Water, Water Everywhere
But not a drop to drink? Water is a major issue in the early 21st Century. Mostly we humans are made of water. Our planet has five eighths of its surface covered with H20. For all time mankind has viewed the oceans as a never-ending sink where we can pump the stuff we don’t want and just let things run into it, but now they are showing the stress. Its unbelievable that as a species, we continue to defecate in the water that we drink. What follows is extracted from a report by Kenneth R. Weiss and Usha Lee McFarling, Times Staff Writers, called ‘A Primeval Tide of Toxins’.
“We have started to change the basic chemistry of the seas. Run-off from industrial processes is feeding an explosion of primitive organisms. Fishermen in Moreton Bay, Australia are finding huge growths of cyanobacteria, known as ‘Fireweed’ that causes serious burns and toxic gases. In the summer this bloom now covers more than 30 square miles and it can expand at 100 square metres a minute in prime conditions.
Similarly the coast of Sweden hosts summertime ‘rhubarb soup’ that kills fish and causes breathing difficulties to people. Florida’s Gulf Coast has algal blooms that are increasing in size every year, killing sea mammals and poisoning local residents. The Adriatic Sea, north of Venice, Italy has foul white mucus that washes ashore every spring and summer. The southern coast of Maui in the Hawaiian Islands suffers piles of stinking green-brown algae that have to be removed. It is no longer safe to swim along the Spanish coasts because of the exponential increase in stinging jellyfish that feed on the bacteria. Coral reefs are unable to heal themselves after storms due to the toxicity of water. Over-fishing has removed many of the fish that used to keep algae under control and the heated waters of global warming encourage bacterial growth. 80% of the corals in the Caribbean are destroyed, two-thirds of the estuaries in the United States are polluted and three-quarters of California’s kelp forests, a prime habitat for fish, are ruined along with its traditional fishing industries.
Globally, run-off and over fishing is allowing the lower forms of life to run rampant, increasing jellyfish and bacterial and algal blooms as the oceans revert to a primordial, microbial soup. Fed by millions of tons of fertiliser, human and farm animal waste, tiny marine plants over flourish and die, sinking to the bottom of the sea. Bacteria then feed on the rot and suck the oxygen out of the water, creating a cloudy environment where sunlight cannot penetrate, which wipes out marine ecosystems. Upward of 150 ocean dead-zones presently exist and global warming is accelerating the process, the number doubling every decade.”
Most of our drinking water comes from the oceans, a miracle of transpiration that lifts it to the skies to become rain. On land, most of our groundwater supplies are polluted. Even in my own rural home-town, in the middle of Cornwall, a fresh-water spring used by generations of inhabitants now carries a sign from the local Environmental Health Department proclaiming: “THIS WATER SUPPLY IS POLLUTED BOIL BEFORE DRINKING.”
Although boiling may kill the biological contaminants, there are still likely to be chemical residues that are dangerous to health, not least from water processing. Water from my own tap smells heavily of chlorine, although leaving it to stand may allow some of this to evaporate, chlorine is still a known poison to humans. Modern domestic mains water contains additives put there to kill bacteria. These chemicals cause the formation of large molecular clusters and change the nature of water, reducing its effectiveness in hydrating the body. Chlorine has direct links to some serious health problems.
Chlorinated water contains organo-chlorides, cancer-causing compounds called mutagens. Research shows that drinking chlorinated water can double your risk of developing bladder cancer and more than 50,000 people develop this cancer every year. Other studies have linked mutagens to increased rates of colon and rectal cancer.
Water treated with chlorine also destroys vitamin E stores in the body, leading to other health problems such as heart disease. Pesticides, pollutants and heavy metals leech into our water supplies from farming and industrial practices. In some areas the water distribution systems are over 100 years old, which adds to the problems.
Tap water in cities is fast becoming a chemical soup, filled with the residues of pharmaceutical and industrial chemicals. Some of the undesirable things found in tap water are: heavy metals, insecticides, pesticides, bacteria (including E.coli), harmful chemicals such as detergents and prescription medicine pollution, parasites, chlorine, fluoride and dioxins.
So this does beg the question, ‘Where then, can I get a decent drink of water? 60 % of my body is composed of water. My brain is 85% water. My blood is 90% water.’
For those of us lucky enough to have water on tap (there are many people in the world to whom this is still a luxury), home-based filtration units are fast becoming the norm. There are all sorts of filters such as:
- sand and gravel
- UV Light
- carbon Filtration
- distillation
- reverse osmosis
- chemicals
- electrolysis
- ionisation
- active hydrogen generators
These remove bacteria, dead organic matter and impurities such as dirt, silt and rust. They can remove odours and colours and help to regulate mineral content. Ion filters remove heavy metals, chlorine and chemical contaminants. Active carbon and magnetic stones can balance the water PH level to alkaline and increase calcium ions. Some of them change ‘dead water’ to ‘live water’ through a process of ionisation.
A good filter will also reduce the ‘cluster size’ of water molecules. Tap water ordinarily has clusters of 10 to 13 molecules per cluster and reducing this size gives water improved hydrating qualities because the clusters can permeate into the human body and have better solvent ability. Infrared technology is used to reduce the size of molecular clusters and increase the dissolved oxygen content in water.
One problem with filters is that they can over-purify water and remove desirable micro-minerals or trace elements including iron, cobalt, chromium, copper, iodine, manganese, selenium, zinc, and molybdenum. These are dietary minerals needed by the human body in very small quantities (generally less than 100mg/day). Water is a good source for these. Losing minerals through drinking over-purified water increases the risk of degenerative diseases associated with premature aging, such as:
A healthy human body has a normal blood pH level of 7.3 to 7.5. Tap water is often around pH 6, which is acidic. Ideally, water for the human body should be slightly alkaline and this requires minerals such as Calcium, Sodium, Magnesium and Potassium. Bottled water will often contain acidic minerals such as Chlorine, Sulphur and Phosphor.
Many health care practitioners endorse the theory that aging and disease within the human body is due to the accumulation of acid waste. The toxic Western diet of over-processed junk foods and our culture of stress certainly lead to this. Detox regimes using diet in harmony with special waters are becoming a popular trend. In the West we tend to drink too little water to flush our systems, the recommended amount is about 2 litres a day, if you can find a source without taint.
There are many ‘miracle cures’ associated with water. In ancient times local springs often had specific healing qualities associated with them, a variant local to me being ‘Bodmin Eye Water’. Healing waters are found all over the world. Famous ones include Tlacote in Mexico, Nordenau in Germany, Nadana in India and Lourdes in France. According to some sources these waters have an effect because they contain active hydrogen. As this evaporates almost immediately people need to visit these sites for their treatments because the treatment can’t be bottled.
Dr. Masaru Emoto in his book ‘The Hidden Messages in Water’ attributes even more important qualities to water. His water crystal photographs and theories on resonance concerning water give this universal medium an even more important role in creating and maintaining health. It seems typical of the early 21st century that just as we are discovering the ‘magical’ qualities of water, we are also polluting all our supplies at a global level.
Water is also an energy issue. Plainly it is ridiculous to pay water companies to dispose of the water that lands on our roofs, and then pay them for a supply to our homes. With the unpredictability of global warming, no home should be without water butts to conserve water for the garden at least. With a little ingenuity this water can also be used to run toilet-flushing systems and for showers.
Home-based filtration systems for drinking water are available but seem expensive. It is a little dangerous to make your own due to the variety of contaminants found in even in rainwater (and its storage), but the technology and information levels for DIY are improving.
Other sources of water exist, such as that from melting icecaps, icebergs or from treated seawater but the technology for reclamation is expensive at the level of an individual home. Air to water technologies convert atmospheric water into potable water. Because the moisture is already in the air it does not contain the contaminants associated with ground water – the cleaner the water is going into the machine the less you have to rely on filtration methods.
Added to this is the thorny issue of Fluoride in water and its side effects. It is already present in water in the United States but until recently has not been used in Europe. Although, as I write, only about 10% of water in the UK has added fluoride, there are discussions afoot to add it to all water in a mass medication of the UK population.
Don’t even get me started on the effect of the Fukushima incident in Japan flooding all of our oceans with irradiated water!