Expressing Opinions

An Associated Press probe find drugs in the drinking water of 41 million Americans. I came across this article which opens by stating:

A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.

Of the 62 major water providers contacted only 28 tested the quality of their water, all due to the fact the federal government does not require testing and has not set safety limits for drugs in water. This is happening as scientists are finding the natural sources of most of the nation’s water supply, also are contaminated. Contamination by pharmaceuticals in the water supply is not only being found in the United States, but in most other regions of the world too. Japanese health officials have called for health impact studies after detecting drugs in drinking water at seven different sites.

The study closes by stating:

“We know we are being exposed to other people’s drugs through our drinking water, and that can’t be good,” says Dr. David Carpenter, who directs the Institute for Health and the Environment of the State University of New York at Albany.

This is nice to know but it does surprise me. Thank you for visiting Expressing Opinions.

If know you are polluting the environment by driving your car does not motivate you to do something, then how about money?

I like math and seeing how the numbers impact my world and the world around me. Everyone thinks the EPA estimate on the window of that new car means something. So let me introduced you to the Miles Per Dollar calculator, where you can calculate how many miles you can drive for each dollar of gasoline you consume. Better yet calculate in how much money you will by not driving to work and instead using alternative transportation.

Now after doing the math you will literally know how far your dollar is taking you.

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Most of us have heard about our carbon footprint and how it affects global warming. But do you really know what your carbon footprint is?

I located a calculator for you to see how much you are contributing to global warming or to see just how much those changes you are thinking about making will impact your carbon footprint. The EPA has the Personal Emissions Calculator for you to get an estimate of your personal or household greenhouse gas emissions resulting from your energy use and waste disposal.

It is a cool calculator and as you go along you can adjust your inputs to see how much those changes affect your carbon footprint. For instance, you can adjust the input on the miles you drive if you are thinking about reducing your dependency on your car by riding a bike or using public transportation to get to work. Give it a try, you will be amazed at how much little changes can make.

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Today a friend sent me a link on global warming. Now we have all heard about it and know it is an issue we should be addressing. But how important is it to you and your family? How important is it to the media outlets? Did you know the polar ice cap is melting at a record and alarming rate? The studies, which have been ongoing for some time are not geopolitically based, but based in science. From scientists who study and report on these changes not because they are making millions of dollars, but because they care about the world you, me, and their families live in. Yet nobody seems to be paying attention. Why?

Below is an image of a comparison of how much the polar cap has melted in recent years and is provided by NASA. If a picture is worth a thousand words then this should generate much more. What picture will your family be seeing in the coming years? To read more from NASA use this link to the news Record Sea Ice Minimum.

News runs in cycles and all the media outlets tend to put their spin on the same stories. If one reports on Brittney Spears, they all do. With advertising we are lucky to get 19 minutes of news in a 30 minute broadcast. How can that possibly cover all of the news we need to know about and who makes the choices as to what we hear or read in the various news sources? I certainly am not a journalist, but each week am going to post something about global warming, back it up with good resources and I hope you are interested.

Here are a two links on this subject.

* Newsweek - Arctic Meltdown
* Union of Concerned Scientist - Arctic Climate Imapct Assessment

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