What You Need to Know About Your Water

Where does your drinking water come from? How do you know if your drinking water is safe? How can you protect it? What can you do if there’s a problem with your drinking water? The Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) tells us plenty. Here are the highlights of what they have to say:


The United States has one of the safest water supplies in the world, but in this day of droughts, bioterrorism, and diseases, we have begun to question if our water is safe enough to drink.  Some people are more vulnerable to contaminants in our drinking water than the general population.  These are people who are undergoing chemotherapy or have HIV/Aids, transplant patients, the frail elderly, infants, children, pregnant women and their fetuses.  If you fall into one of these groups you will want to seek advice from your health care provider.


Each year, by July 1st, water suppliers are required to provide Consumer Confidence reports to their customers.  They have to provide information on any water contaminants found in the drinking water, possible health effects, and the source of the water.  If something has happened to contaminate the water supply, water suppliers are required by law to inform customers within 24 hours.


Contaminants can enter water supplies either as a result of human and animal activities, or because they 
occur naturally in the environment.  Some of the types of contaminants are microbial contamination, chemical contamination from fertilizers, and lead contamination. The following information is directly from the EPA. You can find out more detail by visiting http://water.epa.gov/drink/guide/upload/book_waterontap_full.pdf

Microbial Contamination:

The potential for health problems from microbialcontaminated drinking water is demonstrated by localized outbreaks of waterborne disease.  Many of these outbreaks have been linked to contamination by bacteria or viruses, probably from human or animal wastes. 

Boil Water Notices for Microbial Contaminants:
When microorganisms such as those that indicate fecal contamination are found in drinking water, water suppliers are required to issue “BoilWater Notices.” Boiling water for one minute kills the microorganisms that 
cause disease. Therefore, these notices serve as a precaution to the public.

Chemical Contamination From Fertilizers:

Nitrate, a chemical most commonly used as a fertilizer, poses an immediate threat to infants when it is 

found in drinking water at levels above the national standard.  Nitrates are converted to nitrites in the 

intestines. Once absorbed into the bloodstream, nitrites prevent hemoglobin from transporting oxygen. (Older children have an enzyme that restores hemoglobin.) Excessive levels can cause “blue baby syndrome,” which can be fatal without immediate medical attention. Infants most at risk for blue baby syndrome are those who are already sick, and while they are sick, consume food that is high in nitrates or drink water or formula mixed with water that is high in nitrates. Avoid using water with high nitrate levels for drinking. This is especially important for infants and young children, nursing mothers, pregnant women and certain elderly people .DO NOT BOIL WATER WITH NITRATES PRESENT AS IT CAN INCREASE THE RISK.

Lead Contamination:

Lead, a metal found in natural deposits, is commonly used in household plumbing materials and water
service lines. The greatest exposure to lead is swallowing lead paint chips or breathing in lead dust.
But lead in drinking water can also cause a variety of adverse health effects. In babies and children, exposure
to lead in drinking water above the action level of lead (0.015 milligram per liter) can result in delays in physical and mental development, along with slight deficits in attention span and learning abilities.   Adults who
drink this water over many years could develop kidney problems or high blood pressure.
Lead: Do NOT Boil
Do NOT boil water to attempt to reduce lead. Boiling water 
increases lead concentration. Always use water from the cold tap for preparing baby formula, cooking, and drinking. Flush pipes first by running the water before using it. Allow the water to run until it’s cold. 
If you have high lead levels in your tap water, talk to your health care provider about alternatives to using boiled water in baby formula.

What is Acid Rain?

The Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) says that Acid Rain is caused when fossil fuel emissions combine with water in the atmosphere. The environmental effects of acid rain include the acidification of lakes and streams, damage to trees at high altitude, the acceleration of decay in buildings and poorer air quality. Acid Rain also poses serious human health risks by contributing to heart and lung disorders such as asthma and bronchitis. Through the Acid Rain Program and other Clean Air initiatives, the EPA monitors and seeks to reduce the effects of acid rain by regulating industrial emissions and advocating energy efficiency alternatives and pollution prevention programs

"Acid rain" is a broad term referring to a mixture of wet and dry deposition (deposited material) from the atmosphere containing higher than normal amounts of nitric and sulfuric acids. The precursors, or chemical forerunners, of acid rain formation result from both natural sources, such as volcanoes and decaying vegetation, and man-made sources, primarily emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NO_x) resulting from fossil fuel combustion. In the United States, roughly 2/3 of all SO₂ and 1/4 of all NO_x come from electric power generation that relies on burning fossil fuels, like coal.  Acid rain occurs when these gases react in the atmosphere with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form various acidic compounds. The result is a mild solution of sulfuric acid and nitric acid. When sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released from power plants and other sources, prevailing winds blow these compounds across state and national borders, sometimes over hundreds of miles.

Wet Deposition

Wet deposition refers to acidic rain, fog, and snow. If the acid chemicals in the air are blown into areas where the weather is wet, the acids can fall to the ground in the form of rain, snow, fog, or mist. As this acidic water flows over and through the ground, it affects a variety of plants and animals. The strength of the effects depends on several factors, including how acidic the water is; the chemistry and buffering capacity of the soils involved; and the types of fish, trees, and other living things that rely on the water.

Dry Deposition

In areas where the weather is dry, the acid chemicals may become incorporated into dust or smoke and fall to the ground through dry deposition, sticking to the ground, buildings, homes, cars, and trees. Dry deposited gases and particles can be washed from these surfaces by rainstorms, leading to increased runoff. This runoff water makes the resulting mixture more acidic. About half of the acidity in the atmosphere falls back to earth through dry depositio

Recycling Rant

This is not the recycling dump truck used by the City of
Carlsbad.  It is just a depiction of dump trucks used
to pick up recyclables.

I was in Carlsbad, New Mexico just a little while back.  I used to live there and I was visiting.  I went to the Dollar Store and parked.  As I got out of my car, I looked over to the edge of the parking lot where the recycling containers for that side of town are.  A dump truck pulled up to load what I thought was one type of recyclables. Can you imagine my surprise when the truck pulled up to each of the different containers and emptied everyone of them?

I thought it was odd that the city placed about a dozen large containers and had people sort their recyclables into the different containers and then they just picked up every container and mixed it all together.  What a waste of people's time.  If you are going to just throw all of the recyclables into one truck, why not just let people pull up and dump all of their recyclables into one container.

I asked the driver why they followed this practice.  He said that the workers at the recycling center would sort the recyclables.  Again, if this is the practice, aren't they wasting our time?

I know this may just be a rant.  I know I am just venting, but come on! If we are supposed to take the time to sort our recyclables, couldn't the city pick them up and take them to the recycling center sorted.

What does your city do with recyclables?  I would love to know.  Leave me comments or email me at bruce@bruzzbuzz.com.  Also, make sure to subscribe to my feed so that you will get all updated posts in your email.

Ideas For School Projects That Promote Green Living

Here are a few ideas for projects that schools can do to promote the green living movement:

1.  Create a No-Idling Policy when parents are parked waiting for the bell to ring to release their children.  Have student council members taking turns, under the guidance of a teacher, talk to parents in the parking lot and explaining to them the impact this will have on reducing carbon emissions.

2.  Have students bring newspaper or magazine articles about environmentalism to put on a hallway bulleting board.  A bulletin board with fresh articles on it will help to educate others about the green living movement and how to help the Earth.

3.  Encourage students to bring litterless lunches.  Have people donate empty plastic containers so those students who do not have, or cannot afford, containers can take what they need.

4.  Adopt a "Use Both Sides of the Paper" Policy.  This is one of the most significant cost savings project for schools.  If schools will encourage the use of both sides of paper, they can save a huge amount of money and help the environment too.  Some teachers will have students do an assignment on one side and then pick up those papers and even run copies in the copier on the backside.  This can cut paper usage in schools by half.  Paper that cannot be copied onto the other side can still be used for scratch paper.

5.  Did you know that public schools in America spend over $8 Billion each year for energy costs.  That is more than it spends on textbooks and computers combined.  Schools can adopt a policy and educate students about ways to cut down on energy waste.  Go to just about any school in America and you will probably see outside doors left open, or kids holding doors open for their friend who is quite a distance from the door.  These things wastes huge amounts of energy when you take into account the total number of schools where these practices are allowed.  This would be a good unit to teach kids about ways to cut energy loss without doing much more than opening and shutting doors.

Tell us your school green living projects in the comment area below or send them to me at bruce@bruzzbuzz.com and remember to subscribe to my feed so you can get emails every time this blog is updated.

Air Pollution Getting Better in the United States

The Days of Seeing Toxic Fumes Like This Are Coming to an End

Most people will tell you that they think air pollution in the United States is getting worse, but the statistics show that the air quality in the United States has undergone major improvements. It has been total teamwork too.  It has been a joint effort by the US Government, industry and individuals to make this happen.

Did you know:
It would take 20 of today's car models to equal the same amount of emissions as a 1960 model car.  That is a major improvement when you think of the number of cars sold each year.


Carbon Monoxide emissions are down over 33% and most of these emissions are from cars, trucks, and buses.


Sulphur dioxide emissions are down by over 13 million tons per year(38%).  These are associated with large boilers and have produced acid rain.


Lead emissions are down by a whopping 98%.


The EPA claims that overall emissions have decreased by 48% overall which results in 109 million tons of less toxic fumes.


It appears that we have seen just how bad we were treating the environment and that we had to something about it, but we can do better but just as the EPA states, it will take a total team effort.  We can all do just a little more.

Computer Printer Paper Wastefulness

I am a teacher in a small school in West Texas.  I love the school I teach in.  In fact, I retired once before and came back to teach again.  I love this school enough to say that I plan on staying here until I retire again.  I have 30 years experience and hopefully will go to 40+.  Needless to say, I have watched the technology boom from its earliest days up until the present.  It really blows my mind to think of how far technology in the schools has come.

One of the biggest changes from the 1970's to now is the use of the computer and it has totally been integrated into the teacher's day.  I still remember using the ditto machine to create worksheet handouts.  Now, I can use Word to create a worksheet or just find one on the district's Intranet or even the Internet and with the push of a button send it to the printer.  This is where I have a problem.

Every time a teacher sends a page or pages to the printer it always prints a cover sheet with that teacher's name on it.  Every time I send something to the printer it prints out the cover sheet.  If I find a clock worksheet and need only one it runs two pages, the cover sheet and the worksheet. The main reason the cover sheet is printed is that a number of teachers may send copies to the printer and wait to go get them.  Another teacher then sends copies and the easiest way to find your copies in the pile is to look for the cover sheets.

I am one of a few dozen teachers so you can imagine how many cover sheets are run off and thrown away each day.  Granted, those teachers who are environmentally minded will use their cover sheets as scratch paper so those pages are not a total waste.  There are only a few environmentally minded teachers so you can imagine how many pages are wasted each day.

Now multiply our tiny little school by the thousands of other schools, both small and large, and you can see how many trees are being wasted just so teachers can know which group of papers are theirs.  Is there a solution?  I think that this practice could be remedied easily.  Just disable the cover sheet and teachers can take just a few seconds to flip through the papers on the printer and pull theirs out of the bunch.  I really do think that we are wasting a huge amount of resources by ignoring this common practice.

I hope you will respond to this and tell me what you think.  Do you have a solution?  Is this done in other fields?  Do you think we should do more to bring this issue to the environmentalists attention? Please comment and don't forget to subscribe in the box on the side of the blog.

How Does Solar Power Benefit the Environment

Guest Writer Graeme Renwall gives us a good argument for using solar power as much as we possibly can in his article, The Amazing Benefits of Solar Power.  Check it out and leave your comments.  Remember to subscribe so that you never miss an article from You Can Go Green again.

The Amazing Benefits of Solar Power by Graeme Renwall

Solar panels transform sunlight into energy which is then used as a power source for lighting. The rechargeable batteries store this electrical power until it's needed. Over the years, technological advancement in this sector has helped produce numerous items for a variety of different uses including security lighting and outdoor garden lighting.

Consider a few of the advantages of solar energy over that of oil:

As long as the sun continues to shine, we have ourselves a renewable resource of energy. Admittedly there will be fluctuations due to adverse weather conditions however, the sun will eventually reappear. Compare that to oil which is becoming increasingly hard to find.

It has to be one of the most peaceful ways of creating power. Solar cells make zero noise whereas drilling for oil is deafening.

Pollution is non-existant using solar energy. Compare that to the burning of oil which produces carbon dioxide, greenhouse gases and cancer causing carcinogens that are destroying our planet.

As they have no moving parts, solar panels/cells require very little maintenance and should therefore last a long time.

You may find that the cost of going solar is quite expensive initially however there is as yet no charge for sunlight. Oil on the other hand continues to soar in price due to the lack of supply.

Solar powered lights and other solar powered goods are also very simple to set up. You don't even need to stress about wires.

Using solar power for lighting is not a particularly new concept. Over the last few years, global warming has dominated the media worldwide so manufacturers and suppliers of solar energy products have been able to use the free publicity to enhance their campaigns, especially in the outdoors and security sectors. The revenue received has enabled them to diversify and explore new designs which means that today, there is a huge choice for the consumer. Thus as more and more companies evolve, competition becomes tougher meaning lower prices at the shops, hopefully!

The sun of course is only one source of renewable, natural energy. Another one is the wind. It's likely that you've seen or heard of windmills that can create enough power to light a small town. Man and his thirst for knowledge knows no bounds which to our credit, will hopefully be the saviour of our planet. Governments, in the meantime, continue to perform juggling acts and rather than serve the earth, they are more interested in winning elections. On the reverse, this could be our downfall.

So if you are looking to brighten up your yard or garden then solar lights are the perfect solution. Accent lights, path lanterns, garden lights and deck lights are just a few of the items to choose from. Accent lights tend to be the cheapest as they have the lowest wattage but even these need only 1 day of charging to give you 2 nights of light. Advanced technology has helped improve efficiency and produced less bulky designs. Your primary task is to ensure that the cells are placed in an area that gives them adequate sunlight. In summary, what better way is there to brighten up your home or workplace, save money and at the same time, help our planet?

Want to find out more about Solar Lighting, then visit Graeme Renwall's site on how to choose the best Solar Outdoor Lights, Lanterns & Lamps for your needs.Article Source: U Publish Articles