Nash Blog

Anyone who lives in the UK will tell you how much they hate it here, especially when it

comes to the weather. There is no such thing as summer, ok we may have summer, but it

only last a few days, all of a sudden it starts pouring again.

When I first got here, I used to check the weather every morning before leaving the

house, then dress accordingly, six months later I realised it was useless. Because, it

either rains or doesnt throught the year, so might as well have the umbrella or

raincoat with you all the time.

Given all this rain, one might think the country has abundant supply of water, guess

again. There is a water shortage in this country, can you imagine how many liters would

60 million people consume per day, now given the rain that pours, compare the two and

do your math.

Yes, you got it right, water is not enough. By looking at all the violence going on in

my cousin lands, one might think the next war will be about oil. There is a lot of

doubt in that. There is a high possibility that the next war might be fought over

water, and not oil. One example, there is an ongoing dispute on the Nile between Egypt

and Ethiopia, each claiming ownership.

Anyway, one thing that takes place here is that the water is recycled. The government

assures people that the water is as clean as crystal and suitable for drinking. In fact

I have on a number of occasions drank tap water. Honestly I cannot tell the difference

between tap and bottled water. For all I know if some wise crack sells tap water in a

bottle people would still buy it.

In UK, we get dozens of brands of bottled water. Some cost as high as 1 pound per

litre, but you can also buy a litre for 15 pence. And dont ask me what is the

difference between water and water, because I have no idea!

The question is, how clean is the tap water, why should I spend my good money on

bottled water while if you took Chemistry 101 they clearly tell you mix water with

other compound, due to chemical treatment, you get back pure drinking water. Or did

Chem 101 leave some stuff out. Well, it has become apparent that there some compounds

that just cannot be broken down, and therefore would not completely be separated from

water. This has also been found out in Germany. Even though it is hard to guess, but

the most widely used prescription drugs in UK is the birth control pills.

What the researchers have found is that "Substances such as oestrogens that are

constituents of the birth control pill have been implicated as potential endocrine

disrupters."

Now can you imagine takes doses of birth control pill everytime you hit that tap. I

wonder what would happen someone continues this for long.

ANyway, to put our mind at ease, the researchers have also said that the dose is quite

minute and has no significant impact. They also "use disinfectant system such as

chlorination or ozonisation" to treat the water.

Now, take sewage water, mix with birth control pills, use disinfectants, and get a

clean drinking water.

Hmm, I feel safe already.