For 60 years RainSoft has been treating, testing water around the world. During the last 14 years I have been the Dealer here in Ottawa, Ontario. We sell/service all RainSoft water systems: Water Softeners, Reverse Osmosis Systems, Whole House Carbon Filters, Chemical Free and Chemical Iron & Sulphur Removal Systems, Sediment Filters, UV Light Systems and MOST IMPORTANTLY PEACE OF MIND! I have an A+ rating with the BBB and have won the Consumers Choice Gold Awards for 5 years in a row. This is a family run business and we especially care about the water you and your family drink and live with. www.rainsoftofottawa.com
The following excerpts are taken from a report, “There is No Away: Emerging Contaminants Detected in Water” which was published in the March/April, 2006 edition of Canadian Water Treatment magazine.
A report from the Canadian Institute For Environmental Law and Policy (CIELAP) released during National Pharmacists Awareness Week emphasizes the need for the Canadiangovernment and industry to invest mores resources to research the effects of “emerging contaminants: in Canada’s waterways”. The report makes 11 recommendations about ways to reduce the amount of, and their effects on, one of Canada‘s most valuable resources.
Anne Mitchell, executive director of CIELAP, said the release of the report was planned to coincide with the industry’s national convention because there are a number of issues related to increasingenvironmental contamination by pharmaceuticals and personal care products. She was also careful to commend pharmacist for their efforts in keeping unused and wasted drugs out of the water.
The report, There is No Away: Emerging Contaminants Detected in Water, was written by Susan Holtz, a policy consultant to CIELAP who writes on issues related to sustainable development, water and energy. CIELAP is a not-for-profit research and educational institute dedicated to environmental law, policy analysis and reform.
In writing her report, Holtz examined the issued of “emerging contaminants” – a term that originated in a U.S. Geological Survey report. It refers to the presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (collectively know as PPCPs) and endocrine-disrupting substances (EDSl) in the Canadian water system. Holtz warns that the contaminants entering surface, ground and drinking water can have serious environmental and health consequences. One of the biggest concerns is the issue of resistance to antibiotics and hormonal imbalances due to higher concentrations of EDS. Of major concern, she says, if the increased use of antibiotics for both the human and animal population. In Canada, there were 326.2 million prescriptions filled from July 2001 to August 2002.
In farming, Holtz notes that antibiotics are no longer being used singularly to treat sick animals; they’re also being used in the form of hormones, growth promoters and for illness prevention. In her research, she determined the increased use of drugs in veterinary medicine, farming practices and aquaculture has decreased the effectiveness of the use of antibiotics. The use of hormones in both animals and humans has had a negative effect on reproduction, causing the feminization of fish, wiping out an entire talhead minnow population in Ontario. EDSs have also contributed to deformities in fish, birds and wildlife…Building on study results conducted in the U.S. and Europe, Holtz says it’s time for Canada to get more involved in the issue of contaminants in water. She says the Canadian government and Canadian organizations don’t have enough information “even to develop a strategy that can effectively” determine the effects of contaminants in water… Here are a few YouTube videos relevant to this article: ~ Pharmaceuticals ~ ~ Disposing of your Medications ~ ~ Pharmaceutical Products In Our Water PSA ~ In addition to research, Holtz said a focus on human behaviour and providing more information to the public in order to encourage better choices are also important elements of social change.
I came across a remarkable video, ”World Water Day 2013″, posted by Haruna Akashi to YouTube. Nako Akashi, a young 15 year old student in Japan produced and narrates the video herself. I’m so impressed with Nako’s work that I feel her insight on water’s impact on our world, should be shared.
Nako is a junior high school student who enjoys music, painting, designing and photography. The devastation of the March 11, 2011 tsunami in Japan had a profound effect on Nako and she says, ” It’stime for us to help the water. The power of just one person may seem very little, but it all counts – one for all – all for one. I believe this is the international rule for everyone.”
My comments to Nako on her video: ‘Congratulations, Nako, on your remarkable video. I feel your work is award worthy!!! I’m so impressed that I am going to present your video on my blog to celebrate World Water Day 2013. Best of luck in all your future endeavours. You are a wonderful ambassador for Japan as a young person with deep-felt compassion and vision. You will find my blog on WordPress as Rainsoftottawa.’
The following are excerpts taken from the Jan/Feb issue of Water Canada magazine, “How is mining’s legacy affecting water in Canada’s north?” by Mia Bennett
With pickaxes and pans in hand, tens of thousands of people flooded the Yukon in 1896 in search of gold in its snowy creeks.
I’ve included two really great videos on the Alaska (Klondike) gold rush at the end of this blog. Three years later, the rush came to an abrupt end as miners left for Alaska. Fast forward to 1991, when diamonds were discovered in the Northwest Territories’ (NWT’s) Slave Geological Province. This discovery set off a mining boom in northern Canada that continues today. According to the Mining Association of Canada, companies are expected to invest $140 billion over the next ten years in search of minerals like diamonds, gold, and iron, primarily in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, but also in the Yukon. In the barren, remote expanse of Canada’s circumpolar region -only 100,000 people live across the three territories – oversight and regulation is difficult. This is particularly problematic as climate change renders many current mining standards inadequate. Lakes and streams scattered across the tundra are vulnerable to destruction, leachate, and tailings. As the rush for northern metals and minerals continues, good planning and tough oversight by mining companies, indigenous stakeholders and government are necessary to protect water resources.
Damage done – Mine construction can wreak havoc before the by-products of mining even have a chance to pollute the environment. In 1998, BHP Billiton opened the Ekati Diamond Mine, Canada’s first combined underground and surface diamond mine, in the NWT’sLac de Gras area.To reach the diamond-strewn kimberlite pipes sitting underneath shallow crater lakes, the company dewatered and fully or partially impacted nineteen lakes and additional streams. The company was also permitted to store rocks and manage pit water in Desperation Pond, used by Arctic grayling (a freshwater fish) for spawning, rearing, forage, and overwintering.
While the company paid Fisheries and Oceans Canada $1.5 million to recreate lost lake habitat, the new lakes did not equal the original ones in health and biodiversity. In one artificial habitat, colder stream water and paltrier vegetation resulted in Arctic grayling that had, on average, less than half as much mass as their counterparts in natural streams. Northern fish species reproduce and grow slowly and are especially sensitive to pollutants, making lake destruction even more harmful than in the south. Moreover, many fish stocks provide commercial value to fishermen and nutritional value to indigenous peoples…Randy Hart, MiningWatch Canada’s program coordinator, suggests that an alternative, though more expensive, way to deal with tailings might be to store them on land in a cement-like, hardened form. “This allows you to have a close to walk-away situation, where you aren’t also destroying a lake ecosystem,” he says.
Changing paradigms - Indigenous pressure has helped enact stricter oversight of mines. During negotiations over Ekati, First Nations organizations got BHP Billiton to agree to fund the creation of an Independent Environmental Monitoring Agency (IEMA) to oversee their management of the surrounding environment. BHP Billiton also developed a Watershed Adaptive Management Plan. When the IEMA discovered that nearby Kodiak Lake had begun eutrophying due to sewage deposition, making oxygen levels dangerously low for fish, the company was asked to aerate the lake. The fish were able to survive another season. When oxygen levels dropped a second time, the company began depositing its sewage elsewhere. While adaptive management requires consistent environmental monitoring, problems can often be stopped before they get out of hand… Regulations are nothing without enforcement. “Recently, we discovered that Capstone Mining was told by Yukon Government Client Services & Inspections that they were allowed to contravene their water license,” says Karen Baltgailis, executive director of the Yukon Conservation Society. She doesn’t think that any environmental damage occurred, but still has worries. “The fact that our regulators can’t be depended upon to ensure that mining does not cause impacts to our water is a really big concern.” Hart observes that in Nunavut, while the land claims agreement specifies a regional monitoring program, instead there is what he calls a “hodge-podge of project-specific monitoring that goes on based on company needs as opposed to broader, territory-wide needs.” He adds that the same could be said largely for other regions of the north. Hart believes that if a regional baseline monitoring organization were instituted, that would actually provide a “huge advantage” to companies, which otherwise have to start from scratch each time when considering cumulative impacts and regional issues. While weak enforcement is a harder problem to tackle than the lack of monitoring, even when violations are discovered, the fines are often not very high. In 2008, 4.5 million litres of processed kimberlite overflowed a containment wall at Etaki, flooding the nearby tundra and frozen Fay Lake. CBC News reported that BHP Billiton might have to pay “hefty fines of up to $100,000”— pennies compared to the company’s profits…The dangers – Mine drainage - A bigger hazard to aquatic ecosystems is acid mine drainage, which occurs when water comes into contact with sulphide bearing rocks or tailings. The resulting sulphuric acid oxidizes metals like copper and zinc, rendering the water metal bearing and acidic. Acid mine drainage is especially a problem in underground mines. These are often located below the water table, so water has to be continually pumped out. Once a mine is abandoned, pumping often ceases and allows leachwater to flow out. Pollution of groundwater sources is risky in places like Yukon, where aquifers underlay two-thirds of the territory. Whereas pollution of surface water can sometimes be contained, contaminated groundwater can spread extensively. Fortunately, in many northern underground mines such as Nunavut’s closed Polaris Zinc Mine, permafrost prevents acid mine drainage, as all the surrounding water is frozen in the rocks and soil. But as temperatures climb, intrusion of water into underground mines with sulfuric rocks could become problematic… Threats to oceans – At the same time as melting permafrost is hindering mining on land, melting sea ice is creating new opportunities – and risks – at sea. On Baffin Island, Nunavut, the planned Mary River Iron Ore Mine would use nine ice breaking freighters year-round to transport iron ore through the Northwest Passage, potentially disturbing the shore, icepack, and marine mammals. Hart asserts, “It’s the most significant marine transportation project that’s ever been proposed for the Canadian Arctic, massively increasing shipping traffic. Along with shipping comes chronic low-level pollution from small oil spills and bilge water. We often focus on massive spills and shipwrecks, but from my understanding, a significant amount of oil and contaminants is released into the marine environment on an ongoing basis outside of major catastrophes.”…
After the gold rush – Like the gold rush a century ago, the current boom will end one day, too, and proper de-commissioning plans need to be prepared. There are 10,000 abandoned mines across all of Canada in various states of disrepair. The grandiose names of contaminated sites in the north represent ghostly boom towns of decades past: Discovery Mine, Giant Mine, Port Radium Mine. At various sites, mining has left behind a wasteland of radioactive tailings, cyanide-laced water, and sediment plumes…The Canadian Arctic is so sparsely populated and so far from most people’s minds that the adage, “out of sight, out of mind,” too often rings true, especially once a mine is closed. If an operator declares bankruptcy, however, the costs of decommissioning can be passed on to the taxpayers, hitting closer to home…The mining industry has demonstrated a more progressive approach to water management than in the early twentieth century. This is in part thanks to the involvement of indigenous people’s and stronger government regulations. For all its faults, Agnico-Eagle serves as an example of one company that has put forth some efforts to reduce its impact on the environment. Connell notes that all of its operations now require water management strategies…
Harmonizing economy, environment, and technology - Given the region’s low population base and lack of alternative industries like agriculture or manufacturing, mining plays an important role in northern economic development. Profits and water quality, however, do not need to be a zero-sum game. Technology now exists to make operations safer for the environment.
Moreover, in the territories, development has generally proceeded hastily without an eye towards long-term sustainability. It’s easily forgotten that mining is temporary, while both humans and nature will rely on surrounding waters indefinitely. One day, the temperature could rise high enough that even precautions like Meadowbank’s “worst-case scenario” tailings cover are inadequate. But in the near future, if the right balance is struck between conservation and development, we can avoid a legacy of overflowing tailings ponds and acidic rivers and instead enable clean, productive northern waters and fisheries. The consequences of not doing so will far outlast any profits.
1898 Alaska Klondike Gold Rush Story, Dawson City, Yukon River, published on Oct 26, 2012 by Jeffrey Martin ~ Segment of a short 1950s film that was called ‘City of Gold’ about Dawson City during the Klondike Gold Rush in the Alaska / Yukon Canada area. This is the first half of a prior posted segment that can be used with the Alaska Goldmine ice-breaker class exercise.
The Klondike Gold Rush: Photographs from 1896-98, uploaded on Apr 17, 2008 ~This spectacular video is based on the best-selling book “The Klondike Gold Rush: Photographs from 1896-1899.” by Graham Wilson. This is the mother lode of the north – a stunning record of the last great gold rush.
UTEC, the university of engineering and technology in Lima, Peru in collaburation with Mayo DraftDCB has developed the world’s first billboard that can produce potable water from the air as a promotional admissions campaign. In this region rainfall is scarce year-round, but atmospheric humidity reaches almost 98% – the project provides residents with up-to 96 liters clean drinking water in reserve tanks situated in taps at the foot of the sign, instead of having them deal with polluted wells.
Interestingly, the project wasn’t so much driven by Lima’s need for water as UTEC’s need for more engineering students. Their motto is “We will continue changing the world through engineering.” And if this is what such students could get working on, we’re all for it.
The billboard contains five generators that churn out purified water through a reverse osmosis system. The system sends water to a tank that can store up to 100 liters per day. As you can see in the video above, people are actually using the billboard to get fresh water. In three months of operation, the billboard has produced thousands of liters.
Fortunately, the Peruvian government isn’t counting on UTEC and Mayo DraftCFB. They’ve recently announced a $3.3 billion-dollar upgrade they plan on making to their water and sewage infrastructure to provide better drinking water to their citizens.
Angela Morelli is an Italian designer. She gained her MA in Communication Design with distinction from Central St Martins, where she specialised in Information Design. Her first degree was in Engineering from Politecnico di Milano and she has an MA in Industrial Design from Milan. She has collaborated with a number of research and commercial organisations in Europe and works as a Graphic and Information Designer. She is based in Norway.
The Global Water Footprint of Humanity is her final MA project, based on research carried out by Unesco and The University of Twente in the Netherlands, and awarded Honorable Mention for Outstanding WOrk at the INDEX:|AIGA Aspen Design Challenge Designing Water’s Future.
Angela Morelli – The Global Water Footprint of Humanity
Angela Morelli is an Italian information designer based in London. Her love of mathematics led to an engineering degree from the Politecnico of Milan. Her love of design led to a long journey through industrial, communication and information design. Her love for the planet led to a strong passion for global water issues. Her love for science led to dialogues and collaborations with research and commercial organisations in Europe.
She believes that bringing about change is not an easy task and it can only follow from a true understanding of a problem, from awareness and reflection. Design has a vital, irreplaceable role to play in achieving this understanding through empathic thinking and emotional intelligence.
BUILDING BLUE The following is an excerpt from ‘Forging a path to reduce the residential water footprint’ ~ Water Canada‘s Nov./Dec. issue, by Kaitlynn Dodge
For a city that relies solely on groundwater, conservation is a given challenge. Add to that a rapidly growing population and a strategy to reduce water use by 20 per cent by 2020, and you’ve got one ambitious target. Guelph, Ontario is the fifth fastest growing city in Canada. Currently, population sits at around 118,000, but it is expected to rise to 144,500 by the year 2021.
How will the city meet the goal? Planners believe that builders have a role to play in municipal water use reduction. That’s the reason that the City launched Blue Built Homes, a water-efficiency standard and rebate pilot program.
The initiative encourages collaboration with local builders to promote waterefficiency in new building developments and promises long-term financial savings for consumers. The goal is to reduce strain on the water system and help defer costly capital infrastructure investments. Wayne Galliher, Guelph’s water conservation project manager, says that new homes were using on average more water than homes 30 years their age. By understanding the relationship of water use and distribution in the home and going beyond the building code, he says a significant difference can be made. Owners of the 25 Blue Built units built to date are already seeing a return on investment…
The features of a Blue Built Home Carol Maas, innovation and technology director of the POLIS Water Sustainability Project and author of a pending report on water-sensitive design for new buildings, suggests that Guelph is emerging as an expert in the field. She says that water efficient homes need many of the features that are being applied in Blue Built Homes, such as efficient fixtures and appliances, hot water re-circulation, rainwater harvesting, grey water reuse, and drought-tolerant landscapes… Basic features also include removing water-primed floor drains and improving hot water delivery in the home while using the embedded energy for other purposes. Blue Built silver homes include a grey water reuse system, which reclaims and purifies water from showers and baths to flush toilets. At the gold level, homes feature a rainwater harvesting system that collects, stores, and purifies rainwater for use in toilet flushing, outdoor landscaping, and gardening….
Cost/benefit Maas suggests that municipalities benefit most from this type of program through lower infrastructure costs, but consumers seem to be benefiting as well. While there is an initial investment of $800 to $1,400 to acquire a bronze level certification and a $10,000 to $15,000 investment for gold, buyers are seeing financial returns on their investments. On an annual basis, owners are seeing a 20 to 30 per cent reduction in water and energy costs. As the City moves toward full-cost accounting to meet renewal targets for infrastructure, these savings are expected to increase….An important note for home buyers is the maintenance requirements of installed systems. Understanding those needs and the associated costs will reduce after-the-fact surprises.
Driving demand to build blue Community response to the concept has been positive, but more units will have to be built to achieve the impact that City of Guelph staff are hoping for. Sharing the homeowner experience and educating consumers about the benefits of water efficient homes is an importance piece of that growth. “We want to spread the word about what owners are enjoying about their homes,” says Galliher. The power of social capital is invaluable in helping to gain awareness of what the program is.
Great Lakes United’s John Jackson on Ontario’s proposed Great Lakes Protection Act, by Meirav Even-Har of Water Canada November/December 2012 issue ~ excerpts ~
With the amended Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) recentlysigned between Canada and the United States …Ontario’s proposed Great Lakes Protection Act (Bill 100) comes at a crucial time… The ambitious goal to restore and protect the Great Lakes-St. LawrenceRiver Basin is no easy task. This proposed legislation is meant to enablethe revision and implementation of the now expired Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem to execute the Province’s obligations under the GLWQA. It’s also meant to build on current work and existing laws and regulations to create a new set of tools that will be driven, to some extent, by a local, community based approach to protection. As an enabling act, the GLPA will allow for the creation of regulations and specific actions based on consultation with stakeholders, government bodies, First Nations and Métis, as well as the public. According to the draft Great Lakes Strategy—a guiding document to accompany the Act—the key elements to the proposed legislation include setting a direction on Great Lakes, establishing a Great Lakes Guardians’ Council, identifying priorities for action in a strategy, building on existing tools by establishing clear targets, and taking phased, targeted action with geographically focused initiatives… Water Canada: Is this the right time for a Great Lakes Protection Act? John Jackson: The value of a piece of legislation is to draw attention to the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River as needing broad serious attention, not just as part of the overall environmental programs. It recognizes the special importance of the Great Lakes and helps draw attention to them. This legislation should not, however, be seen as the answer to all of the problems in the Great Lakes. The government must still focus on making sure it implements the already existing legislation and Agreements such as the Water Conservation Act and the Great Lakes-St Lawrence River Water Sustainability Agreement with the U.S. Great Lakes states. How will the proposed Act work with current binational management of the Lakes? The Bill commits Ontario to participate in the binational activities and to play a leadership role. This is a very important step forward, since, with the exception of the Water Sustainability Agreement, the provincial attendees at binational meetings tend to take more of an observer role rather than being active participants. This is a problem that I hope this will help us overcome. What lessons, if any, have we learned? What needs to happen to protect and restore the Great Lakes? We need new long-term financial commitments by the federal and provincial and state governments to implementing Great Lakes programs and to monitoring and assessing progress. Instead we are confronted by all governments making promises while reducing the amount of staff and scientists working on the issue, et cetera. The new Ontario bill makes no financial commitments. This is a serious problem. We need commitments by all governments to strengthen legislation and regulations if needed. Unfortunately, all levels of government are now stepping back from strengthening anything that is a non-voluntary program. We need more serious engagement by the government of stakeholders and the public in decision-making on Great Lakes matters. This bill includes components that, if properly implemented, could be important steps forward on this matter.
Meirav Even-Har is a sustainability consultant and writer. She is also 3RCertified program manager at the recycling Council of Ontario.
October 18th marks the 40th anniversary of the United States Clean Water Act.
What Is the Clean Water Act?
Here’s a look at what the Clean Water Act is and how this legislation is intended to address water pollution.
Answer: The Clean Water Act or CWA is the primary legislation in the United States that addresses water pollution. The goal of the Clean Water Act is to limit the release of high volumes of toxic chemicals into the nation’s water and ensure that surface waters met standards for sports and recreational use.The present legislation is based on the Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments of 1972. Significant amendments were added in the Clean Water Act of 1977 and the Water Quality Act of 1987.
…As game-changing laws go, the 1972 U.S. Clean Water Act ranks high. With images of rivers like the Cuyahoga burning and fish floating belly up in Lake Erie still fresh in the public’s mind, the Act transformed the nation’s relationship with fresh water. It forbade cities and industries from using rivers and lakes as waste receptacles… The Act also set an ambitious goal: by 1985 the nation’s waters should be “fishable and swimmable.” Although we missed that deadline, we are two-thirds of the way to achieving that goal… This year, as we celebrate the Act’s 40th anniversary, we can take pride in its accomplishments. But after four decades, the Act needs to be given new teeth and updated tools, both to meet its original goals as well as to address new water challenges that have emerged since its passage.”
Development of the EPA, uploaded by GPUSATraining on Feb 5, 2010
I’ve copied information I received from care2.com, regarding the petition I signed. In my collage I’ve included a map of Greenland and Canada to point out the close proximity of the two countries and I find it rather alarming now that China’s interest in the area has been confirmed.
The Arctic Council is supposed to protect this incredible part of the earth from exploitation and destruction. But with climate change melting Greenland‘s waters, China is aggressively looking for a profit from mining and new shipping routes. Yet, it also wants to be an observer on the Council. Talk about conflict of interest!
I signed a petition voicing my concerns to NATO and Arctic Council officials and urged them to make sure they keep protecting the Arctic‘s natural resources.
I know you care about the health of our planet too, so I thought you’d want to join me and sign.
Greenland’s once frozen waters are now nearly ice-free. China’s not worried about the effect of global warming on the environment, though. They’re more concerned about getting first dibs on profiting from the area’s decline.
China’s vying to become a permanent observer for the Arctic Council, a position that would allow them a say in decisions involving minerals and shipping.
So far, they’ve been incredibly aggressive in the move to gain unclaimed Arctic regions. China has shown they’re uniquely qualified to access gas and oil sources in tricky locations in the northern Arctic. Since China also has an interest in exploring potential commercial shipping short-cuts through the area, they sent a ship to scout out possible routes.
Allowing countries to use the Arctic for shipping routes and mining will only expose Greenland waters to worse environmental distress.
Urge NATO and the Arctic Council to protect the Arctic and its natural resources!
If you did sign the petition thank you so very much.
With many thanks to Fran Sorin for her inspiring blog, which I highly recommend you read (link at bottom), here are excerpts from, ‘Water: Joy, Beauty and Gratitude…Blog Action Day 2010′
“As a gardener and advocate of sustainable gardening, I thought that writing about water for Blog Action Day would be a no brainer. Yet, each time I prepared to write about the importance of conserving water, my mind took me back to moments in my childhood; moments in which water played a pivotal role, leaving indelible memories and emotions of joy, love and beauty.
WATER: memories from my childhood.
~ Sights, smells, sounds… Walking through Watkins Glen, a maze of water and a force of nature, mesmerized by the sounds, sights and smells; knowing that I was touching divinity. ~ Watching and smelling torrential rain and hail sitting on the back the car in the garage ~ The ferocious lullaby of ocean waves – All of these scenes have had a significant emotional impact on me….one of beauty, sacredness and love.
Western civilization of the twenty first century overwhelmingly thinks of water as a product to be controlled and mastered in order to serve our needs. And yet, indigenous cultures revere water, understanding that it is the source of life. Prayers for water and Rain Dances historically were, and still are today, an integral part of certain cultures. These cultures intrinsically know that water is a powerful force, a gift from God, not to be taken lightly.
“Rain is grace; rain is the sky condescending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.”- John Updike
We are water.
70% of our bodies is water. As newborns, our bodies are composed of 80% water. As we grow older, the percentage decreases. By the time we die, the % is below 50. Without enough water, we die.
For most of my life, I took water for granted…Today I think about water each time I use or come into contact with it. When I wake up in the morning and step into the shower, feeling the force of water on my back…experience a sense of gratitude. When I go rowing early in the morning or as dusk settles in, I am often stunned by the amount of pollution and things floating in the water (bottles, containers, papers, and God knows what else..). For a moment, I feel a flash of anger and frustration at others total disregard for this narrow, winding river. And yet, like a plant that is infested with insects, I remind myself that the water, regardless of the condition it is in, is inherently a magnificent, mysterious, life-giving force, pure and generous. And I give thanks…
So, the next time you’re washing off fresh fruits and vegetables in your kitchen, pause, even for a few seconds, and give thanks to water, the source of life.”
Fran Sorin is a gardener, author, broadcaster, and spokesperson. She is the CBS Radio News Garden Contributor, has made dozens of appearances on national TV and written hundreds of articles for USA Weekend Magazine and other national publications.
RT @CTVNews: The proposed US law that could grant snowbirds an extra two months in their favourite sunshine state, without a visa: http://t…twittered 6 days ago
A report from the Canadian Institute For Environmental Law and Policy (CIELAP) released during National Pharmacists Awareness Week emphasizes the need for the Canadian 
government and industry to invest mores resources to research the effects of “emerging contaminants: in Canada’s waterways”. The report makes 11 recommendations about ways to reduce the amount of, and their effects on, one of Canada‘s most valuable resources.
Anne Mitchell, executive director of CIELAP, said the release of the report was planned to coincide with the industry’s national convention because there are a number of issues related to increasing
environmental contamination by pharmaceuticals and personal care products. She was also careful to commend pharmacist for their efforts in keeping unused and wasted drugs out of the water.
The report, There is No Away: Emerging Contaminants Detected in Water, was written by Susan Holtz, a policy consultant to CIELAP who writes on issues related to sustainable development, water and energy. CIELAP is a not-for-profit research and educational institute dedicated to environmental law, policy analysis and reform.
contaminants” – a term that originated in a U.S. Geological Survey report. It refers to the presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (collectively know as PPCPs) and endocrine-disrupting substances (EDSl) in the Canadian water system. Holtz warns that the contaminants entering surface, ground and drinking water can have serious environmental and health consequences. One of the biggest concerns is the issue of resistance to antibiotics and hormonal imbalances due to higher concentrations of EDS. Of major concern, she says, if the increased use of antibiotics for both the human and animal population. In Canada, there were 326.2 million prescriptions filled from July 2001 to August 2002.
