Take Action! World Water Day!

“Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it. ”

— Lao Tzu

What does water mean to you? To myself having clean drinking and bathing water is not only essential but a luxury. I am astounded and saddened knowing that in our modern world there are over 2 billion people globally that do not have access to clean water. We need to take action and we can.

Add your voice to the conversation at https://www.worldwaterday.org/ and help shape forthcoming World Water Day campaigns, help bring awareness, and design action steps we can all take towards conservation, cleaning, and sharing our most precious resource.

Our last Masterclass Dr. Gary Lindner, outlined some actionable steps and water filtration products we can all use and share. You can watch that video here.

I encourage you to visit https://www.worldwaterday.org/ and join the global conversation, share on social media, and join the cause. No one should have to go thirsty or question the health of their drinking water.

Be Healthy by Choice

About Heather N. Abbott:

Heather is the COO at “Self Care Awakening.” Heather is an IIN Certified Health Coach. "I create a sacred space for you to become your best self."
Use the Contact/Book Appointment link to book a free consult.

Heather is a founding member of Ladies Leading Ladies a group dedicated to training and empowering current and future Wellness business leaders.

I am an independent Nikken consultant. I work with a team of consultants. I nurture client relationships. I love building new relationships. Let’s connect. I enjoy working from home.

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Put the H (healthy) in Your H₂O

““Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it.””

Water is Life.

March 22 is World Water Day.

World Water Day was first proposed in 1992 at the United Nations Conference for Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. It went into effect the following year and the first World Water Day was March 22nd, 1993

Each year a different theme is highlighted to bring awareness to water issues in several different areas. The day is used to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

The theme for World Water Day 2018 was “Nature for Water”, exploring nature-based solutions to the water challenges we face in the 21st century. In 2019, the theme was “Leaving no one behind” to emphasize that as a society, we cannot leave anyone behind as sustainable development progresses. The 2020 theme for World Water Day was “Nature and Climate Change”, which focused on the link between water and climate. This year’s theme is to answer the question, “What water means to you?”.

On this day we are all asked to “Take action, wherever you are and whatever you do on March 22, make it about water and what that means to you” For my part, and as a physiologist, water is life.

We are 65 to 70% water. It is essential for our existence and is vital to all physiological systems in our body. We need to maintain balance in our bodies, what we call homeostasis. To maintain a healthy body, we need to stay well hydrated with pure, healthy water the way nature intended.

We also need to Nurture the Nature of our planet to keep it in a state of balance and health or in other words, environmental homeostasis. Water is the most prevalent compound on earth and safeguarding this vital resource and awareness to act is the paramount goal of World Water Day. We must be diligent and make this part of our day-to-day activities and actions to help safeguard and improve our global water resources.

Here are few examples of simple actions that we can do to help with nurturing the earth’s water resources.

1.     Take shorter showers.

The average American showers about 6 times a week for an average time of 8.2 minutes, using 17.2 gallons of water. Over the span of a year, this uses 5,336 gallons of water. Multiply this number to account for the other 328 million Americans and you’ll find the nation uses about 1.8 trillion gallons of water a year showering.  This can be significantly reduced by shortening showers to 5 minutes.

2.     Meat-free Mondays.

National Geographic calculates the average hamburger takes about 630 gallons of water to produce. Both animals and their feed sources require water, which means the meat has an especially large water consumption footprint, with beef being the highest. By comparison, plants use far less water which is why many environmentalists encourage people to go meatless at least once a week. In fact, Meat-Free Mondays have even become a popular trend among celebrities, chefs, and health advocates as well. Each meatless meal saves nearly 133 gallons of water, so do your part by going meatless at least once a week.

3.     Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth and washing dishes.

On average, about two gallons of water flow from a faucet each minute—meaning you can save about three to four gallons of water per day by simply turning off the water while brushing your teeth. In addition, turn off the tap while doing other daily tasks such as shaving and washing dishes. These simple alterations add up, saving thousands of gallons of water each year by simply turning off the tap when you are not directly using it.

4.     Filter your water.

Filtering water in your home is one of the best things you can do to help address the water crisis. Not only do you get to enjoy clean, healthy water—but filtering your water at home prevents the need for practices such as “flushing”—in which people run cold tap water for several minutes before drinking it. This process has not only been found to be ineffective, but it also wastes a significant amount of water. Instead, reduce contaminants using a dedicated water filter.

Many people choose bottled water or water delivery services because they do not trust their tap water or they object to the taste or smell of tap water. A filter provides a great way to eliminate those issues at home without the need to buy bottled water. You can eliminate bottled water and enjoy healthy, great-tasting water at home for a fraction of the cost while also making an environmentally conscientious choice.

5.     Use your own water bottle.

Did you know that it takes at least twice as much water to produce a plastic water bottle as the amount of water contained in that bottle? Additionally, single-use, plastic water bottles take up to 1000 years to biodegrade and approximately 80% of these water bottles will end up in our landfills and oceans. The manufacture and distribution of single plastic water bottles are also a significant source of carbon emissions. Any way you look at it, bottling water is a tremendous waste as far as resources and a major contributor to the pollution of our planet and wasteful of our most essential nutrient, Water.

Rather than relying on single-use plastic bottles which wastewater in production and have huge environmental impacts, use a reusable water bottle to do your part and help the planet. Filter your water at home and use your favorite bottle of choice or use a water bottle with a built-in filter to reduce contaminants and provide pure, healthy water on the go.

The solution to our global water issues and the plastic pollution of our planet is very complex and people often wonder what they can do as individuals to make a positive impact. One thing we all can do is not to contribute to landfills by filtering tap water rather than purchasing bottled water. In recent blogs, we have talked about the pollution problem with bottled water and about how to choose a water filtration system.

Filtering our tap water is convenient, cost-effective, and the best way to provide ourselves and our families with healthy water. Our personal choice for water filtration is the Nikken Waterfall. Imagine if we could create fresh spring water in our own home or office? This is the strategy behind the Nikken Waterfall.  The Nikken Waterfall System is an advanced, technically sophisticated, well-designed countertop home filtration system that converts tap water into fresh spring-like water. It’s as if Mother Nature poured you a glass of water.

For water on the go, the Nikken PiMag Sport Bottle is an excellent choice. Fill from any water fountain or tap and enjoy fresh spring-like water anywhere municipally treated water is available. The PiMag Sport Bottle uses patented nan-filtration and is made from bio-degradable materials. One PiMag Sport Bottle can replace 1400 single-use plastic water bottles per year that pollute our planet and consume our natural resources.

The Solution that is a Healthy Choice for our Bodies and our Planet.                                             

Nikken considered fundamental aspects for its water systems including the application of the types of plastics used for water filtration and storage to provide clean healthy water free of pollutants found in bottled water and many other types of water filtration units. Equally important to our mission and philosophy is to reduce pollution by contributing to the reduction of the consumption of plastic bottles in the world. For more information read Environmentally Responsible Water Filtration.

 Be Healthy by Choice

Water Matters, Planet in Peril

Water Matters to People and the Planet

Today is World Water Day. On March 22nd every year, is about focusing attention on the importance of water. The theme for World Water Day 2018 is ‘Nature for Water’ – exploring nature-based solutions to the water challenges we face in the 21st century.

On this day we are all asked to “Take action, wherever you are and whatever you do on March 22, make it about nature and water.” For my part, I will take a little break in our current Wellness Home Series and talk about the environmental impact and waste of natural resources that are the result of the bottled water industry.

The effect of plastic bottles on our environment has been documented and although we have an awareness of the problem it is getting worse not better. There are over 100 million plastic bottles used each day globally and nearly 80% of these end up in our landfills. This means that only 20% are recycled. Approximately 1500 bottles end up in landfills and the ocean every second accounting for 2 million tons of plastic bottles that are landfilled each year.  It takes 700 years before plastic bottles start to decompose and can take up to 1000 years to fully decompose. Virtually every piece of plastic that was ever made still exists in some shape or form (except for the small amount that has been incinerated).

Consumption of natural resources related to plastic water bottles is a major concern. Producing the bottles for American consumption required the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of oil and an additional 18 million barrels are used to transport bottled water. More energy is needed to fill the bottles with water at the factory, move it by truck, cool it in grocery stores or home refrigerators, and recover, recycle, or throw away the empty bottles. The Pacific Institute estimates that the total amount of energy embedded in our use of bottled water can be as high as the equivalent of filling a plastic bottle one quarter full of oil. Bottling water also wastes water, it takes three gallons of water to produce one gallon of bottled water.  Key environmental issues with bottled water, according to environmentalist David Suzuki, are waste and uncertainty over the long-term health effects created by plastic. "Not only does bottled water lead to unbelievable pollution…but plastic has chemicals in it. Plastics are ubiquitous. I don't believe that plastics are not involved in a great deal of the health problems that we face today."

Any way you look at it, bottling water is a tremendous waste as far as resources and a major contributor to the pollution of our planet and wasteful of our most essential nutrient, Water.

Just this week, a new study of 259 water bottles has found tiny pieces of plastic in more than 90 percent of them, prompting a review by the World Health Organization (WHO). As Graham Readfearn reports for the Guardian, the study was conducted by scientists at the State University of New York (SUNY) in Fredonia. Researchers analyzed water bottles from nine countries—the U.S., China, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Lebanon, Kenya and Thailand and found that 93 percent showed at least some sign of contamination from microplastics. Although stated that the consequences of ingesting microplastics are unknown, common sense would tell us they would not be good. Among the brands tested were: Aqua (Danone), Aquafina (PepsiCo), Bisleri (Bisleri International), Dasani (Coca-Cola), Epura (PepsiCo), Evian (Danone), Gerolsteiner (Gerolsteiner Brunnen), Minalba (Grupo Edson Queiroz), Nestlé Pure Life (Nestlé), San Pellegrino (Nestlé) and Wahaha (Hangzhou Wahaha Group).

As I have written before (The Body Burden) it is estimated that each one of us carry an average of over 200 toxic chemicals in our body. Everybody is being exposed to some degree at any given time from gestation through death to toxic chemicals from plastics. Plastic bottles are known to release harmful chemicals such as Bisphenol A (BPA). BPA is an industrial chemical that has been used to make certain plastics and resins since the 1960s. BPA is found in polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. Polycarbonate plastics are commonly used in containers that store food and beverages, such as water bottles. BPA is one of many man-made chemicals classified as endocrine disruptors, which alter the function of the endocrine system by mimicking the role of the body's natural hormones.

A study of 77 Harvard College students found one week of drinking water from polycarbonate bottles increased the levels of BPA in by two-thirds (1). This suggests that regular consumption of water from such bottles significantly increases exposure to BPA. Bio-monitoring by the Center for Disease Control and other studies have detected levels of bisphenol A in the urine of 95% of the adult population of the United States.  

Health problems associated with BPA’s include, overweight, early puberty, hypertension, ADHD, heart disease, liver failure, breast and prostate cancer to name a few.

One other contaminant that is associated with plastic bottled water is antimony. Antimony is a regulated contaminant that poses both acute and chronic health effects in drinking water. In small doses, antimony can cause nausea, dizziness and depression. In large doses, it can be fatal. The longer water is stored in plastic bottles and the higher the ambient storage temperature, the higher the concentration of a potentially harmful chemicals can be, a recent study states (2).

Given the environmental impact of bottled water, the potential health risks that we know of, and the potential for risks we may not be aware of warrants serious consideration as to your choice for water.

When we consume bottled water, we pay far too much for it in terms of expense, our health and the health of our planet. Skipping the bottle is one step toward Being Healthy by Choice.

Be Healthy by Choice, not by Chance