The following cleaning procedure is quite effective:

1. Run resin column to the exhaustion point at 25% of your normal service flow rate.
2. Backwash at the regular DLFC (Backwash Flow Control) rate for 10-20 minutes. An air-sparging will be helpful – plan on a minimum of 4 Bed Volumes.
3. Drain the bed completely.
4. Pump 2 bed volumes (13 gal/cu.ft) of a warm 10% NaCl or 1% NaOH solution into the mineral tank.
5. Drain to bed level over 1 hour and allow the regenerant solution to soak for a further 3-16 hours. (An alkaline brine solution warmed up to approximately 120°F (50°C) for type I and weak base anions or 105°F (40°C) for type II.
6. Displace with 2-3 bed volumes water (15-20 gal/cu.ft) over 20-30 minutes.
7. Rinse out with 3-5 bed volumes DI water fast rinse (20-40 gal/cu.ft).
8. Regenerate the system twice (same regenerant concentration).
9. Rinse and return the system to service.
10. Run 80% of the standard run-cycle to drain.
11. Regenerate the system.

Obviously, soft/softened water is the ideal for operation anion systems and ESPECIALLY for regeneration and remediation procedures like this.

Latest Blog Posts – http://intermountainsoftwater.com/category/intermountain-soft-water-blog/

When considering a whole-house water filter, consult with your local certified water specialist about what contaminants are in your water and how to cost-effectively address them.

If you live in Utah and would like information of water softening, conditioning, filtration, or purification systems; call Intermountain Soft Water – Utah’s local water experts since 1966. The Utah service team will provide you with excellent service and value for money. Their product line is custom engineered to address the unique water quality challenges in Salt Lake City, Provo, Orem, Park City and other areas in Utah.

As we continue to see more misguided attempts at softener bans and a continued emphasis on minimizing our net environmental impact, the need for more environmentally friendly water quality improvement technologies becomes glaringly apparent. Progressive manufacturers have deployed technologies like fractional brining, twin-tank sensor technologies and other innovations that dramatically reduce salt consumption for water softening use to effectively address these concerns. While our industry continues to document and prove that salt-based ion exchange softening has a positive environmental impact, our customers are clamoring progressively louder for salt-free solutions to their hard water problems.

Salt-free softening has been the ’holy grail’ of the water treatment industry for a number of years. The performance criteria for salt-free softening systems are twofold:

• The device must be capable of delivering an effluent hardness level <= 1gpg (17.4 ppm).
• The device must not use any salt (sodium or potassium) in the process of softening the water or when cleaning/regenerating itself.

Currently, the only practical and effective salt-free softening technologies are membrane separations and the electrolytic removal of hardness ions. The purpose of this article is to briefly introduce certain electrolysis technologies and their potential for use in residential applications.

Benefits of EDI

There are many benefits to using an electrolysis technology over traditional ion exchange:

• Simple and consistent operation
• No regeneration chemicals
• Few or no moving parts
• Uniform operation at varying water pressures and water chemistries

Electrodeionization (EDI) is a simply brilliant concept: Water containing ionic impurities is passed through a deionization chamber that contains anionic resin, cationic resin and two electrodes, each separated by semi-permeable membranes of alternating polarity. The electrodes attract ions unidirectionally through resins and out of the feed water stream, which then becomes purified. A concentrated stream of removed ions and water is continuously discharged to drain. Since the electrodes are continuously energized, electrolysis liberates hydrogen and hydroxyl ions from the purified water, donating regenerative ions to the resins and enabling the process to continue indefinitely.

EDI has been used successfully for many years as an effective alternative to acid/alkali deionization.  IT is particularly sensitive to sediment, silica, chlorine and calcium carbonate hardness, all of which will interfere with the device’s ability to clean water. Traditional EDI technology is not therefore, generally suitable for use as a softening device. EDI is the technological springboard that has allowed inventors to develop other more appropriate technologies for residential salt-free softening.

Capacitive deionization (CDI) employs electrodes separated by the raw water stream. When the electrodes are charged with DC electricity, they attract inorganic ions from the water and hold onto them with varying degrees of effectiveness, depending on their molecular weight and ionic charge.  The electrodes eventually reach their maximum capacity and then need to be cleaned by discharging and reversing electrical polarity. Reversing polarity causes the electrodes to actively repel the ions that they were previously attracted to. This intermittent or ‘batch’ regeneration saves water and energy while reducing capital outlay on equipment materials, as well as allowing for a smaller installation footprint. CDI typically recovers at least 80 percent of the water that it treats, compared to 50-70 percent for most membrane separation offerings.

CDI in Service	CDI in Regeneration

The following should be considered when deploying CDI technology:

While feed water conductivity equivalents (FCE) do not usually need to be calculated for residential applications, influent water should still be tested for hardness, iron, silica, sulfates, conductivity, and alkalinity. Test data must be compared to manufacturer’s specifications to ensure compatibility and appropriate pretreatment.

• Low TDS output water can potentially create corrosion issues, so the product water needs to be TDS-controlled to ensure an output water quality that is compatible with household appliances, faucets and fixtures while still being soft or at a level of calcium hardness that is acceptable to the end-user.
• Any technology that employs electrolysis will produce gases as a byproduct, most notably oxygen, hydrogen and chlorine. These gases need to be safely vented or neutralized.
• A reliable, unswitched electrical supply must be located conveniently to meet the electrical requirements of the appliance. Unlike a traditional salt softener, CDI systems do not soften during power failures, so an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) might be considered in applications requiring a continuous supply of softened water.
• A code-compliant drain must be provided to allow discharge of drain water during a system cleaning cycle.
• A needs analysis should be performed to understand the flow demand in the home. Based on flow demand, the savvy dealer can deploy multiple processors or even utilize retention or blending tanks to provide the required amount of water.

While CDI is a promising technology for water softening, it is not economically viable as an outright replacement for traditional salt-based softeners yet. As large manufacturers embrace the technology and manufacturing processes improve, economics of scale will drive prices downward. As solar-energy production and hydrogen fuel cell technologies become more efficient and cost-effective, it is not inconceivable that water dealers could be installing alternative-energy-powered, electrically regenerated ion exchange systems for their customers within the next 10 years. The concept of a net-zero environmental impact softener now becomes far more realistic than ever before.

One of the most promising CDI offerings that I’ve seen to date is Anil Jha’s Hydronovation system that leverages CDI along with a retention/mixing tank to make the system more affordable.

WQA Aquatech is a venue that certainly emphasizes the need for environmentally responsible water quality management. When you attend the annual show in Las Vegas, Nevada this year, look carefully at the innovative technologies that can sustain your business and take the opportunity to learn from those who are already deploying them.

Glossary:

Electrolysis - Using a direct electric current (DC) to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction.

Mesoporous carbon – Carbon containing pores with diameters between 2 and 50 nm.

March 6 – 8, 2012

Las Vegas Convention Center (Hall C3)

Las Vegas, Nevada

WQA Aquatech USA represents every segment in the increasingly complex and dynamic water treatment and supply market. The comprehensive water quality forum will provide you with the latest information, tools, resources, and strategies you need to build your business.

WQA Aquatech USA showcases the scope of segments from residential, commercial, and industrial markets, with emphasis on custom water applications from drinking, process, and wastewater, and features technologies such as RO, membranes, media, and media and everything in between, and all other supporting elements including pumps, tanks, valves, pipes, tubing, and other key products and services. Plus it is one of the best opportunities for education and training in water treatment technologies, applications and business.  Don’t miss this once-a-year opportunity!

View Schedule of Events

View Highlights/Hot Topics

SHOW DETAILS:

One Registration Fee – Unlimited Access to everything checked off below! New for 2012

    Your $90 All Access Pass allows entry in to:

• Exhibits/Trade Show Floor
• Hands-on Training
• Conference/Meeting Room Educational Sessions
• On-Floor Educational Sessions
• Roundtable Discussions
• State of the Industry
• Opening General Session
• Networking Events
• Keynote Sessions

(please note: separate registration and fee required for Facility Tours)

Show Floor Hours New Two-day Trade Show Format!

Wednesday, March 7th    11:00 am – 5:00 pm

Thursday, March 8th        10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Educational Conference/WQA Meetings
Tuesday, March 6th – Friday, March 9th

Contact Information

4151 Naperville Road

Lisle, Illinois 60532

Phone: 630 505 0160

Fax: 630 505 9637

Email: convention@wqa.org

View List of Current Exhibitors 

View Floor Plan 

Register Today. Click here to begin registration process.

The Email Charter was created in response to widespread acknowledgement that email is getting out of hand for many people. It started life as a blog post by TED Curator Chris Anderson and TED Scribe Jane Wulf. The idea struck a chord. More than 45,000 people read the post and and it generated hundreds of tweets, comments and suggestions. That is how the final Charter was shaped. Some of the key contributors are listed here.

The Charter is a private, non-commercial initiative, a simple ‘idea worth spreading’.

If you have comments or suggestions, please join the conversation here.

Please consider sharing the Charter with others by tweeting, blogging, or adding it to your email signature.

Thank you!

The Problem

The relentless growth of in-box overload is being driven by a surprising fact:

The average time taken to respond to an email is greater, in aggregate, than the time it took to create.

This is counter-intuitive because it’s quicker to read than to write. So you might assume a typical email takes a few minutes to write, but only a few seconds to read. However, five other factors are outweighing this.

- The act of processing an email consists of much more than just reading. There is a) scanning an in-box, b) deciding which ones to open, c) opening them, d) reading them e) deciding how to respond f) responding — which may well involve writing an email of similar length back g) getting back into the flow of your other work. So the arrival of even a two-sentence email that is simply opened, read and deleted can take a full minute of your available cognitive time.

- Many emails contain open-ended questions that can’t rapidly be responded to. “What’s your opinion on all this?” “How should I move forward?” Easy to ask, hard to answer.

- Many emails are sent to multiple recipients. It takes no time to add another cc, but each additional recipient multiplies the total response time demanded.

- Many emails contain additional text that has been copied and pasted from other documents or a lengthy thread that is simply being re-forwarded.

- Many emails contain links to web pages or videos. Easy to add a link. But it may take minutes to view it.

Now consider that the amount of time people are spending on line is increasing. It is, after all, a seductive place to hang out. As social creatures, it’s the most natural thing in the world to want to use that time to reach out to others. What is more the range of ‘distractions’ online is growing every year. And it’s easy (and often wonderful) to share them with our friends and colleagues. Just copy a link, paste and send… and boom, the world’s cognitive capacity takes another hit!

The result of all this is a deadly upward spiral. Every hour you spend writing and sending email is probably consuming more than an hour of the combined attention of your various recipients. So without meaning to, we’re all creating an ever growing problem for each other.

An email inbox has been aptly described as the to-do list that anyone in the world can add an item to. If you’re not careful, it can gobble up most of your working week. Then you’ve become a reactive robot responding to other people’s requests, instead of a proactive agent addressing your own true priorities. This is not good.

This phenomenon can be thought of as a potent modern tragedy of the commons. The commons in question here is the world’s pool of attention. Email makes it just a little too easy to grab a piece of that attention. The unintended consequence of all those little acts of grabbing, is a giant rats nest of voracious demands on our time, energy and sanity.

How might the Charter solve this? See the solution.

The Solution

 
10 Rules to Reverse the Email Spiral

1. Respect Recipients’ Time

This is the fundamental rule. As the message sender, the onus is on YOU to minimize the time your email will take to process. Even if it means taking more time at your end before sending.

2. Short or Slow is not Rude

Let’s mutually agree to cut each other some slack. Given the email load we’re all facing, it’s OK if replies take a while coming and if they don’t give detailed responses to all your questions. No one wants to come over as brusque, so please don’t take it personally. We just want our lives back!

3. Celebrate Clarity

Start with a subject line that clearly labels the topic, and maybe includes a status category [Info], [Action], [Time Sens] [Low Priority]. Use crisp, muddle-free sentences. If the email has to be longer than five sentences, make sure the first provides the basic reason for writing. Avoid strange fonts and colors.

4. Quash Open-Ended Questions

It is asking a lot to send someone an email with four long paragraphs of turgid text followed by “Thoughts?”. Even well-intended-but-open questions like “How can I help?” may not be that helpful. Email generosity requires simplifying, easy-to-answer questions. “Can I help best by a) calling b) visiting or c) staying right out of it?!”

5. Slash Surplus cc’s

cc’s are like mating bunnies. For every recipient you add, you are dramatically multiplying total response time. Not to be done lightly! When there are multiple recipients, please don’t default to ‘Reply All’. Maybe you only need to cc a couple of people on the original thread. Or none.

6. Tighten the Thread

Some emails depend for their meaning on context. Which means it’s usually right to include the thread being responded to. But it’s rare that a thread should extend to more than 3 emails. Before sending, cut what’s not relevant. Or consider making a phone call instead.

7. Attack Attachments

Don’t use graphics files as logos or signatures that appear as attachments. Time is wasted trying to see if there’s something to open. Even worse is sending text as an attachment when it could have been included in the body of the email.

8. Give these Gifts: EOM NNTR

If your email message can be expressed in half a dozen words, just put it in the subject line, followed by EOM (= End of Message). This saves the recipient having to actually open the message. Ending a note with “No need to respond” or NNTR, is a wonderful act of generosity. Many acronyms confuse as much as help, but these two are golden and deserve wide adoption.

9. Cut Contentless Responses

You don’t need to reply to every email, especially not those that are themselves clear responses. An email saying “Thanks for your note. I’m in.” does not need you to reply “Great.” That just cost someone another 30 seconds.

10. Disconnect!

If we all agreed to spend less time doing email, we’d all get less email! Consider calendaring half-days at work where you can’t go online. Or a commitment to email-free weekends. Or an ‘auto-response’ that references this charter. And don’t forget to smell the roses.

Membrane separators

Since water increases in density before reaching the anomalous expansion range, membrane flux in reverse osmosis, nanofiltration and ultrafiltration systems will decrease significantly as water temperatures drop. Smart dealers will make the appropriate adjustments and compensations as recommended by the equipment manufacturer to deliver the maximum amount of permeate without causing premature equipment failure.

Backwashing filters

Increasing water density means that less backwash flow rate is required to lift the media in a tank. Consult with your OEM about designing equipment with sufficient freeboard and appropriately sized backwash flow controls to ensure that no media is lost from the system.

Water softeners

While resin manufacturers are usually concerned with excessively high water temperatures on ion exchange resin, cold water temperatures also present their own share of issues. Cold water decreases resin kinetics and increases salt dissolution times. Slow kinetics cause a dramatic decrease in ‘effective’ system capacities, which usually causes customers to end up with hard water bleed-through unless the dealer makes appropriate programming compensations. Naturally, systems with resin status sensors will automatically compensate for this phenomenon. Most dealers will derate the system by as much as 30 percent if it will be exposed to cold influent water in the range of 1.6  to 7.2 °C (35 to 45°F).

Winterization procedure for water softeners

There are many opinions on how to winterize water softeners. Some dealers believe that since most softeners installed in cold climates are located in basements that they require no winterization. I believed that until I witnessed ambient temperatures in Montana basements hovering at -10F (-23°C) during January in unoccupied vacation homes. These low ambient temperatures cause fiberglass resin tank to split as if they were opened by a zipper. Not a healthy situation when things finally thaw out in spring! Winterization is normally only performed when the home/business will be unoccupied and marginally heated during winter.

A simple and generally safe and effective single tank water softener winterization procedure is as follows:

1. Initiate a manual regeneration cycle.
2. Advance manually to the brine/rinse ion exchange cycle.
3. Induce a saturated brine solution into the softener along with resin cleaner and disinfectant into the mineral tank. (five gallons of brine per cubic foot of resin)
4. Bypass the system and terminate the regeneration cycle.

If the building will be unheated and piping blown-out or drained down, the following additional steps should be performed instead of bypassing the system:

1. Inject compressed air through the brine port at a maximum of 20 psi until all brine has been purged from the resin tank down the drain.
2. Advance through each remaining regeneration step to allow water to drain from the control head.
3. Leave the system in service (Do not bypass).
4. Disconnect and remove the float from the brine tank; drain and store in a safe place.
5. Drain down or blow down the home as per normal winterization procedures.

Some dealers perform winterization by inducing antifreeze into the mineral tank with a pump. When using antifreeze, be careful to use only propylene glycol (food-grade) antifreeze. Ethylene glycol antifreeze is highly toxic and should never be used for winterization. Concentrated polyethylene glycol is acts an effective anti-bacterial in most cases.

Springtime startup procedures should include a rigid disinfection and rinsing protocol to provide for the health and safety of the establishment and its occupants.  As with all things, be sensible, thoughtful and methodical in your approach to winter.  Consult with your OEM and dealer network to ensure that you are employing the best industry practices to give your customers the very best water year-round.

Density of Liquid Water

Values below 0 °C refer to super-cooled water.

 Interesting scientific opinion paper by Prof. Dr. Moritz Hagenmeyer and Prof. Dr. Andreas Hahn published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) about the relationship between drinking water and prevention of dehydration. Pay attention to the verbiage of the report, since it is easy to get confused by it. While the report says that water is not an absolute cure/preventative for dehydration, it doesn’t mean that water can’t hydrate!  Our erudite friends are reminding that dehydration needs to be evaluated in its totality, and reminds us of the complexity of the human body. Water does hydrate, but it doesn’t cure disease.

Quoted below in its’ entirety to ensure that it is properly understood.

EFSA Journal 2011;9(2):1982

SCIENTIFIC OPINION

Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of a health claim related to water and reduced risk of development of dehydration and of concomitant decrease of performance pursuant to Article 14 of Regulation (EC)

No 1924/20061

EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA)2, 3

European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Parma, Italy

ABSTRACT

Following an application from Prof. Dr. Moritz Hagenmeyer and Prof. Dr. Andreas Hahn, submitted pursuant to Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 via the Competent Authority of Germany, the Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies was asked to deliver an opinion on the scientific substantiation of a health claim related to water and reduced risk of development of dehydration and of concomitant decrease of performance. The scope of the application was proposed to fall under a health claim referring to disease risk reduction. The food, water, which is the subject of the health claim, is sufficiently characterised. The claimed effect is “regular consumption of significant amounts of water can reduce the risk of development of dehydration and of concomitant decrease of performance”. The target population is assumed to be the general population. The Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 defines reduction of disease risk claims as claims which state that the consumption of a food “significantly reduces a risk factor in the development of a human disease”. Thus, for reduction of disease risk claims, the beneficial physiological effect results from the reduction of a risk factor for the development of a human disease. The Panel notes that dehydration was identified as the disease by the applicant. Dehydration is a condition of body water depletion. The Panel notes that the proposed risk factors, “water loss in tissues” or “reduced water content in tissues”, are measures of water depletion and thus are measures of the disease. The Panel considers that the proposed claim does not comply with the requirements for a disease risk reduction claim pursuant to Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. © European Food Safety Authority, 2011

KEY WORDS

Water, dehydration, performance, health claims.

1   On request from the Competent Authority of Germany following an application by Prof. Dr. Moritz Hagenmeyer and

Prof. Dr. Andreas Hahn, Question No EFSA-Q-2008-05014, adopted on 28 January 2011.

2   Panel members: Carlo Agostoni, Jean-Louis Bresson, Susan Fairweather-Tait, Albert Flynn, Ines Golly, Hannu Korhonen, Pagona Lagiou, Martinus Løvik, Rosangela Marchelli, Ambroise Martin, Bevan Moseley, Monika Neuhäuser-Berthold, Hildegard Przyrembel, Seppo Salminen, Yolanda Sanz, Sean (J.J.) Strain, Stephan Strobel, Inge Tetens, Daniel Tomé, Hendrik van Loveren and Hans Verhagen. Correspondence:  nda@efsa.europa.eu

3   Acknowledgement: The Panel wishes to thank the members of the Working Group on Claims: Carlo Agostoni, Jean-Louis Bresson,  Susan  Fairweather-Tait,  Albert  Flynn,  Ines  Golly,  Marina  Heinonen,  Hannu  Korhonen,  Martinus  Løvik, Ambroise Martin, Hildegard Przyrembel, Seppo Salminen, Yolanda Sanz, Sean (J.J.) Strain, Inge Tetens, Hendrik van Loveren and Hans Verhagen for the preparatory work on this scientific opinion.

Suggested  citation:  EFSA  Panel  on  Dietetic  Products,  Nutrition  and  Allergies  (NDA);  Scientific  Opinion  on  the substantiation of a health claim related to water and reduced risk of development of dehydration and of concomitant decrease of  performance  pursuant  to  Article  14  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 1924/2006.  EFSA  Journal  2011;9(2):1982.  [7  pp.]. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2011.1982. Available online:  www.efsa.europa.eu/efsajournal

© European Food Safety Authority, 2011

2.     Relevance of the claimed effect to human health

The claimed effect is “regular consumption of significant amounts of water can reduce the risk of development of dehydration and of concomitant decrease of performance”. No target population has been  specified  by  the  applicant.  The  Panel  assumes  that  the  target  population  is  the  general population.

The Regulation (EC) No 1924/20065  defines reduction of disease risk claims as claims which state that the consumption of a food “significantly reduces a risk factor in the development of a human disease”. Thus, for reduction of disease risk claims, the beneficial physiological effect (which the Regulation requires to be shown for the claim to be permitted) results from the reduction of a risk factor for the development of a human disease.

The Panel notes that dehydration was identified as the disease by the applicant. Dehydration is a condition of body water depletion. Upon request for clarification on the risk factor, the applicant proposed “water loss in tissues” or “reduced water content in tissues” as risk factors, the reduction of which was proposed to lead to a reduction of the risk of development of dehydration. The Panel notes that the proposed risk factors are measures of water depletion and thus are measures of the disease (dehydration).

The Panel considers that the proposed claim does not comply with the requirements for a disease risk reduction claim pursuant to Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006.

CONCLUSIONS

On the basis of the data presented, the Panel concludes that:

The  food  constituent,  water,  which  is  the  subject  of  the  health  claim,  is  sufficiently characterised.

The claimed effect is “regular consumption of significant amounts of water can reduce the risk of development of dehydration and of concomitant decrease of performance”. The target population is assumed to be the general population. Dehydration is a condition of body water depletion. The proposed risk factors are measures of water depletion and thus are measures of the disease. The proposed claim does not comply with the requirements for a disease risk reduction claim pursuant to Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006.

DOCUMENTATION PROVIDED TO EFSA

Health claim application on water and reduced risk of development of dehydration and of concomitant decrease of performance pursuant to Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 (Claim serial No:

0287_DE). September 2008. Submitted by Prof. Dr. Moritz Hagenmeyer and Prof. Dr. Andreas Hahn.

5   European Parliament and Council (2006). Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods. Official Journal of the European Union OJ L 404,

30.12.2006. Corrigendum OJ L 12, 18.1.2007, p. 3–18.

Thanksgiving Proclamation, June 20th, 1676:

The Council has thought meet to appoint and set apart the 29th day of this instant June, as a day of Solemn Thanksgiving and praise to God for such his Goodness and Favour, many Particulars of which mercy might be Instanced, but we doubt not those who are sensible of God’s Afflictions, have been as diligent to espy him returning to us; and that the Lord may behold us as a People offering Praise and thereby glorifying Him; the Council doth commend it to the Respective Ministers, Elders and people of this Jurisdiction; Solemnly and seriously to keep the same Beseeching that being perswaded by the mercies of God we may all, even this whole people offer up our bodies and soulds as a living and acceptable Service unto God by Jesus Christ.

George Washington in 1789:

Now, therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the Beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; and that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country, previous to becoming a nation; for the signal manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of His providence, in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquillity, union and plenty which we have enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish Constitutions of Government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors, which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

Consider these words written by Abraham Lincoln as part of a resolution in 1863:

We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in number, wealth, and power as no other Nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God who made us.