Posts Tagged ‘water’

Plastic water filters and BPA

Friday, October 29th, 2010

When it comes to drinking water, my first choice would always be to drink clean, fresh water straight from the ground like I was able to growing up in Connecticut. But unfortnuately that option doesn’t exist in most cities, nor is it an option here in San Diego.

Being that I try to minimize my use of plastics and use local resources when I can, I’ve always believed that local tap water is the next best option, as opposed to bottled water from who knows where. I’ve also had this belief validated when I read the articles that address the fact that the bottled water industry is largely unregulated. But of course it’s also pretty well known that tap water quality in most municipalities is loaded with traces of chemicals and pollutants, even pharmaceuticals.

So where does that leave me? Well, I’ve used a Pur water filter for about the past […]

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Clean water should be taken more seriously

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
Fresh water stream

Photo credit: makelessnoise

The other day I saw an article about big city water ratings in the United States, and it really got me thinking how sad it is that clean, fresh water is so hard to find. The article was brought to my attention at a good time, as just the other day I watched a program on the History Channel (I think) that spoke of the deterioration of the public infrastructure here in this country. This show was more broad in its content than just public water, but in addition to describing how the public water infrastructure is badly in need of repair, it also described roads, bridges and highway systems that are also in need of repair and in some cases close to failing.

In the article, San Diego -my current city of residence- was ranked 91 out of 100 […]

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City of San Diego tells us to conservere water, then they waste it

Saturday, September 5th, 2009

I’m not sure how to feel about this whole water conservation effort here in San Diego. I’ve seen quite a few glaring contradictions lately that would seem to indicate to me that although they are telling us how to use our water, they aren’t doing the same at the public level. Of course San Diego is a big city, and I can’t expect them to know how every public water user is managing their water, but I would hope they would make their best effort to do so, being that they are running ads with the slogan “Waste no Water”.

A few weeks ago, the ball park at the Rec Center near my house was watering at 11:30 AM, which is prohibited under the new water usage restrictions which prohibit outdoor watering between 10AM and 6PM. Maybe it’s just me, but being that the rec centers are run […]

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San Diego drought tolerant landscaping

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
San Diego drought tolerant landscaping

Image credit: Letz Design

I figured I’d share interesting article about drought tolerant landscaping, known as Xeriscaping, that I found via my Ode Magazine Newsletter. It’s especially relevant since I live in San Diego at a house with a lawn that uses irrigation. It’s not very detailed about specific plants that can be used for making changes, but it is definitely food for thought.

View article here: Yanking out lawns saves water and money

Interesting side note: I started thinking about writing this post the other day while at work. Ironically, as I was pondering drought tolerant landscapes and the water shortages and new water rationing rules here in San Diego, I looked out the window into Petco Park to see them watering the dirt in preparation for the night’s baseball game. My office is located in such […]

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Water Conservation – A letter to the city

Friday, January 2nd, 2009

A few weeks ago, while driving into work in the rain, I noticed that the sprinklers on the side of the freeway were on. Not only is this ridiculous, but it is especially ridiculous being that San Diego is basically a desert with very little of its own water supplies, and the city has recently said that unless water usage is decreased soon we will have mandatory water rationing. So I decided to write a little letter to the mayor’s office. Here is is:

Hello Mayor Sanders,

I have read in the past months of your efforts at promoting water conservation in the city. Also, I had seen that you declared a water shortage emergency this past summer which called for residents to voluntarily cut back there usage or face mandatory cutbacks later on.

I am writing because I would like to see the city take further initiative […]

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