The experts’ take on tap water safety

The experts’ take on tap water safety
By Lori Bongiorno
Posted Tue May 18, 2010 9:57am PDT
Related topics: Health, Safety, Tips, Pollution, Water
More from The Conscious Consumer blog

Many water experts say that tap water in the U.S. is perfectly safe to drink. Bottled water, they point out, is not necessarily any safer, and sometimes it's just tap water with a much higher price tag.

Yet those statements can be hard to believe if the water that flows from your tap smells funny, tastes bad, or is discolored. It can also be difficult to ignore reports of pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and other unwanted substances in water.

What do the experts say when you dig a little deeper? "The fact that it might have an off taste or odor may not appeal to the consumer, but it doesn't mean the water is unsafe," says Philip C. Singer, Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Of course, there are exceptions to this.

Read on for explanations to common water quality concerns.

Tastes metallic

For example, if your water tastes metallic it could be contaminated with lead from corroded pipes so it's worth checking out, says Joan B. Rose, Homer Nowlin Chair in Water Research, Michigan State University. (In fact, she recommends reporting any funny smell or taste to your local water utility just to make sure there isn't a problem with the pipes.) Iron, which is not harmful, can also be the cause of a metal-like taste.

Smells like rotten eggs

If you have hydrogen sulfide in your water, it can smell like rotten eggs. Rose says it is generally not harmful, but it can cause diarrhea for a short amount of time while you get used to it.

Other tastes and smells

Some other common, but harmless tastes and smells: Minerals might make your water taste a little salty. Algae can give water a musty taste or smell. Some people are put off by the smell or taste of the chlorine used to kill any pathogens in water.

Looks cloudy or rusty

Particles in water can make it cloudy (know as turbidity) and water can appear rusty when pipes in your local distribution system are being maintained or repaired, according to Kellogg J. Schwab, Director, Johns Hopkins Center for Water and Health. He recommends flushing the pipes by running your water until it's clear.

Pharmaceuticals

Pharmaceuticals and other emerging contaminants are more complicated. They are showing up in very low levels in streams, rivers, and lakes, but we don't find them as often in treated tap water, according to Rose. "They haven't been regulated yet because where they are found they are found at very low levels and at levels where they are presumed not to be harmful to public health," says Singer.

That doesn't mean that the Environmental Protection Agency couldn't be looking harder for emerging contaminants, especially when you take into account the precautionary principle.

The bottom line

Schwab, Rose, and Singer all say they drink tap water in the U.S. without worrying about it. "We have very high quality tap water," says Schwab. "Does that mean it's risk free? No." Outbreaks do happen, but they are rare.

In order to keep them rare, experts say we need to aggressively invest in our aging infrastructure.

What you can do

Here are some steps you can take to make sure you're drinking the healthiest tap water possible:

* Find out what's in your water. Read your Consumer Confidence Report (each year it should arrive in your mailbox by July 1) to learn where your water is from and what's in it. Or find it online on the EPA's website. You can also call the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline, 800-426-4791, with questions.

* If you have your own well, follow the EPA's guidelines on monitoring your water.

* Water filters can improve taste and smell and remove some contaminants. Do your homework to make sure you're buying a filter that will address your specific needs. Look for one that's been certified by the NSF International to address the issues you are concerned with. The Environmental Working Group has an extensive guide to choosing water filters. One thing to remember: You must change your filters regularly or there's no point in filtering your water.


Environmental journalist Lori Bongiorno shares green-living tips and product reviews with Yahoo! Green's users. Send Lori a question or suggestion for potential use in a future column. Her book, Green Greener Greenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-smart Choices a Part of Your Life is available on Yahoo! Shopping and Amazon.com.

Six gas mileage myths

Six gas mileage myths
By Jim Motavalli
Posted Tue May 25, 2010 10:09am PDT
Related topics: Oil and Gas, Cars, Saving gas
More from Driving Directions blog

Do Americans care about fuel economy as oil spills into the Gulf of Mexico and gasoline hovers around $3 a gallon? You bet they do, though they also have a fair number of misconceptions about how to squeeze a few more miles out of every drop.

The Consumer Federation of America's (CFA) most recent survey says that if we had a 50-mile-per-gallon car fleet today, we'd save more oil than the entire proven reserves in the entire Gulf of Mexico. And people care about that.

According to Jack Gillis, author of The Car Book and a CFA spokesman, 87 percent of respondents said it is "important that the country reduce its consumption of oil," and 54 percent said it is "very important."

An amazing 65 percent of Americans surveyed support a mandated transition to a 50-mpg fuel economy standard by 2025. That's a tough standard, some 15 mpg better than the ambitious goal set by the Obama Administration (35 mpg by 2016).

"The expectations of American consumers are reasonable and achievable," Gillis said in a conference call." CFA says that Asian carmakers, compared to the U.S. competition, are offering twice as many vehicles with 30 mpg or better. "It's shocking that so few of today's cars get more than 30 mpg," he said.

Mark Cooper, CFA's research director, noted that in five years of the group's polling, the public's views have stayed remarkably consistent: Americans want less dependence on Middle Eastern oil and higher fuel-economy standards.

People care about fuel economy, but they're misinformed about how to actually achieve it. The federal government's fueleconomy.gov site (very useful to check cars' mpg) just published the "Top 10 Misconceptions About Fuel Economy."

Here are a few big myths:

*

It takes more fuel to start a vehicle than it does to let it idle.
People are really confused about this one and will leave a car idling for half an hour rather than turn it off and restart. Some kids I know started an anti-idling campaign in the suburbs and are shaming parents into shutting down their cars.

Idling uses a quarter- to a half-gallon of fuel in an hour (costing you one to two cents a minute). Unless you're stalled in traffic, turn off the car when stopped for more a few minutes.
*

Vehicles need to be warmed up before they're driven.
Pshaw. That is a long-outdated notion. Today's cars are fine being driven off seconds after they're started.
*

As a vehicle ages, its fuel economy decreases significantly.
Not true. As long as it's maintained, a 10- or 15-year-old car should have like-new mileage. The key thing is maintenance -- an out-of-tune car will definitely start to decline mileage-wise.
*

Replacing your air filter helps your car run efficiently.
Another outdated claim, going back to the pre-1976 carburetor days. Modern fuel-injection engines don't get economy benefits from a clean air filter.
*

After-market additives and devices can dramatically improve your fuel economy.
As readers of my story on The Blade recall, there's not much evidence that these "miracle products" do much more than drain your wallet. Both the Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Reports have weighed in on this. There are no top-secret 100-mpg add-ons out there.
*

Using premium fuel improves fuel economy.
You might as well write a check to BP if you believe this. Only use premium if your car specifies it.

Here's the complete list of myths.

More from The Daily Green

* Four Easy Tips to Boost Gas Mileage and Save Money
* Great Gas Mileage Is a Game
* The Smart Car Reviews: Good Gas Mileage and Surprises
* Getting 133 mpg in a 1998 Pontiac
* How Efficient Can Internal Combustion Get?

Reprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc

Internet, Facebook, Farmville and the Church

I hope I'm wrong with this data.

Members
Internet = 1.73 billion
Facebook = 400 million
Farmville = 81 million
Church = 560 million

Active Members
Internet = 1.73 billion
Facebook = 400 million
Farmville = 81 million
Church = 50 million (still questionable, maybe lesser, I don't know where to find the remaining 510 million, maybe they are playing farmville)

People are concern with global warming? They are planting trees but not on a suitable ground but on farmville.

It's good to have friends. But it's better if you can go with them on the church every sunday.

I'm sorry i'm not a good blogger, my grammar is bad.

But I know how it feels to see young ones (and adult alike) waiting for their turn on the internet, (consuming the money they did not earn to pay for their bills in the internet shop) just to open their facebook account and play farmville.

How i wish they still remember how to pray.