11 March 2008

Water, Water...Everywhere...
The MSM in Fort Wayne has been abuzz lately about what is being found in our drinking water. Now I don't know if this is being done to illicit some quasi-apocalyptic response in all the "Chicken Littles" out there or not. Maybe they just need some "scandalous" news to peek our curiosity and secure our attention for the next 30 seconds.
Whatever the reason, I find it amusing that all of a sudden, it's "big news".
Now anyone with more than a few synapses firing will already KNOW where our drinking water comes from, and what is being dumped into the areas we get that water from. And anyone with a TV and basic cable access will know something about water filtration/treatment plants.
Bottom line: Crap in - Clean out, right?
Well, not necessarily, according to some tree-huggers.
Seems we got us (another) drug problem...and it's in our (cue Bach's Tocatta & Fugue in D Minor)...drinking water!
(oh no, say it ain't so, Bob).
Sorry folks, but we got drugs in our tap water. You just name the medication, and it's IN there. There's no getting around it.
Kaopectate - it's IN there.
Meth - it's IN there.
Ex-Lax - it's IN there.
Viagra - it's IN there.
Cocaine - it's IN there.
And all you people that pee in the shower...yeah, that's IN there too.
Now before you go and start snorting out of the kitchen tap (or run screaming into the streets), hang on a minute. Yes, all those drugs are in the water. Then again, so is fecal matter, the aforementioned urine, other sundry organic by-products, bacteria out the wazoo, and a chemical laundry list that would almost fill up the periodic table.
Cool, huh?
But it's all basically purged, cleansed, expunged, deleted, and otherwise gotten rid of by the time we're wrapping our lips around that glass of H2O. Still, it makes for "good copy" when it comes to the MSM. "We don't know the LONG TERM effects of these substances in our drinking water." says one person. Considering the FDA sets real stringent standards when it comes to mass consumption of such a commodity as drinking water, one can only conclude that so far, we're doing pretty damn well.
Whatever trace substances that remain are of so miniscule an amount, that even long term exposure does no harm...it keeps getting recycled anyway (by us when we use the "facilties"), so that even WE don't hang onto it for any length of time (we NEVER "buy" beer...we RENT it). We must be doing OK.
Or are we?
It makes a good case for all the "conspiracy" theorists who would claim that our drinking water is being used by some covert branch of the government as a testbed to manipulate the populace. And that's the stuff which would make for some good science fiction.
Or would it?
Well, it "could" explain the reason we are seeing more bellicose attitudes and violence in our society. It "could" also explain the rise in sex offenders and pedophiles. It "could" also explain the rise in drug dependancy. Yeah, it "could" explain a lot. While others talk of GUN control, I always counter with PEOPLE control, and to be honest, what BETTER way to DO that than by "tainting" our drinking water.
As was satirized in the movie Dr Strangelove (1964), "Water is the last bastion when it comes to maintaining our bodily fluids, and nothing is more important, or sacred than our bodily fluids", so said Sterling Hayden's character (General Jack Ripper) who instigates a nuclear holocaust and then promptly shoots himself, when he thought his "bodily fluids" had been compromised.
In another movie, Wild In the Streets (1968), the young, newly-elected president (who is a Svengali-like rock star) adds "downers" to the water supply to control the "older" people (those over 30) and make them more "pliable", so that the youth can take over the nation.
And there are numerous other films and novels that speak to manipulation of the populace through drugs (Logan's Run and THX 1138 are two examples).
There are people worried that medications such as anti-depressants have long been in our water supplies. Well, I can tell you one thing, IF such substances are in there, they sure as hell ain't helping ME one damn bit, because I still am depressed (living down here), so all that crap in MY water sure isn't working. Maybe they should "up" the dosage? (Better still...let's add some anti-imflamatory ARTHRITIS meds in the old agua, hmm?) But this IS all theory, and I was playing "Devil's Advocate", right?
The human body NEEDS certain other elements to survive. We NEED iodine, magnesium, potassium, and many more JUST to maintain life. And it's in the water. Fluorine is in there to inhibit tooth decay...been there since the 60s.
But think of all the OTHER things dumped down the crappers and drains in homes across America. If you can imagine it, it's already been dumped , and has wound up in the water system. Doesn't matter if it's fertilizers, medications or illegal drugs...it's IN there.
We're drinking all that...and more...every day.
It's just in so few parts per million that it's relatively inconsequential. If it hasn't killed us by now, I wouldn't worry.
We freely enjoy (for a price) some of the CLEANEST water on the face of the planet that is NOT found in nature. We're not a babbling brook, or a verdant waterfall, but we manage quite well.
And we will continue to do so, compared to almost every other nation on the planet.
Not too shabby for a bunch of evolved primates, eh?
Bottoms UP, people!

2 comments:

Phil Marx said...

My water quality has varied wildly over the years. Originally, I thought it was just due to rusty pipes inside the house. But I've relaced nearly all the old pipes since I've been here, so that's not it.

A few years ago, I installed a water filter, in the basement, just past the main shut-off valve. It'll stay clear for a long time, then suddenly fill up with large and small chunks of sediment. I'ts an orge-brown color, so I still think it's probably rust, just coming from outside of the house.

I use bottled water now for drinking. The tap is okay for showers and even cooking, but I just get squeeming drinking it when it's not translucent.

Bob G. said...

I noticed that compared to Philly (and it's centuries-old piping) the water quality there (for me anyway) is better than here, although this city's water isn't too bad.

What I DO find curiously annoying is the mineral buildup in the toilets! Man, oh man, I've never seen such stuff in all my years of "using the facilities".

And those with well water have it even worse in many cases. My buddy's (late) father's place had water that reeked of rotten eggs! Tasted OK, but I kept thinking someone just farted...a lot.

Guess it's another crapshoot.
(no pun intended)

;)

B.G.