Nash Blog

Reflections on Nash, nothing serious to write.

Monday, August 28, 2006

 

We flush it, we drink it...

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.

Comments:
this is the same issue that came up when it came to Aquafina water (Pepsi branded water).

I did a little test. If you leave the bottle, the water actually bubbles. Thats not natural.
 
i took a very interesting class on "water law" in lawschool, and i tend to agree with you that the next big issue will not be gas, it will be water. have you seen "chinatown" a very provacative movie about the water issues in california? (it was made in the 70's and stars jack nicholson, i think he won an oscar for it).
 
Yeh the weather is reliably unpredictable here in the UK
 
3anooda,

is Aquafina made from recycled water?

phaedrus,

yes, i believe some of the dams have dried up in the eastern US.

I havent seen "chinatown", but I will try and get it.

ahmad,

welcome to my blog, i hope you enjoy your visit here. :) Thanks for the visit.
 
Oh My goodness Nash. I'm really confused. I'm so suspicious and can't trust anything to drink or eat easily. You know what?!! I only drink bottled water….I couldn’t trust the tap water here. So, I convinced my family to buy only bottled water. Then, I found a new study said that bottled water could cause tooth decay because the lack of Fluoride "No…there is no Fluoride in the bottled water at all"!!...the tap water is better as the study mentioned…it contains Fluoride and good for health more than bottled water. That shocked me…should I drink tap water then, which is by the way a groundwater…

Another study said that bottled water is not necessary be a mineral water or natural…they may cheat people by that label?!!

Oh my Goodness…what we should do then…so what about seawater…I mean desalination water!!…is it good?!…does it contain Fluoride and not cause any health problems.

I discovered that my brothers like to drink from tap water and my GrandMere too…she thinks it's better and more trusted (she hated Aquafina water because there was strong rumor that the source of this water is sewage water!!! )….we changed that now to Omani bottled water.
I guess they are right…I'm overconcerned by this issue. :(

But… treated sewage water is a horrible idea!!! I once found news about a city in Australia "I guess"...made a poll for the residents there if it's okay to drink treated sewage water!!!
YUCK!!

3anooda………….R U serious…if that happen…could that mean the water is…. !! :(

Oh…that's true Nash…I read about that…the 3rd war will be for water not oil….
You brought out a very important issue that worries me…I drove my family to drink bottled water only and leave that tap water…I read studies about water issue, but I'm not sure which one is right!?

I want to know now if the desalting seawater is good or doesn't has Fluoride too?!!

LOL…I think I have obsession about purity and cleanness.


Oh..Sorry!! too much Hah :(
 
3anooda, my aunt works in a lab and they did a test on aquafina and it turned out to be like any other water .. not sewage water!.. I dont know about the bubles though ..

I think we should just say bismillah and drink .. after all,there is nothing safe nowadays!
 
sorry maybe i should have clarified. its the UK bottled Aquafina. but i dont drink Aquafina bcs i just dont trust it. plus the water has a funny smell and taste. water is not supposed to taste like anything
 
It was rather interesting for me to read this post. Thank author for it. I like such themes and everything connected to this matter. I would like to read more on that blog soon.
 
Keep on posting such stories. I love to read stories like this. Just add some pics :)
 
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