself a drinking water purification system today, and you will sleep better tonight, knowing that your family is protected.

Juanita Ruby is passionate about health. She knows our bodies contain 70% water, thus the quality of our water greatly affects our health. Visit her website at http://www.home-water-filter-site.com/ to discover which water purification system she trusts for her family’s health