Swallow this

Global warming is still often scoffed at and deemed a hoax. The irony of it all is there is a multi billion dollar hoax called Bottled Water that is adding to our overwhelming environmental problems yet has consumers so brainwashed they would rather pay for something that they can (for now) have for free.

Tap water in South Africa (as in many countries) is drinkable and ours is even said to be one of the best in the world. Despite this, people will still opt for the trendier bottled water, which is no healthier than what they can find at a tap. The massive irony here again is that this wasteful consumption is directly contributing to the degradation of out natural water supply.

The more bottled water you buy the more you are going to have to buy in the future as your trendy habit perpetuates the demise of our planet. Keep at it and one day you will pay more for it than anything else you put in your mouth. Some bottled water (aka tap water much of the time ) is already more expensive than petrol and fruit juices. If global warming leads to further pollution of our natural water (not to mention the glaciers disappearing), eventually everything you buy will cost more because tap water will not be safe to use in any product. You will not only be forced to drink bottled water but will incur the knock-on cost of every product that uses water. Imagine paying for ice by the cube at restaurants.

Besides opting for tap water, there are many ways to help protect the future of our water supply. If heavy metals are genuinely a problem in your water  add a filter to your tap or fridge, get a filter jug, or even a water cooler. Push for a ban on bottled water at your company or municipality.  All of these alternatives will contribute to breathing cleaner air and drinking cleaner tap water. Even just swapping to 5L bottles instead of hundreds of small bottles when there really are no other options (90% of plastic water bottles are not recycled and not even useful for reuse - PET1  ).

And when visiting trendy restaurants that push bottled water take a stand and ask for tap water! If you are gullible enough to think they are concerned about your health when refusing to serve tap water ask where the ice in your glass and food preparation water comes from. Pull the plug on the bottled water scam!

More articles related to this topic:

Pour the bottle watter trend down the drain

Bottled water makers in the hot seat

Bottled water: Causing global warming?

Thirst for bottled water may hurt the environment

Corporations replace bottled water with water coolers

Rain Gardens

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Making a compost bin - Home composting

"It takes a hundred years to grow just one inch of topsoil, but we lose 25 billion tons of it worldwide each year."

Making your own compost is really easy and doesn't take very long either. It benefits your garden by providing it with nutrient super-rich compost that enriches and boosts your plants. And its free!

All you need is a bin, a drill and some garden waste( like leaves, grass cuttings etc ) or newspaper and/or some dirt.

1. Get a new or used bin to suit your family size. In my household between 3 of us we use a bin about 80cm high that you can just about wrap your arms around. It takes between a month and 2 months to fill up. For more than 3 people who eat alot of home cooking it might be worth investing in 2 bins or a bigger bin.

2. Drill a few small holes at the bottom of the bin for aeration, and a few along the sides of the bin no bigger than the one in the picture.



3. Line the bottom of your bin with a shredded newspaper or leaves. Fill it about one eighth full and add a bit of soil if you have.


4. Your compost bin is ready! Now simply add your food scraps and start composting! DO NOT EVER add meat, fish or any derivatives of these to your compost bin. ONLY add plant materials ( fruit/vegetables/nuts), egg shells are ok but no dairy products. NO synthetic foods either (sweets, cakes, biscuits etc)

5. Its always good to give your compost a good stir every few days to speed up the process. Keep your bin in the shade so as not to dry out the contents. Also be sure to add soil on top of food scraps to prevent hoards of flies hanging out at your bin. If you don't have soil, grass cuttings or garden waste helps. Mixing it in also helps. Spray a bit of water to moisten the heap. This doesn't need to be done every time.


Cool links relating to this topic:

www.50simplethings.com/compost
ecocycle.org