Get Off the Bottle and on the Filter
posted by Megan, selected from Positively Green Sep 17, 2009
Last year Americans spent 15 billion dollars on bottled water and the sales estimate for 2007 is 16 billion dollars. One can argue that it’s money down the drain because the truth has been watered down by some of the largest bottlers. About 24% of bottled water is just filtered tap water; like Aquafina and Dasani.
You can achieve exactly the same quality of water by installing a filter on your faucet at home. If the cost ($100 or less) of purchasing a filter for your home causes you to hesitate, consider this; you can buy a half-liter of bottled water for $1.35. If you filled this same bottle with filtered tap water once a day, it would take roughly 10 years before you spent that $1.35. However, if you purchased one bottle of water every day, after 10 years you will have spent $4,927.50.
GET OFF THE BOTTLE
Besides the incredible savings that you get with filtered tap water, there are environmental and socially responsible reasons that just strengthen the case for the tap.
Environmental Reasons - Plastic is a petroleum based product. The pollutants associated with the manufacture and transportation of these plastic bottles is unnecessarily damaging to the environment. Of the 50 billion plastic water bottles used last year, about 38 billion went straight to landfills. The plastic in those landfilled bottles is worth around $1 billion. 12 billion bottles were recycled, but remember that plastic doesn’t recycle into the same quality plastic. It can only be recycled a finite number of times before it can no longer be recycled.
Socially Responsible Reasons - Like other water from pristine ecosystems, Fiji bottled water is collected from natural sources and shipped halfway across the earth to the US where we already have clean drinking water in every home. Unfortunately, Figi doesn’t have a great public water system and last year Figians fell ill with typhoid casued by contaminated drinking water. When over 1 billion people in the world don’t have access to safe drinking water, buying bottled water with all its associated financial, environmental and social costs seems irresponsible – especially when a home filter gives you the same or better quality water than bottled water.
Water Filters by Aquasana are great.
Check them out at: www.shoptoearn.net/stepharitshops
Friday, September 18, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Showerheads a Breeding Ground for Dangerous Bacteria
From one of my favorite health informing websites: LEF.org
Study: Showerheads a Breeding Ground for Dangerous Bacteria
Chicago Tribune
09-15-09
CHICAGO - If your morning shower doesn't wake you up, this sure might: Dangerous bacteria may be spraying out of your showerhead, right into your face, according to a new study.
Healthy people probably don't need to worry. But the opportunistic microbes, which thrive in the most, dark and wet environment of a showerhead, might cause problems if you're pregnant, a substance abuser or otherwise immune compromised with cystic fibrosis, cancer, AIDS or a recent organ transplant, the researchers said in the findings published in this month's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The main culprit is an organism called Mycobacterium avium, a relative of the bacteria that causes tuberculosis. M. avium infections are increasingly common, perhaps because we take more showers than baths. Unlike baths, showerheads deliver the microorganisms as aerosolized particles that are small enough to be inhaled into the lungs.
The research team from the University of Colorado, which previously warned us that M. avium was lurking in the soap scum on vinyl shower curtains, sampled 45 showerheads in homes, apartments and public places around the country. They found that the showerheads don't just harbor the potentially infectious microbes; they enrich their growth.
Unfortunately, showerheads have nooks and crannies that make them hard to clean. Products with bleach can temporarily remove many microbes, but they just grow back. An all-metal showerhead, which microbes have a hard time grabbing, might be a good option if you're immune compromised, the researchers said.
Filtered showerheads could be replaced weekly. Or try bathing, which won't splash microbes into the air as much as showers.
Look for earth friendly and health friendly products such as water filters for showers and drinking water at:
www.shoptoearn.net/stepharitshops
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Study: Showerheads a Breeding Ground for Dangerous Bacteria
Chicago Tribune
09-15-09
CHICAGO - If your morning shower doesn't wake you up, this sure might: Dangerous bacteria may be spraying out of your showerhead, right into your face, according to a new study.
Healthy people probably don't need to worry. But the opportunistic microbes, which thrive in the most, dark and wet environment of a showerhead, might cause problems if you're pregnant, a substance abuser or otherwise immune compromised with cystic fibrosis, cancer, AIDS or a recent organ transplant, the researchers said in the findings published in this month's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The main culprit is an organism called Mycobacterium avium, a relative of the bacteria that causes tuberculosis. M. avium infections are increasingly common, perhaps because we take more showers than baths. Unlike baths, showerheads deliver the microorganisms as aerosolized particles that are small enough to be inhaled into the lungs.
The research team from the University of Colorado, which previously warned us that M. avium was lurking in the soap scum on vinyl shower curtains, sampled 45 showerheads in homes, apartments and public places around the country. They found that the showerheads don't just harbor the potentially infectious microbes; they enrich their growth.
Unfortunately, showerheads have nooks and crannies that make them hard to clean. Products with bleach can temporarily remove many microbes, but they just grow back. An all-metal showerhead, which microbes have a hard time grabbing, might be a good option if you're immune compromised, the researchers said.
Filtered showerheads could be replaced weekly. Or try bathing, which won't splash microbes into the air as much as showers.
Look for earth friendly and health friendly products such as water filters for showers and drinking water at:
www.shoptoearn.net/stepharitshops
---
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
HEALTHY FOOD, HEALTHY EYES, HEALTHY YOU
Finding a good mix to the foods you eat together can help the body break down foods and digest nutrients properly. Too many carbohydrates taken with protein, like meat and potatoes, can be hard for the body to break down leaving you feeling as if food is just sitting on the gut. Proteins should be mixed with vegetables, meat and a salad. The body will be able to break it down easily and the proper amount of nutrients will be absorbed.
Eat to your health and to better eyesight, these food sources of the antioxidants (carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, and zinc):
• Vitamin E: whole grains, vegetable oil, eggs, nuts
• Zinc: Meat, poultry, fish, whole grains, dairy products
• Beta carotene: Carrots, kale, spinach
• Vitamin C: Citrus fruits and juices, green peppers, broccoli, and potatoes
Because Vitamins C and E may also help to inhibit the development or progression of cataracts.
And other elements potentially important nutrients include two related carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin; vitamins C and E; and docosahexanoic acid, or DHA, found primarily in fish oil.
WWW.PERFECTBEAUTYINSIDEOUT.COM
Eat to your health and to better eyesight, these food sources of the antioxidants (carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, and zinc):
• Vitamin E: whole grains, vegetable oil, eggs, nuts
• Zinc: Meat, poultry, fish, whole grains, dairy products
• Beta carotene: Carrots, kale, spinach
• Vitamin C: Citrus fruits and juices, green peppers, broccoli, and potatoes
Because Vitamins C and E may also help to inhibit the development or progression of cataracts.
And other elements potentially important nutrients include two related carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin; vitamins C and E; and docosahexanoic acid, or DHA, found primarily in fish oil.
WWW.PERFECTBEAUTYINSIDEOUT.COM
DIRECT SALES IS WISE AND ON THE RISE
We all know why Shop To Earn is a timely business opportunity, but now here’s proof. An article from DirectSellingNews.com highlights 65 direct selling companies with annual revenue of $100 million or more. Read on for a summary of the article and pass this on to your Shop To Earn referrals.
In an attempt to record the power of the direct selling industry, DirectSellingNews.com has compiled a list of the world’s top direct selling companies in terms of annual revenue. Despite the downturn in the economy, the numbers are a telltale sign that the direct sales industry is here to stay. It’s impressive, a number of the companies listed show not only an increase in sales but record breaking sales in 2008.
Companies mentioned in the direct sales article include Mary Kay, Avon, Monavie, and Herbalife, all which are product-based, multi-level-marketing companies where representatives must carry product and overhead. Not Shop To Earn! Shop To Earn is an e-commerce opportunity where representatives do not have to sell one product or service, they have access to thousands of our favorite traditional retailers and over 10,000 eco conscious products on the Earth portal. Shop To Earn representatives simply shop through their online shopping mall, refer others to shop online and save money, and make money while doing it!
WWW.24HOURTOUR.NET/STEPHARITSHOPS
WWW.SHOPTOEARN.NET/STEPHARITSHOPS
In an attempt to record the power of the direct selling industry, DirectSellingNews.com has compiled a list of the world’s top direct selling companies in terms of annual revenue. Despite the downturn in the economy, the numbers are a telltale sign that the direct sales industry is here to stay. It’s impressive, a number of the companies listed show not only an increase in sales but record breaking sales in 2008.
Companies mentioned in the direct sales article include Mary Kay, Avon, Monavie, and Herbalife, all which are product-based, multi-level-marketing companies where representatives must carry product and overhead. Not Shop To Earn! Shop To Earn is an e-commerce opportunity where representatives do not have to sell one product or service, they have access to thousands of our favorite traditional retailers and over 10,000 eco conscious products on the Earth portal. Shop To Earn representatives simply shop through their online shopping mall, refer others to shop online and save money, and make money while doing it!
WWW.24HOURTOUR.NET/STEPHARITSHOPS
WWW.SHOPTOEARN.NET/STEPHARITSHOPS
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