water – Green Total

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Why is it important to protect drinking water?

Contamination, the introduction of a pollutant or undesirable material into the air, soil, or water, has many negative and far-reaching effects. Thus it is important to protect drinking water from contamination for public health, economic, and environmental reasons.

Water is necessary to all living things. It makes up approximately 70% of the human body’s weight and plays a role in its functions, such as digestion and cooling. Without clean drinking water, we could not survive. If the drinking water is contaminated, many health risks can result: bacteria can result in illnesses such as hepatitis or cholera; a component of gasoline, benzene, is known to be a carcinogen; lead causes kidney, liver, and nerve damage as well as pregnancy risks.

Protecting drinking water also makes good environmental sense. In the past, people thought that if we buried chemicals in the ground they would disappear. This is now a proven fallacy that has resulted in dire consequences for our environment. Everything we put into the environment accumulates. Contamination can take years to clean up and not all ground water contamination can be treated successfully with current technology. This is why pollution prevention is crucial.

What is contamination?

Contamination is the introduction of a pollutant or undesirable material into air, soil, or water. There are three types of contaminants: microorganisms, inorganic chemicals, and organic chemicals. Microorganisms are living organisms such as bacteria, viruses, and Giardia. Inorganic chemicals such as nitrate, arsenic and metals are another type of contaminant. Microorganisms and some inorganic chemicals are naturally occurring substances that taken out of drinking water through treatment at our local water systems. Organic chemicals can be solvents, fuels, and pesticides.

Matter and energy

Activated Carbon Filter Guidelines

AC filters have a limited lifetime. Eventually, the surface of the AC becomes filled with adsorbed pollutants, and no further treatment occurs. ‘’Break-through” takes place when pollutants break through the filter and emerge in the treated water. When it happens, contaminant concentrations in the treated water can possibly be even higher than those in the untreated water. The cartridge then needs to be replaced. Knowing when breakthrough will occur and when to replace the cartridge is thus a major problem with AC treatment.

Unfortunately, unless the pollutants are smelled or tasted, they can be unknowingly consumed. In most cases, break-through can be positively verified only by chemical testing. Frequent chemical testing is impractical and expensive. Some cartridges are sold with predictions about their longevity. But these are generally only crude estimates since they do not consider the characteristics of a specific water source.

The retailer from whom you purchase the treatment device can better estimate a filter’s useful lifetime based on water usage (flow rate) and pollutant concentrations, shown in the chemical analysis. To make the most accurate estimates, you should learn what these amounts are before purchasing the system. If pollutant concentrations increase over time, and without testing done to reveal the change, such estimates may not be very practical or useful.

AC filters can be excellent places for bacteria to grow. A filter saturated with organic contaminants, or one that has not been used for a long time, provides ideal conditions for bacterial growth. A saturated filter supplies the food source for the bacteria. It is still unclear whether bacteria growing on the carbon pose a health threat. Some manufacturers place silver in the AC to prevent bacterial growth. The effectiveness of the silver has not been independently verified. In addition, the silver may contaminate the drinking water.

Atmosphere, climate, and weather

Fog & Dew Collectors: Contraption For A Thirsty World

Here’s a potentially life-saving and thirst-quenching design prototype that we like: British designer Alon Alex Gross has created fog and dew collectors that build on conventional techniques of rain harvesting with lightweight, modern materials. Yet, the design is easy enough for people living in water-scarce developing areas to collect clean drinking water.

His dew collector, pictured above, weighs a mere 400 grams and has a special laminate foil that pulls dew drops to it, allowing it to collect up to 1.5 liters of fresh water per night. Because extreme conditions can harm the laminate foil, Gross has also designed an additional sensor system that can react to atmospheric changes by opening or closing the apparatus accordingly. Both are very refreshing and low-tech design responses, providing water to people who need it most.

Life

Is A Day-Old Water Safe To Drink?

Have your tried water that’s been left overnight, or even for another day? How do you think about the taste?

Treated water’s added chlorine that takes care of microorganisms, but at room temperature they begin to multiply rapidly and can really get the things crazy. But that’s not what makes old water taste stale. For that we can thank carbon dioxide. After about 12 hours tap water starts to go flat as arbon dioxide in the air starts to mix with the water in the glass, lowering its pH and giving it an off taste. But it’s most likely safe to drink.

However, back to those microorganisms. Be careful if you use a dirty glass day after day, since there bacteria is likely to grow by themselves. But if you use a fresh glass every few days, you likely won’t have a problem. Unless the rim of the glass has been touched by dirty fingers.

As for plastic water bottles that has been exposed to the sun or left in the car, step away from the bottle. This’s warned by Dr. Kellogg Schwab, director of the Johns Hopkins University Water Institute, “A chemical called BPA, along with other things used to manufacture plastic can leak into your water if the bottle heats up or sits in the sun,” he explains. BPA is a hormone disruptor that is tentatively linked to everything from heart disease to cancer.

He also adds that plastic used for commercial bottled water isn’t meant to be washed or refilled, so use only one time and recycle. Or way better, don’t buy them at all; use a refillable water bottle instead.

Life

How’s The Water? Check It Before You Buy A House

In the last decade, the number of products designed to reduce contaminants in tap water has expanded significantly. In this article, I summarized a quick lesson on home water purification systems.

Know the TASTE. Does your water taste funny or smell bad? Does it look reddish or leave
Look for products that tackle specifically your problem. Filters reduce chemical contaminants, some metals, parasites, sediment. Provide about 1/2 to 1 gallon of water a minute.
DEVICE. Choose a style that fits your needs: Pitchers with filters: Inexpensive. No installation; frequent filter changes (every 40 gallons).

Faucet devices:

Faucet with builtin filter — may require pro to install; filter changes every 100 gallons or so.

Device that mounts on existing faucet; filter changes every 100 gallons or so.

Countertop device that connects to faucet via hose; filter change starting at about every 100 gallons. Plumbed-in: Systems that install under sink and refrigerator filters that install directly to plumbing line. Both have long filter lives; generally require pro to install.

CERTIFY/VERIFY. Look for an NSF-certified product. And be sure to read the owner’s manual to make sure you change the filter appropriately.

Atmosphere, climate, and weather

A Survival Water Filter – Part 1

In the world we live in, we never know what is coming next. Fires, hurricanes, and other natural disasters can lead to disastrous situations. That is why we should always be prepared to be able to survive in many conditions. One key factor to survival in all situations is to get clean and safe water for drinking. In this article I will share how to build a filter for water purification, using only materials found in the wilderness (with the exception of cloth). I will also show you how to finally boil your water for purification in the wilderness.

So let’s get started!

First, gather all needed materials. you will only need one tool – A knife. Here is the list of the materials we will be using:

– Birch Bark

– A Small Live Branch or Small Live Plant

– Charcoal

– Gravel

– Stones

– A piece of clothing

The first thing we are going to need is the birch bark. We will use this bark to hold the filter together in a cone shape. Cut the bark in a half circle with a diameter of roughly one foot. Then, roll the bark into a cone. Of course, you could also use the top of a waterbottle that is cut in half (if you can find it during emergency situations).

The second item is a small live branch. Normally I wouldn’t suggest to cut live branch, but we are talking about a survival situation. We need to use the live branch or plant to tie the cone shape together.

What’s next? Continue on Part 2.

Ecosystems

A Survival Water Filter – Part 2

The third and most important item is the charcoal. This is the part of the filter that removes the most impurities from the water. In order to get charcoal in the wild, you must make it yourself. The first step in making charcoal is building a fire. Once you have your fire, put one large log on the fire and wait until the log is totally burned but has not turned into ash. Using another stick, take the burn pieces of charcoal off of the log. Keep these pieces safe until the building process.

The next materials include stones and gravel. If you are in an area that does not have sand, then do not waste your time looking for it because it is not the most important part of the filter. You only need about a handful off each of these materials. The last material is a type of cloth. Although it is not found in the wild, cloth may be the easiest item to retrieve on this list.

After collecting the materials, we can start build the filter. It is actually very simple and easy. The first thing that you should do is roll the bark into a cone and use your knife to poke a hole through the overlapping part. String the leaf or branch that you picked earlier through the hole and tie off the end using a square knot.

Now, take your pieces of charcoal and put them in the center of the piece of cloth you have. Now bring all the corners of the cloth together so the charcoal sits in the bottom. Now, covering the charcoal, use your hand to smash it into a powder. Put the part with charcoal into the cone and spread out the corners so you can see the charcoal.

Pile on the gravel and then the rocks and your filter is set to go.

After that, boil the water For purification. We will need an area where clay is under the soil. We will use the clay to line the hole in the ground so that no water leaks into the earth. This is pretty simple, dig two holes, one for boiling and one to get clay. Take the clay and add a little bit of water to it so you can apply it to the hole. Seal off all the dirt. Now you can pour water into it and get your fire going along side it. You will need to find dry rocks to do this. Put a few rocks in the fire and once they have been in the fire for a while, you can put them into your water using another two sticks. You know its boiling when its bubbling.

Now you know how to put together a water filter in the wild. But this method for water purification is for SURVIVAL CONDITIONS ONLY, and it is not the best method of purifying water if you are near civilization. During “normal” times, find and install a qualified water filter for your drinking water.

Human interrelationship

When Should I Change My Refrigerator’s Water Filter?

RPWF-General-Electric-Refrigerator-Water-Filter-use

Did you know that if you have a refrigerator with an ice maker or water dispenser, you probably have a water filter? Newer refrigerator models usually provide water filtration and dispense ice and water through the door. This filtered water provides you and your family with great tasting ice and water. But the key to continue having the best tasting and cleanest filtered water is to follow a regular maintenance schedule for your fridge filter.

Water travels through miles of piping before reaching your home. Along the way it may pick up impurities. Water filters and filtration systems can reduce these contaminants. Failure to change your refrigerator water filter allows contaminants (e.g. lead and chlorine) and newly formed bacteria to saturate the filter, forcing the filter to leak contaminants back into the water. Most refrigerator water filter systems do a good job at filtering out certain contaminates that cause bad odour and taste, but refrigerator water filters are not necessarily designed to eliminate some of the more harmful water contaminants. For these contaminants, other water filtration systems should be used in addition to your refrigerator’s filter.

How Do I Change My Refrigerator’s filter?

Many manufacturers have taken extra steps to ensure that the refrigerator filters are easy to access and replace. In most cases, changing your refrigerator water filter is quite simple. Each manufacturer’s refrigerator water filter system is different, and you should consult the owner’s manual to locate the filter and follow the directions for removing and replacing it. Changing your refrigerator’s water filter only takes a few minutes and will keep you and your family drinking clean, great tasting, filtered water.

Matter and energy

To Secure Clean Water

750 million people around the globe are lacking in safe drinking water, and nearly all of them in the developing countries. Africa is the region that lacks water the most. Insufficient water supply brings a huge health impact, as it kills lives.

Clean water is getting scarce, when nearly a third of the world’s population live in water-stressed areas. Meanwhile, the number of people becoming aware of risks of drinking contaminated water is increasing. What should we do, and what can we do to secure this scarce resource? Water filters will give you unimaginable solutions to this problem.

A water filter can effectively remove impurities, as well as unpleasant odour from the water. By far the most common type of water filters are those based on absorption, most of which use activated carbon. activated carbon filters can effectively trap contaminants, and eliminate odour in the water. They are high absorbent sponges, removing larger particles like sediment and silt from the water, so they’re no longer present in your consuming liquid. And of course, activated carbon filters will also make sure the end result has less odour and let the water tastes real. This is because they reduce the amount of chlorine and other contaminants that can make your water smell unpleasant.

Be sure that you are selecting the right activated carbon filters from the selling racks? First, we should choose the water filter which activated carbons are made by good source materials. There are several types of source materials for producing activated carbon such as coal, wood, coconut shells and peats, among them, coconut shells stand out. Coconut shell-based carbons tend to be harder and thus more resistant to abrasion. They also have very effective adsorbing capacities, and show superior removal performance in catalytic applications, such as drinking water treatment. We also need to choose a filter manufacturer that has its own carbon production facility, so that the quality of carbons is controlled and reliable.

Your body is about 70 percent water, and these tiny molecules of H₂0 are important for every biological functioning inside our body. Bear this in mind as you make decisions about securing clean water for you and your loved ones.

Ecosystems

Activated Carbon & Water Filters

Carbon is a substance that has a long history of being used to adsorb impurities and is perhaps the most powerful adsorbent known to man. One pound of carbon contains a surface area of roughly 125 acres and can adsorb literally thousands of different chemicals. Activated carbon is carbon that is electro-positively charge, making it even more attractive to chemicals and impurities. As the water passes over the positively charged carbon surface, the negative ions of the contaminants are drawn to the surface of the carbon granules.

Activated carbon filters used for home water treatment typically contain either granular activated carbon (GAC) or powdered block carbon. Although both are effective, carbon block filters generally have a higher contaminant removal ratio. The two most important factors affecting the efficiency of activated carbon filtration are the amount of carbon in the unit and the amount of time the contaminant spends in contact with it. The more carbon the better. Similarly, the lower the flow rate of the water, the more time that the contaminants will be in contact with the carbon, and the more absorption that will take place. Particle size also affects removal rates.

Activated carbon filters are usually rated by the size of the particles they are able to remove, measured in microns, and generally range from 50 microns (least effective) down to 0.5 microns (most effective).

The most common carbon types used in water filtration are bituminous, wood, and coconut shell carbons. While coconut shell carbon typically costs 20% more than the others, it is generally regarded as the most effective of the three. All of our activated carbon filters use coconut shell carbon.

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