I read this Reuters article over the weekend. As disturbing as this news is, it is certainly not surprising. Nature always finds a way; bacteria(more…)
Category: Opinions
Greg’s opinions – these are mine alone, and do not reflect the opinion of anyone else unless explicitly stated otherwise
World Water Day 2011
Today is World Water Day…it is a good reminder that we all should conserve our precious liquid asset that we do often take for granted. Millions of people around the globe don’t have running water in their homes, and even more of then have to work more than a mile to get access to “clean” water. Naturally, the water quality improvement industry is continuing to make access to clean drinking water cheaper and easier. Technologies like Ultrafiltration, ultraviolet irradiation,reverse osmosis, nanofiltration and EDI/CDI are making previously undrinkable water drinkable and at increasingly lower prices. In developed nations, we are improving residential water quality while minimizing discharge and costs of production, but there is still so much more to be done. As end-users we should be mindful of how long we run faucets during routine tasks like dish-washing, dental hygiene, and grooming. Commercial and industrial users should continue to streamline their processes to minimize waste and provide cleaner drain effluent discharge. My personal pet peeve is the proliferation of ornamental grren grass in arid areas like Utah; we need to landscape with xeric plants that are beautiful and beneficial without wasting copious quantities of water. I’m using this day to plug my favorite charity – Water for People please go to their website and contribute to this valuable cause.
Fix those Leaks!
Across the country, household leaks waste more than 1 trillion gallons of water per year – enough to supply the water needs of Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles combined. Easily corrected household leaks can increase homeowners’ water bills by 12 percent. To help consumers find and repair easy-to-fix leaks, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is promoting the third annual Fix a Leak Week, March 14 through 20.
The New Aquamatic NXT Stager Controller
I am very excited about the new Aquamatic NXT Stager Controller assembly.
This innovative assembly incorporates the benefits of the 3214 NXT with the proven aquamatic stager – a winning combination indeed! When fabricating commercial/industrial water softeners, dealkalizers, deionizers, and specialty media filters, one usually prefers to incorporate the simplicity of the Fleck seal and spacer design to minimize fabrication effort and ensure high-reliability. Frequently, one has to incorporate Aquamatic diaphragm valves instead, whether for flow, materials compatibility, or simply engineered specifications. Pentair’s vision and foresight in incorporating the 3214 into this platform allows the designer/manufacturer to incorporate the simplicity, reliability, and network connectivity of the NXT platform with the proven flexibility and reliability of the Aquamatic stager.
Common pesticides block male hormones
I recently read this abstract in Environmental Health Perspectives Magazine (A free resource from the US National Institutes of Health). It is a summary of testing conducted at the School of Pharmacy’s Center for Toxicology under the auspices of the University of London. Naturally the information was so compelling I had to read the entire report (The study report can be read in its entirety here).
Based on their testing, many common pesticides (frequently found in food as well as milk and drinking water) will disrupt testosterone production and uptake in humans and possibly other mammals. The researchers strongly recommended that all pesticides in use today be screened to check if they block testosterone, which is critical to male (and female) reproductive health & general development.
Thirty out of 37 pesticides tested by the University of London team altered or inhibited male hormone activity, including 16 that had no previously reported hormonal effects. Most are fungicides applied to fruit and vegetable crops, including strawberries, corn, wheat, & lettuce.
Traces of pesticides and herbicides are known to remain in fruits and vegetables; these same chemicals can migrate into the ground and contaminate groundwater while also contaminating surface water. Interestingly, certain pesticides and herbicides will travel with water vapor when it evaporates, so that the contamination can travel hundreds or even thousands of miles from where it was originally applied.
British study finds no eczema cure from softened water
Eczema is a number of chronic inflammatory skin conditions that affect many people around the world. As many as one in nine persons will be diagnosed with eczema at some point in their life. The actual causes of eczema are not entirely understood, but it is generally agreed that it is related to an immune condition.Soap scum can easily create a home for bacteria and other unwanted contaminants on every surface it touches. Since skin is one of the surfaces that soap scum can contaminate, it is easy to understand that soap scum will stick to skin and hair; choking and clogging pores and possibly even causing irritation to sensitive skin.Hard water residue can also accumulate in the fibers of clothing, making them rough and irritating.
It is logical to me that by removing soap scum from my household, it is one further irritant removed from the equation. Soft water is certainly not a cure to dandruff, eczema, skin rash or other health conditions, but it certainly is BETTER than hard water. I recommend that anyone suffering from skin ailments consult with their medical practitioner and remove as many irritants from their lifestyle, like hard water, and chlorine.