Filtered Water Dispenser

MSR offers options for clean water

admin — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 07:10:36 +0000

I want to purchase a water filter or water purifier to turn my day hikes into some overnight trips. I have been doing a lot of research but can’t seem to figure out which one I need. – Kane Delaney, Red Bank, N.J.
An interesting question: Generally, I think water filters are fine for North America. But there are indications that purifiers are in order – especially in areas that get a lot of human use.
Try these: Consider MSR’s easy to use HyperFlow Microfilter ($100), which lets you filter more than two quarts a minute yet still catch all those nasty cryptosporidia and giardia. Or try the Katadyn Hiker Pro ($80), a proven design that’s easy to use, effective and can be overhauled in the field if needed.
Beyond filters: I have no idea where the line is, but at some point – lots of hikers around and fairly still water would be my trigger point – you can do some after-the-fact purifying. MSR’s Sweetwater Purifier ($10/two fluid ounces) is a chlorine-based solution that is added to filtered water. It does affect water flavor some, but that can be hidden with powdered Gatorade or other mixes.
Anyway, water-purifying is largely a two-step process, so it’s no big deal to take the Sweetwater solution along as well as a filter. The exception is yet another MSR product – the MSR MIOX ($140). It uses an electrical charge (it requires batteries) and salt to make a solution that kills any bad stuff in water. It is not instant – cryptosporidia requires four hours of time before it’s officially dead. That means you will always wait four hours if you want to be “sure.” But the MIOX is compact and easy to use.

Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/03/21/1118063/msr-offers-options-for-clean-water.html#ixzz0j4klsdWo

Source:http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/03/21/1118063/msr-offers-options-for-clean-water.html

The Story of Bottled Water

admin — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 07:10:11 +0000

The makers of The Story of Stuff have a new video about the “manufactured demand” of expensive bottled water. (Xeni posted a teaser a couple of weeks ago.)

When Fiji water launched an ad campaign that made fun of Cleveland tap water, the city of Cleveland ran tests comparing its water to Fiji water. “These tests showed a glass of Fiji water is lower quality, it loses taste tests against Cleveland tap water, and costs thousands of times more. This story is typical of what happens when you bottled tap water against tap water.”

Personally, I filter my Los Angeles tap water because I don’t like the chlorinated taste.
Source:http://www.boingboing.net/2010/03/22/the-story-of-bottled-1.html

UN: Polluted water killing, sickening, millions

admin — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 07:09:44 +0000

Did you know that more people die from polluted water every year than from all forms of violence, including war? That’s what the UN reported a few days ago, in a study titled “Sick Water.” What can we do about it? One thing I am doing is spreading the word of the Potters for Peace water filter project.

In the 1990’s I had the great good fortune to do volunteer work in an earlier stage of this project in Nicaragua and Guatemala, guided by the late Ron Rivera, former International Coordinator of Potters for Peace.

Source:http://blogcritics.org/politics/article/un-polluted-water-killing-sickening-millions/