Think Before You Drink (bottled water)

Over half of the inhabitants of Fiji do not have access to clean drinking water, yet the Fiji factory makes about a million bottles a day to be purchased in other countries for a premium price. 1/6th of the world's population doesn't have clean water to drink. Thousands of people die every day from diseases contracted from tainted drinking water. The corporations that make billions of dollars every year from selling bottled water want us to think it's a healthy choice, and better than tap water (or other municipal sources). The truth is, it's incredibly expensive, not to mention unhealthy for us, and terrible for our environment.

Last week, I received a brochure from my city's water department detailing the quality of the municipal water in my area. You'll never get a similar report from the bottled water companies. Municipal water is inspected frequently by the EPA and must meet its standards. Bottled water is controlled by the FDA, but most is not transported between states, which exempts it from FDA regulation. Even when it is, the testing is less rigorous and the standards are not as high as for tap water. For more information, check the startling charts on the NDRC's site, including EPA tap water/FDA bottled water rules, comparison of standards, and monitored contaminants.

It seems there is a large choice when you see the varieties of bottled water offered for sale, but the truth is that Pepsi, Coke, and Nestle own more than half of them (including the largest 2, Aquafina and Dasani, which are nothing more than purified municipal water). At least those 2 save oil, they start as municipal water and don't need to be transported far. Half of the wholesale cost of bottled water that must be transported, like spring water, is spent on transportation. It takes millions of gallons of oil every year to make plastic bottles, and even more oil to transport bottled water. Water is so heavy, you cannot fill an 18-wheeler truck with it, you must leave empty space.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used to make plastic bottles that has been shown to harm reproductive development in animals. In humans, it has been linked to heart disease, diabetes, chemotherapy resistance, and a whole wealth of other problems. A recent study from the Harvard School of Public Health showed a 2/3 increase in BPA found in subject urine that used plastic bottles for a week. They used cold drinks; if the plastic bottle is heated the amount of BPA is higher. This does not only apply to disposable containers, but some baby bottles and other polycarbonate products.

Buying bottled water is like throwing away your money. Actually it's worse than throwing away your money, you're giving it to huge corporations. Water is extremely cheap. Most of the money you pay for a bottle of water goes toward paying for the bottle. Municipal water like tap or well costs, at the most, a few cents per gallon. Assuming you get a 20oz bottle of water at the vending machine for $1, that's 5 cents per ounce, or $6.40/gallon. Where I live, gas is pretty expensive, but bottled water is 3 times the cost of gas here. The companies don't have to spend very much on advertising, either. Water practically sells itself, especially if you make it seem healthier than tap water. The bottled water industry is about half the size of the soda industry, but the advertising budget is only 15% of what they spend to market soda.

The bottles are recyclable, but most of them are thrown out. Plastic has a very slow rate of decay, and bottled water alone (not including sodas and other drinks) account for 1.5 million tons of plastic waste per year. I can't deny that bottled water is convenient. It's there, it's ready, you can just grab it and go. But is using a refillable container all that much of an inconvenience? My advice is buy a water filter and buy a stainless steel thermos. You can save money, help the environment, and it's better for your health.

Sources/further reading:

Message in a Bottle

Natural Resources Defense Council's Bottled Water Information

Five Reasons Not to Drink Bottled Water

Plastic Bottle Facts Make You Think Before You Drink

Thirst: A Documentary on the Corporatization of Water

5-Dimensional Discs and More

Let's all sit back and revel in the amazing things we are discovering these days. The future is shaping up to be pretty cool. Thanks, science!

'Five Dimensional' Discs With A Storage Capacity 2,000 Times That Of Current DVDs

New Memory Material May Hold Data For One Billion Years

Robot Scientist Becomes First Machine To Discover New Scientific Knowledge

Breakthrough In Quantum Control Of Light: Implications For Banking, Drug Design, And More

Scientists Engineer Cellular Circuits That Count Events

What Jesus Thinks of Gay People

If you're a Christian, you follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. You believe his message was good and true, and you live your life to please him. Right? Why then are so many Christians against homosexuals, when Jesus Christ never said anything about them? That's right, never does he mention them. He did say to love others and to not judge others.

Let's see what the King James version, the most widely used English Bible, has to say. Leviticus 18:22 says, "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination." Leviticus 20:13 says, "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them." Romans 1:26-17 says, "For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature. And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet."

If those verses make unquestionable law, then there are some laws we've been ignoring. We'd better repent and follow these laws, lest we be stricken down: Don't plant different crops in the same field (Lev 19:19), don't wear clothes made of mixed linen and wool (Lev 19:19), stay away from menstruating women (Lev 20:18, Ezekiel 18:5-6), don't wear clothes belonging to the opposite sex (Deut 22:5), women can't wear gold (1 Peter 3:3), men should have short hair and womens' hair should be long (1 Corinthians 11:14-15), the list goes on.

How can some laws be ignored, while others are upheld? Churches, like every human-run business, have agendas. If a Bible passage works for them, why then it's Divine Law. If it doesn't work for them, it must be a metaphor or outdated rule that doesn't fit in with our modern society. But who has the authority to say which laws are right and which ones are wrong? Your pastor? He's human too, flawed like all the rest of us. If you think you can decide which laws are good, I give you this verse: "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" (James 2:10).

I've heard the argument that being gay is a choice, and I cannot help but guffaw when I hear such absurdity. In our society, it's obvious that gays are persecuted. Why would someone choose to put themselves in a position where they'll be mocked, hurt, or even killed for their choice? Science tells us it's genetics and environmental factors (news video, medical article, science article). Some people says it's unnatural. Why then, does it occur quite often in nature? It is most definitely a natural occurrence (Wiki article, news article, NatGeo article).

So, to all the Christians that think gay people are going to hell...there are more Bible verses that tell you not to judge others, than there are about homosexuality. Therefore, my reasonable conclusion is you are way more likely to go to hell for judging someone than for being gay. Next time you want to use the Bible justify your dislike of homosexuals, remember that the KKK used the Bible to justify their beliefs, too. I think Jesus would tell you to love and accept all people, no matter their orientation, and leave the judging to God.

A Star with a Comet's Tail

A Star with a Comet's Tail

An older astronomy article, but very interesting. Mira, a dying star, is hurtling through space at 291,000mph, with a comet-like tail that is 13 light-years long. How long is 13 light-years? Why, it's "about 20,000 times the average distance of Pluto from the sun".

Of course if you check any kind of news, you know new telescopes are finding exoplanets. There's even crazier telescopes in the making, and I'm sure within the next few decades we'll know which of those exoplanets contain life. I wonder, will it still be in bacterial form? Will we be able to see actual creatures? It's all very exciting.

Have you ever heard the Christian anti-evolution argument about watches? The argument states a watch, with all of its gears and parts, is too complicated to self-assemble. There has to be a watchmaker. The world is also a complex place, so there must have been an earthmaker. You know, becuse the Earth is just like a watch. Of course the earth, with its living organisms, is nothing like a watch. The argument also points out that the earth is very unique that is contains life...these new telescopes are going to prove that "fact" is completely untrue.

Evolution Evidence: T-Rexes, Sea Lions

Just some more articles to further illustrate my claim that there is new evidence for evolution almost daily. If there is evidence for Christian Science being discovered, it's sure not being published by science sites. Let me reiterate that the theory of evolution doesn't say there is no god(s).


Tyrannosaur 'Missing Link' Among New Dinosaurs From China

Fossil Evidence Of Missing Link In The Origin Of Seals, Sea Lions, Walruses Found In Canadian Arctic

JPMorgan Chase posts better-than-expected profit

News article: JPMorgan Chase posts better-than-expected profit

Yeah and I know why, my credit card interest rate jumped from 14% to 28%. No warning, no notification. I understand though, that’s exactly what the banks need, more money. A few billion dollars free bailout money just ISN’T ENOUGH.

The problem with our society is, it will never be enough. The point of a corporation is to make profit. If you make less profit than you did the year before, why you must be doing something wrong. More more more, how much more do they need?

Banks really tick me off. Their overdraft fees and interest rates are crazy, and they really only affect the lower and middle classes. A rich person isn’t going to overdraw their account. A rich person doesn’t need to take out a loan to pay interest. No, a rich person will put their money in a CD or something similar, and let it sit there and collect interest…pretty much, they’re getting free money just for having money in the first place. Where does that free money come from? Our pockets, our interest rates, our overdraft fees. This has always seemed unfair to me, but even more so the last couple of years.

If at all possible, get your money OUT of Chase and other big banks. Use small banks if you can. We shouldn’t give our money to the richest people in America anymore.

Evolution's Impact On Ecosystems Shown Directly For First Time

Science article: Evolution's Impact On Ecosystems Shown Directly For First Time.

Biology article from Science Daily, a very interesting science news site. A few times per week, I see a new article that gives more evidence for evolution. It really bothers me that so many people in the US reject the theory of evolution so vehemently. Scientists are among the smartest people in the world, you can’t disagree with that. Why do so many reject most scientists believe to be true?

The theory of evolution does not say there is no God. Many Christians believe in God but accept the scientific theory. Here’s another article for you: Vatican says Evolution does not prove the non-existence of God. Of course I’m more on the side of Dawkins than the Church on this one, but at least they acknowledge evolution.