Re: bottled water anxiety

[Guest guest]

Cray Fish, I hear you. I hope I haven't worsened your anxiety on

water! I have probably resisted some possibly valuable technologies

(water alkalizers etc) myself because it just makes me go cross-eyed

after awhile to consider all the possible problems with just water,

not to mention everything else we come in contact with and depend

upon. I usually don't focus on it as much as I have the past two days.

A good point to remember is that America does have one of the safest

water systems (or collections of systems) in the world, in terms of

being reliably free of pathogens, by and large. The problem here is

more chlorine, fluoride, excess copper from copper piping, and

possibly other heavy metals, and all the pharmaceuticals people are

peeing into the water system (and sometimes flushing down the toilet

-- don't ever throw out pharmaceuticals that way! Put them in the

trash. Better yet, avoid taking them unnecessarily.). The causes and

strategies to ameliorate all these issues may vary. (And then there

are the political/economic problems of water privatization, over-usage

by some, lack of usage metering by utilities, etc. etc., but I'm

focusing on direct health issues for the moment.)

The thing is, the contamination issues we have in the U.S. are

generally medium- to long-term risks, with little immediate danger of

catastrophic outcome (like, say, cholera-contaminated water). So while

chlorine and fluoride in the water are bad for us in the long term,

you have time to find the best solution for you, no need to panic. You

don't have to be perfect. You and I are probably both among " the

worried well. "

I heard a guy from Radiant Life give a presentation on water at a Full

Moon Feast in Berkeley a couple of years ago. It was fascinating and

he seemed to know the issues really well, and he was convincing. Of

course, he's selling an extremely expensive product. (My boyfriend

bought the system but had to move out of his apartment and it's

currently in storage.) That doesn't necessarily mean his economic

interests makes him dishonest -- he may have become the salesman

exactly because he was convinced of the product's worthiness. Who

knows. It seems likely for a company like Radiant Life. If you don't

have any reason to believe you're suffering from bad water, maybe that

kind of investment just isn't worth it to you. At a minimum, a Brita

filter or similar inexpensive tap filtration system will get rid of

mal odors and chlorine and quite a bit of any toxins (I think). It's

not perfect, but it may be good enough. According to the WAPF site,

only RO gets rid of fluoride, I read today. I generally accept

whatever they say at face value, but there's always a chance they have

it wrong or their information is outdated, so I'd get a second opinion.

If there were a way to identify a disinterested, objective third

party, preferably a scientist, who was neither selling anything nor

otherwise beholden to any corporate interests, who could rate water

purification systems for the rest of us, that would be really helpful.

Maybe someone like that is out there; I haven't looked. Does anyone

have an idea?

Then there are the global issues, which I've mentioned before. I do

think we need to be aware of the global issues because we are all

interconnected, and our individual decisions do collectively make a

difference, and we the public have to monitor the actions of our

leaders and the corporate elites, or they'll get away with murder.

That said, I guess we just have to find a way to do that without being

paralyzed by anxiety about all the threats to the ecosystem, etc. I

don't have a perfect solution to that, but I just try to do what I

can, make the best choices I can, learn all I can, experiment, and not

take anything too seriously, or at least not 24 hours a day. In the

long run we are all dead, as Maynard Keynes famously said. No

matter how pure your water, it won't give you eternal life.

Definitely, don't let anxiety over your water source drive you crazy.

Trust that if you are seeking, an appropriate solution will come to

you. It sounds like you're already taking sensible measures that work

for you.

Cheers,

Jeanmarie

On Aug 3, 2009, at 3:44 PM, Cray Fish wrote:

> Water is such a tough subject that drives me so crazy that I find

> myself not drinking as much waster as I should b/c I am so filled

> with doubts. I just drink a variety b/c it's so hard to get to the

> truth. I sometimes do reverse osmosis but then I heard (from someone

> who sells very expensive water ozone machines) that reverse osmosis

> is horrible and that if you put reverse osmosis water in a jar for a

> few days, black stuff grows on it or in it or near it...I don't

> remember exactly. But he said there used to be all this information

> available about how bad R.O is and now you can't find anything about

> it. Being that I am partial to conspiracy theories, that got under

> my skin a little. Then there is spring water where you don't know

> what the heck is in it or if it's just tap water. I drink perrier

> sometimes and then I wonder if the carbonation is bad for me, then

> there's a machine at whole foods that gives ionized water and I

> don't even know what that does but I throw that into the mix just in

> case.

>

> I use the gallon glass containers and I am there every three days

> anyways to shop for freah meat so it's not an issue and when I use

> filtered water I put those concentrace in them, but I wonder if the

> molecules are combining the way they should. Sometimes I put the

> water out in the sun, supposedly it's better in a blue glass

> container.

>

> It's so overwhelming, it's like you want to feel good about what you

> are drinking. I think they will never successfully come up with

> anything to depollute water. It just seems it's not possible to

> escape the negative effects of technology with more technology. I

> look at the lunacy of modern medicine and it just drives the point

> home. I remember at the conference in 2005 when there were panel

> discussions about various topics and singer told this story of

> these people on a train in europe, or something, and they had their

> burger king and they blessed it and just seemed to enjoy what they

> were eating, and that story always stayed with me (was anyone else

> there?) I should take my filled water containers to the local church

> and have the priest bless it for me b/c I can't seem to get any

> closer to some good water options at this point.

>

>

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[Guest guest]

> The problem here is

> more chlorine, fluoride, excess copper from copper piping, and

> possibly other heavy metals, and all the pharmaceuticals people are

> peeing into the water system (and sometimes flushing down the toilet

> -- don't ever throw out pharmaceuticals that way!

The salesperson who had told me about RO being horrible for the body told me

that hormones are the hardest things to breakdown b/c they are really small (or

something, don't quote me). That all the people taking prempro etc, and going to

the bathroom is affecting us. That the water treatment plants can't get rid of

this stuff. But you would think a sample analyzed at a lab could reflect the

truth of this, maybe it does or maybe they are not even testing for hormones

when analyzing impurities. I really don't know. It was this guy who succeeded in

making me the most anxious...but of course he has the product I could buy to

relieve my anxieties.

>

> I heard a guy from Radiant Life give a presentation on water at a Full

> Moon Feast in Berkeley a couple of years ago. It was fascinating and

> he seemed to know the issues really well, and he was convincing. Of

> course, he's selling an extremely expensive product. (My boyfriend

> bought the system but had to move out of his apartment and it's

> currently in storage.) That doesn't necessarily mean his economic

> interests makes him dishonest --

Well it doesn't make him impartial either.

> If there were a way to identify a disinterested, objective third

> party, preferably a scientist, who was neither selling anything nor

> otherwise beholden to any corporate interests, who could rate water

> purification systems for the rest of us, that would be really helpful.

I agree.

> Then there are the global issues, which I've mentioned before. I do

> think we need to be aware of the global issues because we are all

> interconnected, and our individual decisions do collectively make a

> difference,

Clearly the Texas sized floating trash island is teaching people (who didn't

already grasp this concept) a thing or two about that. I keep wondering why it

wasn't reported in the news like it is now when it was only the size of Miami,

or even a smaller state like Maine. A Maine sized trash island would have been

bad enough. I wonder if there are more smaller state sized mounds they simply

haven't reported on, like Georgia sized ones that are out there.

> don't have a perfect solution to that, but I just try to do what I

> can, make the best choices I can, learn all I can, experiment, and not

> take anything too seriously, or at least not 24 hours a day. In the

> long run we are all dead, as Maynard Keynes famously said. No

> matter how pure your water, it won't give you eternal life.

I get what you are saying and it's a well-taken point but when people see how I

eat they sometimes say " Everybody dies at some point " and I always reply it's

not about trying to live endlessly, it's about my quality of life while I am

here. Heck I would rather die younger and have lived a healthy life rather than

be as ill as I have been and live to be ninety with my life just one extended

dis-ease.

>

> On Aug 3, 2009, at 3:44 PM, Cray Fish wrote:

>

> > Water is such a tough subject that drives me so crazy that I find

> > myself not drinking as much waster as I should b/c I am so filled

> > with doubts. I just drink a variety b/c it's so hard to get to the

> > truth. I sometimes do reverse osmosis but then I heard (from someone

> > who sells very expensive water ozone machines) that reverse osmosis

> > is horrible and that if you put reverse osmosis water in a jar for a

> > few days, black stuff grows on it or in it or near it...I don't

> > remember exactly. But he said there used to be all this information

> > available about how bad R.O is and now you can't find anything about

> > it. Being that I am partial to conspiracy theories, that got under

> > my skin a little. Then there is spring water where you don't know

> > what the heck is in it or if it's just tap water. I drink perrier

> > sometimes and then I wonder if the carbonation is bad for me, then

> > there's a machine at whole foods that gives ionized water and I

> > don't even know what that does but I throw that into the mix just in

> > case.

> >

> > I use the gallon glass containers and I am there every three days

> > anyways to shop for freah meat so it's not an issue and when I use

> > filtered water I put those concentrace in them, but I wonder if the

> > molecules are combining the way they should. Sometimes I put the

> > water out in the sun, supposedly it's better in a blue glass

> > container.

> >

> > It's so overwhelming, it's like you want to feel good about what you

> > are drinking. I think they will never successfully come up with

> > anything to depollute water. It just seems it's not possible to

> > escape the negative effects of technology with more technology. I

> > look at the lunacy of modern medicine and it just drives the point

> > home. I remember at the conference in 2005 when there were panel

> > discussions about various topics and singer told this story of

> > these people on a train in europe, or something, and they had their

> > burger king and they blessed it and just seemed to enjoy what they

> > were eating, and that story always stayed with me (was anyone else

> > there?) I should take my filled water containers to the local church

> > and have the priest bless it for me b/c I can't seem to get any

> > closer to some good water options at this point.

> >

> >

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>

[Guest guest]

Cray Fish, I enjoyed your reply but won't rehash except to agree that

it's about quality of life, not living forever. I was being a bit

tongue-in-cheek when I quoted Keynes, but it's hard to find the right

emoticon for that. <g>

Yeah, hormones in the water are a big science experiment on the

population, including all non-human species. Clearly our system where

people get to screw up the planet first and then somebody asks

questions later has its downside.

Jenmarie

On Aug 4, 2009, at 9:07 AM, Cray Fish wrote:

> >

> > don't have a perfect solution to that, but I just try to do what I

> > can, make the best choices I can, learn all I can, experiment, and

> not

> > take anything too seriously, or at least not 24 hours a day. In the

> > long run we are all dead, as Maynard Keynes famously said. No

> > matter how pure your water, it won't give you eternal life.

> I get what you are saying and it's a well-taken point but when

> people see how I eat they sometimes say " Everybody dies at some

> point " and I always reply it's not about trying to live endlessly,

> it's about my quality of life while I am here. Heck I would rather

> die younger and have lived a healthy life rather than be as ill as I

> have been and live to be ninety with my life just one extended dis-

> ease.

>

>

> RECENT ACTIVITY

> 17

> New Members

> Visit Your Group

> Give Back

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> Get inspired

> by a good cause.

> Y! Toolbar

> Get it Free!

> easy 1-click access

> to your groups.

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> Start a group

> in 3 easy steps.

> Connect with other.

>

>