Water, Water Everywhere…

An old quote, from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, goes: “water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink.” This famously used quote was originally written to describe how difficult it was for the crew of a ship to float along in the ocean without being able to drink from it. Luckily our situation is not quite as perilous but it certainly gives pause regardless.

On Saturday while I was busily enjoying a great time at a retirement party in California, a section from a ten foot wide pipe that delivers clean and purified drinking water to upwards of 2 million residents in and around the Boston area, burst.

The water released from the pipe was allegedly leaking upwards of 8 million gallons of water an hour into the Charles River and residents from over 30 surrounding communities were told to boil water as the water coming from their tap would be provided by non purified sources.

When we got in last night after midnight we instantly started to boil water. We placed cups full in the bathroom for brushing teeth and washing hands, I pulled out my hand sanitizer and started plotting my course of action for acquiring fresh, clean water to drink today.

From all the stories I’ve read most, if not all, stores in and around Boston that sell bottled water were stripped bare shortly after the tragedy occurred. I suppose New Hampshire, a short thirty five minute ride north, would be a good place to start and I can acquire my groceries for the week at the same time.

There is no definitive answer as to how long the boil order will last, but I will likely be doing so for longer than the recommended time suggestion anyway and everything will still be run through my PUR filtered pitcher. It has really got me thinking about water conservation and some of the ways I can cut back anyway.

What are your tips for saving water? I’d love some advice as the entire city of Boston aimlessly drifts forward without their morning coffee. Be safe out there friends and enjoy this video from Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds performing an acoustic version of Don’t Drink the Water

Global Warming Versus Climate Change

As you know, I live in the northeast US in Boston, Massachusetts. Our country, except a couple small pockets, has had an unseasonable cold snap in recent weeks, most notably places like southern Florida.

Online friends have posted photos of palm trees encrusted in ice, their own yards engulfed in the rare sight of frost and other odd occurrences due to this weather and although not all, some of these folks have accompanied these photos with statements like “So much for global warming huh?”

Actually, no. As a matter of fact the warming part of global warming has everything to do with the current state of affairs.

First of all let me define both terms, global warming and climate change.

Global Warming: An increase in the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere, especially a sustained increase sufficient to cause climatic change.

Climate Change: Any change in global temperatures and precipitation over time due to natural variability or to human activity.

Wait, so does that mean these two terms define the same basic thing? Well, sort of. They are not exactly the same, but one certainly can not occur without the other.

Here’s how I explained it to a friend who shared the photo of the ice encrusted palm leaves and who had also linked to an article indicating North Dakota had experienced temperatures at -52 degrees (with the wind chill), and she made reference to the ‘so much for…’ statement I talked about above:

It is actually BECAUSE of global warming this is happening...temps go up, water & polar ice shelf melts, more water is evaporated into atmosphere, less definitive line where the "cold" weather should be, more severe weather as more moisture falls from the sky :-(

That is in the simplest of terms, there are certainly loads of other factors and ways of explaining it, but the bottom line is that when the climate changes due to the overall temperature (global mean temp) increasing, a whole lot more extreme weather will most definitely be seen everywhere.

So what can we do?

One of the number one contributors to warming is greenhouse gas, sometimes referred to as CO2 but better known as emissions. Every time we turn up our heat, drive our car, run water, eat prepackaged foods, fly in an airplane, shop for new items and a plethora of other somewhat ingrained daily activities we are creating emissions. By focusing our lives in a more concerted effort to reduce our emissions we will all make a step toward a more regulated environment.

Use throw blankets, sweaters and fuzzy wool socks if alternative energy is not an option in your home. Plan so errands are done in bulk and closer to home on the same day to reduce the number of times you start your car. Try to work from home one or two days a week (this not only reduces driving but energy use in the office as lights and heat remain off or lower than average). Turn off the water while brushing teeth, only flush every other time, or drink filtered tap water to help conserve water resources. Shop at a weekly Farmer’s Market for local and organic produce (if that isn’t possible due to geographic location [like me], try to shop for regionally grown in-season produce) instead of buying prepackaged foods (something had to be run to create all that packaging right?). Take a train for your next trip or if you absolutely must fly be sure to get on a full flight and sit in coach as opposed to a private plane.

But most importantly spread the word! It is only by education that we are able to fully understand the meaning of a word or phrase so if someone in your life is blowing off global warming as ‘not real’ because of the frigid temperatures and record snowfall in their area, educate them! The more the word spreads the faster we can find ways to fix it.

Photo credit: Gary Braasch, Chicago, Illinois 1995, World View of Global Warming

Clear2O Water Bottle Is a Great Concept

As an active gal I am constantly drinking water. Last month I discussed the effort we are putting forth here at home to ensure the tap water we consume is as healthy as possible** but I have been considering joining a gym recently and knew I would need to bring some kind of water with me. Desiring a bottle that was BPA free and reusable I came across this Clear2O bottle.

The unique element in this 24 ounce Clear2Go water bottle is that it houses a filter right inside the lid so any tap water can fill it and it will be filtered for chlorine taste / odor as well as 99% of microbial cysts. Cool!

The company claims that each bottle will replace up to about 757 disposable water bottles (16.9 ounce size).

The Clear2Go water bottle is available to purchase right on the website and retails for only $16.99. The refill filters I found a bit pricey considering the base price of the bottle itself, they retail for $11.99 per two pack, but each will filter 100 gallons of water so it is unlikely they will need replacing very often.

Unfortunately the bottle I received is defective as the cap was not screwing onto the base correctly (with or without the filter installed) so water spilled out the side and soaked my leg. Not exactly something that would be welcomed at the gym on a treadmill. When I pushed the cap down with one hand and gently squeezed with the other water did not leak out but I will not always have two hands free to use to drink.

With all of this taken into consideration I am granting a Three and a Half Leaf Rating to the Clear2Go bottle!

A little tweak on the fit of the cap and possibly lowering the cost of filter refills will have me uber impressed with this product because I am already very excited by the effort Clear2O! ♥love♥

** As a side note: Both Matt and I each consume up to 4 ten ounce glasses of water a day at home and the filter on our pitcher just started flashing yellow within the past week. The first filter went into use on August 10th which means that is one filter approximately every six weeks. Nice!

Tap Water Just Got Tastier with PUR Flavor Options Water Filtration Systems

We all know that plastic bottles created from petroleum are harmful to the environment as they take centuries to break down (if at all), can end up leeching into the Earth or become stuck spinning in the middle of the ocean in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, so tap water in a reusable bottle is certainly the responsible way to go.

Tap water alone can become boring and although flavored water is tasty, most water enhancements such as packets or already flavored waters add calories, sugar or both to the water we drink. Not to mention how much money can be spent on all those individual bits. So then what is a thirsty Greenie to do? Why they run right out and pick up a PUR Flavor Options Water Filtration System of course!

Filtering tap water with a PUR filter can reduce pharmaceuticals in the water supply by 96% (if they are present), not to mention various agricultural or industrial pollutants, chlorine, lead, rust and microbial cysts. Who knew there was that much floating around in our public water supply? Um, yikes! Not to mention that using a PUR pitcher instead of bottles means that up to 2,000 individual bottles are removed from the landfill per person every year.

Of course the coolest part of this little baby is the flavor cartridge. Instead of a small individual packet that is used and tossed each time, the PUR cartridge inserts into the lid of the pitcher. If flavoring is desired just click a button on the top of the handle while pouring and a squirt is added. But without clicking there will be no flavoring, leaving the option open for plain water as well. The cartridges are said to last up to about 75 eight ounce glasses so there is far less waste associated than with packets or bottles.

And oh yeah, it’s super yummy without adding any sugar or calories! The pitcher I got came with a raspberry cartridge, I also got lemon, but there are strawberry, peach and grape options available as well. I tried the raspberry right away (mine and Matt’s favorite so far) but wanted to try lemon too so I just popped out the cartridge, tossed it in the fridge (tip up) and poured a glass of lemon water. E-Z!

My only concern is that the items we must throw away are in fact petroleum based plastic -- the filter and cartridges. Additionally, sometimes the squirt of flavoring ends up stuck in the little reservoir at the end so when switching to a different flavor it needs to be cleaned out. In comparison to individual bottles or packets however the waste associated with this PUR Flavor Options System is minimal so I am awarding it a Four and a Half Green Leaf rating!

I am uber impressed with this entire system and our little family is happy to be drinking healthy water as well as helping to keep tons of plastic out of landfills. Nice work PUR!
♥love♥