Charity Water in Austin Texas

Image via Wikipedia

Charity Water hosted a cocktail party in Austin, Texas this past weekend and what a great event it was. It was Founder, Scott Harrison's first time in Texas and it couldn't have put on a better show. Nothing like spring time in Austin.

He gave a heartfelt presentation of how he got started with Charity Water, from Night Club promoter to rockstar philanthropist. Like many of us, he realized that there is more to life than partying and spending money extravagantly. We are all on this Earth for a purpose and once we tap into that, life is very rewarding. Scott has been able to provide clean drinking water for over a million people in developing countries through Charity Water and has changed those people's lives forever.

He gave us a glimpse into his vision for solving the water crisis in the world. It' s just amazing what a few dollars from everyone can do once they are collected and brought together. He started by asking his friends to donate a few dollars to his birthday party. He raised thousands and built the first 3 wells.

Think about it. A margarita here costs $12, a mexican martini $16, a bag of rice in a developing country costs $16 and that feeds a family of 4 for a month. $20 can give a person in Africa clean, safe drinking water for 20 years. If each of us just donated the price of one cocktail per month we would end the world's water crisis in just a few short years.

I spoke with Scott about MSI World Team's vision of helping those without water and how we want to help unite people for this common cause. If you are interested in joining us, visit our campaign page and make your charitable contribution. Let's make a difference now together.

Scott ended the presentation with Charity Water's most recent video campaign to help those in Haiti. We were all touched, moved and inspired as we watched.

Charity Water and Scott Harrison's story are very inspiring and really speak to what is possible when someone ignites a passion from within.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Charity:Water Launches $1.3 Million Effort for an "Unshaken" Haiti (Video) (treehugger.com)
• UNSHAKEN: World Water Day Launches (vivanista.com)
• World Water Day | 22 March 2010 (guardian.co.uk)
• Twestival Global 2010 Raises Funds for Social Good Tomorrow (mashable.com)
• Alyssa Milano, Other Celebrities Discover The Power Of Online Fundraising (huffingtonpost.com)

Fluoride in the Water: Good or Bad?

Image via Wikipedia

So often parents make the statement that their children have to drink tap water because they need the fluoride for strong, healthy teeth. They express concerns that if they use a filtration system or a Kangen Water generator that they will be depriving their children of a vital nutrient.

They couldn't be further from the truth. Sometimes things get lost in translation.

What they don't realize is that fluoride is great for healthy teeth; HOWEVER, it is not to be ingested. You get fluoride from toothpastes and mouthwashes. All of which should be spit out and not swallowed.

Dr. Hardy Limeback, BSc, PhD, DDS was one of the 12 scientists who served on the National Academy of Sciences panel that issued a report calling a halt on drinking water fluoridation programs across the USA and asked EPA management to recognize fluoride as posing a serious risk of causing cancer in people. Fluoride in Drinking water: A Scientific Review of the EPA's standards. Dr. Limeback is an associate professor of dentistry and head of the preventive dentistry program at the University of Toronto. He further wrote his concerns in a letter dated April 2005 titled, "Why I am ow officially opposed to adding fluoride to drinking water". He goes on in the article to state serious harm that can be caused from long-term fluoride ingestion.

Another example of cutting costs when they probably shouldn't be. Hydrofluorosilicic acid is recovered from the smokestack scrubbers during the production of phosphate fertilizer and sold to most of the major cities in North America, which use this industrial grade source of fluoride to fluoridate drinking water, rather than the more expensive pharmaceutical grade sodium fluoride salt. Interestingly enough, fluorosilicates have never been tested for safety in humans. They are contaminated with trace amounts of heavy metals such as lead, arsenic and radium that accumulate in humans. Increased lead levels have been found in children living in fluoridated communities. Bone cancer has been shown to be associated with radium in the drinking water.

Just another tidbit of information. Half of all ingested fluoride remains in the skeletal system and continues to collect over your lifetime. Like we need more things accumulating in our bodies. This increases the risk of bone fractures and arthritis. And guess who is at a larger risk? People who consume more water, such as athletes, people who know the importance of being hydrated, and people with diabetes.

Studies have also found that fluoride accumulates in parts of the brain.

I don't know about you but I am with the doctors. I think that fluoride in my drinking water is BAD and completely not necessary. I would like to take care of my health.

A Kangen Water generator is a perfect solution to removing some of the fluoride from your drinking water along with lead and other harmful particulate and providing your family with the healthiest safest drinking water on the planet. In areas with high fluoride levels, you may choose to add a 3 stage filter to help eliminate as much as possible before it even gets to your Kangen Water generator, therefore removing even more.

Related articles by Zemanta

• It's Time to Retire Fluoridation (press-releases-news.com)
• end the sodium fluoridization of our water (socialactions.net)
• Should You Use Fluoride or Not? (e-prescribe.biz)

Fiji Water: Artesian Water or Environmental Nightmare?

Image by jdlasica via Flickr

Today, I am going to share with you some information that was recently brought to my attention. The environmental disaster that is occurring with bottled water is alarming. In the US we are consuming bottled water at an incredible rate. Many of the brands are bottled here in the US, however, we also import bottled water. There are many health issues that are associated with drinking bottled water where ever it comes from. But it seems completely excessive to import bottled water given the environmental impact.


Fiji’s Environmental Contribution

Fiji Water has been criticized for the environmental costs embedded in each bottle. The production plant runs on diesel fuel, 24 hours a day. The high-grade plastic used to make the bottles is transported from China to Fiji, and then (full of water) to the United States. A 1 liter bottle of FIJI Water contaminates 6.74 liters of water to stretch-blow mold the plastic, burns fossil fuel to transport plastics from China and full bottles to the U.S., and produces 0.25 kg of greenhouse emissions.

250g of CO2 are released for each bottle of FIJI Water imported to the United States.  This includes 93g for manufacturing a bottle in China, 4g for transporting an empty bottle to Fiji, and 153g for shipping a full bottle to the United States. Fiji Water’s total carbon footprint, a measure of the exclusive global amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases emitted over the full life cycle of a product or service, was 85,396 tonnes CO2eq in the base year 2006 – 2007 for all bottles produced. Seventy-two percent of those emissions came from manufacturing raw materials, bottling and ocean freight. Overall, the average energy cost to make the plastic, fill the bottle, transport it to market and then deal with the waste would be "like filling up a quarter of every bottle with oil.“

Additional Environmental Impact Created By Fiji Water

Bringing these bottles of water here from the other side of the earth involves packing them into cardboard boxes. In the South Pacific, this often means rain forest cardboard, produced from rain forest destruction. The boxes of bottles are then trucked from the bottling plant to a sea cargo terminal in Fiji, then shipped across the ocean on fossil-fuel-powered freighters to the US Pacific coast. The fuel these ships use produces exhaust gases – Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Sulfur Oxides (SOx), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Particulate Matter (PM) which contribute to global warming and other air quality issues.

Unregulated oil and bilge water discharges affect the sea and marine life as does the leakage and waste fluids from ship machinery. Noise and vibration from vessels impact marine mammals. Grease on wires washed off during mooring operations gets into the sea. Chemicals used for deck cleaning or surface preparation prior to painting can be washed overboard. Aquatic marine organisms and pathogens attached to hulls are spread around the world, threatening indigenous species.

Once they arrive in the United States, they’re loaded onto trains and trucks, all powered by fossil fuels, and eventually warehoused, prodded with forklifts, loaded onto other trucks, shipped to other warehouses and eventually delivered to your local convenience store or drink machine.

It is already clear that the manufacturing process and product distribution is energy-intensive and produces toxic byproducts, but there is another major environmental impact. When we’re done drinking our water, over 85 percent of these bottles wind up in landfills (where they take up to 1,000 years to degrade) and incinerators—the latter of which can release a potpourri of deadly toxins into the environment. Recycling plastic bottles is still often cost-prohibitive.
From the environmental impact, you might as well be swigging down a pint of oil! All of a sudden that bottle of refreshing Fiji Water doesn’t sound so refreshing!

I feel so passionate about this issue that I spent a couple of months putting together a DVD about the impacts of bottled water on the environment, global communities and your health and you can purchase it here. Below is a trailer for the movie. JOIN us now to raise people's awareness of the harmful impacts of drinking bottled water.

Impacts of Chlorine on the Body

Image via Wikipedia

What Experts Say About Chlorine In Tap Water

“Known carcinogens are found in drinking water as a direct consequence of the practice of chlorination”
FRANCIS T. MAYO, -DIRECTOR MUNICIPAL ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LAB

“Cancer risk among people drinking chlorinated water is 93% higher than among those whose water does not contain chlorine.”
US COUNCIL OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

“Chlorine is the greatest crippler and killer of modern times. While it prevented epidemics of one disease, it was creating another. Two decades ago, after the start of chlorinating our drinking water in 1904, the present epidemic of heart trouble, cancer and senility began.”
DR. JOSEPH M. PRICE – SAGINAW HOSPITAL

“The National Academy of Sciences estimate that 200-1000 people die in the United States each year from cancers caused by ingesting the contaminants in water.”
JANET RALOFF-SCIENCE NEWS, VOLUME 130

“Drinking tap water that is chlorinated is hazardous if not deadly to your health.”
DR. MARTIN FOX –HEALTHY WATER FOR LONGER LIFE

“The cause of arteriosclerosis and resulting heart attacks and strokes is none other than the ubiquitous chlorine in our drinking water.”
DR. JOSEPH PRICE – AUTHOUR OF CORONARIES/CHOLESTEROL/CHLORINE

“Chlorine gas was used despicably during WWI. When the war was over, the use of chlorine was diverted to poisoning the germs in our drinking water. All water supplies throughout the country were chlorinated. The combination of chlorine and animal fats results in arteriosclerosis, heart attacks and death.”
DR. N.W. WALKER, D.S. – WATER CAN UNDERMINE YOUR HEALTH

“48-49 states are filing to adequately enforce existing drinking water regulations.”
JAMES ELDER –U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Extend your life by 20 years or more.... (part 1)

WARNING: Tap Water is dangerous, do NOT consume!

Is Bottled Water an option?
Lab tests on 10 brands of bottled water detected 38 chemicals including bacteria, caffeine, the pain reliever acetaminophen, fertilizer, solvents, plastic-making chemicals and the radioactive element strontium. Though some probably came from tap water that some companies use for their bottled water, other contaminants probably leached from plastic bottles, the researchers said.

WARNING: Bottled Water is dangerous, do NOT consume.

A Solution!!!!

KangenTM Water units start at ONLY $1280.
The average American spends $1500 a year on bottled water, save MONEY now and drink KangenTM Water.
The highest quality alkaline, hexagonal, anti-oxidant drinking water on the planet!

Shower units also available.

Take control of your health.

BPA in Baby Food, or STOP the Poison

Image via Wikipedia

Bisphenol A traces found in baby food: Health Canada
Last Updated: Friday, July 10, 2009 11:04 AM ET Com
CBC News

Health Canada says it has found bisphenol A in baby foods sold in glass jars with metal lids but says the level is "extremely low and poses no health or safety concerns."

The department found that among the products it tested where bisphenol A could be quantified, about 70 per cent had levels of less than one part per billion. That's well below the limit of 600 parts per billion set by a directive for bisphenol A (BPA) in food.

In a survey posted on its website Thursday, Health Canada also said its testing found low levels in some 18.5-litre polycarbonate bottles of drinking water.

BPA is used to make epoxy resins in the protective linings on the inside of metal lids and containers. The linings prevent corrosion of the metal and contamination.

The chemical also makes plastic hard and shatterproof and is found in water bottles, as well as consumer products like CDs. Studies have shown the chemical can imitate the female hormone estrogen, and it has been linked to cancer and infertility in animals.

Health Canada's findings covered 122 baby foods prepackaged in glass jars with metal lids, representing seven brands by six different companies. The baby food was bought in Ottawa last August.

The bottled water testing included samples of 54 different products representing 21 brands by 16 companies. They were bought in Ottawa stores in April 2008. The containers were made of metal, glass, high-density polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate and polycarbonate.

Levels of BPA from the non-polycarbonate water products were below the "method detection limit" of 0.5 parts per billion. But bisphenol A was detected in 13 of 17 samples from four of the five polycarbonate bottled water products. Concentrations ranged from 0.5 to a high of 8.82 parts per billion, with an average of 1.5 parts per billion.

"Since migration of BPA from [polycarbonate] containers into water at room temperature is very slow, it is likely that the products with higher BPA were exposed to heat (e.g., under the sun) during storage and/or transportation," the report said.

In a release issued by the Canadian Bottled Water Association on Thursday, executive director Elizabeth Griswold said the Health Canada study is "both validation and vindication."

"It clearly demonstrates that bottled water is a safe, healthy and portable alternative to other beverages," Griswold said.

Yeah right.

In October 2008, Canada became the first country in the world to ban the import and sale of polycarbonate baby bottles containing BPA, saying infants were more vulnerable than adults to such chemicals. The federal government also announced it would devote $1.7 million over three years to study the chemical. Health Canada's ongoing evaluation of bisphenol A has included a review of human and animal studies around the world, in addition to research into how much of the chemical is leaching from consumer products. The findings released Thursday are part of that research.

In March, Health Canada released a study of canned pop that found the vast majority of the drinks contain BPA...

With files from The Canadian Press

"Clean Water" and "It Cleans It"

Image by spike55151 via Flickr

There is a difference in "clean water" and "clean" when using the Kangen Water machine.

The green button that says "clean water" and has 7.0 pH written on it is 7.0 pH water. The "clean water" is dispensed through the top flexible hose. This water has been through the cleaning filter portion of the system but it has not gone through the electrolysis process. This water is used when you are taking medications, for watering small animals, and mixing baby formula. The Kangen water (8.5-9.5 pH) is hexagonal and because of that structure, it absorbs into your cells much quicker than other types of water. Medications are not created for this absorption rate. They are created for normal tap water. Most vitamins are fine with the higher pH waters since you want them to absorb quickly. That way you are receiving the maximum benefit before you urinate them out. However, if you were to use it with Niacin, it is going to hit your system much quicker and could be quite uncomfortable creating an intense flush. Same would be the case for blood pressure medicine, etc. So you can see why you would want to use "Clean water 7.0" for taking medications. Be on the safe side.

When taking prescription medications: discontinue drinking the Kangen Water (8.5-9.5 pH) 10-15 minutes prior to taking medication, use the Clean water (7.0 pH) to take your prescriptions, then give yourself at least 30 minutes before resuming drinking the Kangen Water (8.5 pH to 9.5 pH).

It is also suggested that if you feel the need to drink water with a meal and the meal contains a concentrated protein, like animal products, that you consume Clean water (7.0 pH) rather than Kangen water (8.5-9.5 pH) with that meal. However, Dr. Shinya's book the Enzyme Factor suggests that you refrain from drinking water at all during meals and 1 hour prior to meals. He says that it helps with enzymes and digestion.

Then you asked about when the machine says "it cleans it". This is actually a cleaning cycle for the machine. After a certain amount of water has run through the machine, it automatically cleans the system. Just turn the water on and allow it to run until the machine says the water type that the button is on. For example, let's say you have the button on 9.5pH, turn the water on and you reach out to put some water into a container, the machine says "it cleans it". You should allow the machine to run water into the sink until it says "Kangen Water 9.5", then you can put your container under the facet and fill it.

After making Strong Acidic Water (2.5 pH), your machine will run a clean cycle also. Just set the button on the type of drinking water you want, turn on the faucet and let it run through the cycle. It will let you know when the type of water you selected is flowing through the nozzle.

Hope this clears up some questions about features on the SD501 Water System.

The environmental toll of plastics

Image by janusz l via Flickr

The environmental toll of plastics

From cell phones and computers to bicycle helmets and hospital IV bags, plastic has molded society in many ways that make life both easier and safer. But the synthetic material also has left harmful imprints on the environment and perhaps human health, according to a new compilation of articles authored by more than 60 scientists from around the world.

Evidence is mounting that the chemical building blocks that make plastics so versatile are the same components that might harm people and the environment. And its production and disposal contribute to an array of environmental problems, too. Green solutions, however, are becoming available, the scientists say.

By Jessica A. KnoblauchEnvironmental Health NewsJuly 2, 2009

http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/dangers-of-plastic