The Truth of Water – Answers

• 02Feb

  The Story of Stuff

  Conservation, Other No Comments

  This post isn’t directly related to water, but it’s related in a way.  Annie Leonard put together a website with a twenty minute video called “The Story of Stuff”.

  In this video she describes the how’s, why’s of our current environmental train wreck we call the planet earth.

  She does this with clarity and foresight, and in such a way to make it clear to everyone why this is happening and what we need to do to save ourselves.

  This applies to every resource, including water.

  Please, go check out the Story of Stuff and learn how to save the water, the resources, the planet and ourselves. It’ll be the best twenty minutes you’ve ever spent.

  

  Tags: The Story of Stuff

• 02Jan

  Why does water not burn?

  Other No Comments

  Mike from Salem writes:

  If water is composed of both Hydrogen and Oxygen, both explosive elements, why is water not only not explosive but fire retardant as well?

  Hi Mike, thanks for the question.

  That is a very good question.  That type of molecular chemistry is a bit out of my expertise, but I’ll answer it as to how I understand it.

  Hydrogen exists normally in what’s called a diatomic state.  That is, it likes to pair up with another hydrogen atom. In this state, it’s quite inert.

  However, when energy is added, such as a spark or a flame, the following happens:

  H2 —>(spark)—-> 2H

  H, or H* (* represents the excited state) is now an energetic and can react with a number of things.

  Then you add oxygen to this excited hydrogen, and the following happens:

  H* + O2 —> HO* + O*; O* + H2 —> HO* + H*; HO* + H2 —> H2O + H*

  As you can see the end result of these equations is more H* atoms. The H* atom will find more oxygen and repeat the cycle until all the immediate available hydrogen is used up.  This is a chain reaction and why hydrogen and oxygen burn.

  That reaction also produces water.  In the absence of a spark, H2 and O2 can produce water without any burning reactions like so:

  2 H2 + 02 = 2 H2O

  Water does not burn because the hydrogen and oxygen are bound together and must be separated first before the first reactions I showed you above can happen. In order to break those bonds, a lot of energy is required, much more than a spark or open flame is able to deliver.

  When you throw water on a flame then, it denies the flame oxygen and that is why it stops burning.

  I hope this answers your question.  If you would like further clarification or have another question please do not hesitate to contact me at any time

  

  Tags: chemistry of water, flammable, hydrogen, hydrogen oxygen reactions, oxygen, water

• 10Dec

  FLOW – The Film

  Conservation, Drinking Water, Other 1 Comment

  Water water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.  It may not feel like it now, to you and me. It may feel like water is cheap, and plentiful, and we’ll never run out. But nothing could be further from the truth.

  Water is the planets most precious resource, and we are running out of fresh water faster than the planet can replenish it.  As such, more and more people with power and authority are tightening their grip on this most precious recourse, at the cost of the people.

  Nobody knows this better than Irina Salina, who produced an award winning documentary on the topic. From the website:

  Irena Salina’s award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century – The World Water Crisis.

  Salina builds a case against the growing privatization of the world’s dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel.

  Interviews with scientists and activists intelligently reveal the rapidly building crisis, at both the global and human scale, and the film introduces many of the governmental and corporate culprits behind the water grab, while begging the question “CAN ANYONE REALLY OWN WATER?”

  Beyond identifying the problem, FLOW also gives viewers a look at the people and institutions providing practical solutions to the water crisis and those developing new technologies, which are fast becoming blueprints for a successful global and economic turnaround. – Source

  I urge all of you who are reading this to watch this movie. Check out Irina’s website, participate in her blog, and take action.

  People like Irina and others who speak out on the water crisis are speaking the truth. We all must take action to protect the resource for ourselves and future generations.  Please check out this movie, and do your part to help.

  

  

  Tags: Conservation, Flow the Film, water

• 05Nov

  Alkalie Water Makers – Are They Healthy?

  Drinking Water, Other, health No Comments

  Rick from Los Angeles Writes:

  Is it safe to drink large amounts of water supplemented with
  calcium in order for it to be made alkaline in alkaline water makers that
  seem to be very popular right now. I am concerned of over calcification of
  the kidneys and other organs susceptible to calcium overdoses

  Hi Rick, thank you for writing in.

  Just about anything that pops up as a popular fad is just that – a popular fad.  Municipal tap water is safe to drink and use for cooking without the addition of any carbonates or alkalies.  Water uptake is done in the intestine, and to get there it has to go through the your stomach acid to get there, bringing the pH down anyways.

  Generally speaking, most of these fad water makers are schemes and are built around shaky science that has not been properly corroborated by any reputable third parties.

  As far as dissolved minerals go, most municipal tap water sources have anything you’d need dissolved in them.  If the pH needs to be adjusted, any large first world water treatment plant will add that to their treatment process already.

  If you do feel that you are lacking vitamins or minerals, a good once a day vitamin supplement should have anything you’d need.

  If you do actually need additional nutritional supplements, then the only person who can and should properly help you with that is a qualified medical professional such as your doctor or a reputable nutritionist.

  To get to the science, or more aptly, the psuedo science of these alkalie machines, I’m going to refer you over to a chemist who runs a website called Aquascams.  He did an entire web page dedicated to these water machines, and he did a very good job explaining it too.  I can’t say it better than him, so please, take a look at his webpage ionized and alkalie water, and you’ll find out the science as to why these machines do nothing but take your money.

  I hope I’ve answered your questions. If you need any further clarifications, or have other questions, please do not hesitate to write in again.

  

  Tags: alkalie water, calcium, water machine scams

• 03Nov

  Water treatment for dry skin – is this for real?

  Other, health 1 Comment

  Patty from Syracuse, New York writes:

  I have seen commercials for “water treatment” that promises the end of dry skin & eczema & skin related issues…I have a salesman scheduled to come “test” our water & suggest what treatment is necessary. Any tips???

  Hi Patty. Thanks for writing in and excellent question!

  The best tip I can offer you is proceed with caution, remain skeptical, and take everything he says with a grain of salt.

  Salesmen testing water in private homes is not a new phenomenon.  I’ve taken calls at the municipality I work at by people – some almost in hysterics – who are convinced their municipally treated water will harm them by these salespeople, which is simply not true.

  What is new to me is water treatment for dry skin and other skin related problems.  I do not have any experience in these health related matters, so I consulted Web MD.  I came up with this article listing the causes of dry skin and skin related problems.  The only water related issue with dry skin and other problems referenced in this article has to do with the temperature of water, and the length of contact with water.  It does not refer anywhere as to the chemistry of potable drinking water affecting your skin in that way.

  Based on that article, I would say that this device you have seen advertised is nothing more than a flash in the pan trick to get you to spend your money.  If you do have skin problems, the only advice you should listen to is that of your qualified medical practitioner.

  The salesman who visits has only one goal: To sell you one or more of these machines.  He may do legitimate tests such as dropper tests for hardness or alkalinity.  He may even do a chlorine test with DPD reagent (which turns the water pink).  In my experience with other door to door salesmen, some have used testing bottles with some sort of reagent that turns the water black followed by an exclamation such as “look at that! I knew that would happen. That’s bad” with no explaination of what exactly happened.

  You may want to ask the salesman the science behind his claim.  Ask him which third party company (ies) has validated the machines effectiveness. Ask him what the patent number of the machine is.  A reputable salesperson will be able to answer these questions.  If he doesn’t know, don’t let him sell you a machine without adequate evidence it does work.  If he references a University study, a call to that university is not out of place, if it saves you hundreds of dollars that you don’t need to spend.

  You should also ask him for references.  If he’s going door to door and this truly is a mirical machine, he should have a stack of references in your area.

  I suspect all of his documentation will be internal to the company and all of the information will come in the form of glossy brochures featuring pictures of attractive people with perfect skin, with little or no hard scientific data this machine actually works.

  To wrap this up, I don’t believe that this machine is for real.  If you are having problems with your skin, the best person to see is your doctor or other medical practitioner.  He/she will be able to diagnose the true root of your problem and offer the most effective treatment.

  I hope this helped you. Don’t hesitate to write in again if you need further clarification or have other questions.

  

  Tags: salesmen, skin problems, water treatment

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