BREAKING NEWS: Forest Springs bottled water recalled due to possible contamination.
– The Saint Lucia Bureau of Standards (SLBS) wishes to advise the public that Forest Springs Bottled Water is being jointly recalled by the Saint Lucia Bureau of Standards and Forest Springs Ltd, due to concerns about possible contamination of the 1.5 litre size bottle of that product.
As a precaution the recall affects all Forest Springs Water which carries the best before date codes of 31927/04/18.
Customers are advised not to consume the affected products bearing the codes.
The company has instructed all outlets which carry the brand to remove the affected batch of water from their shelves as of Friday April 21st 2017.
Distribution of new batches of the bottled water has ceased until full inspection and certification by the Saint Lucia Bureau of Standards.
A preliminary investigation suggests a mechanical failure as the cause of the possible contamination of the water.
The company is working with the SLBS to determine the definitive cause of the problem.
Following this, immediate action will be taken to prevent its reoccurrence.
Once the SLBS’s assessment process is complete a full statement will be released to the public on the status of the company’s bottled water products.

Alexandria, VA – Actions that bottled water companies continue to take to reduce their environmental footprint are highlighted on Earth Day, the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) announced today. “We agree with the organizers of Earth Day that education is the foundation for progress, which is why IBWA is taking this opportunity to educate the public about the bottled water industry’s continued efforts to reduce the impact of its products and its dedication to protecting our environment and natural resources,” says Jill Culora, vice president of communications for IBWA. Some of these measures include: Lightweighting PET plastic packaging. With an average weight of 9.25 grams per 16.9 ounce single-serve container, bottled water uses one-third the amount of PET it takes to make soda and other drink containers, which need to be thicker due to carbonation and manufacturing processes and weigh, on average, 23.9 grams. Reducing water used in production facilities. On average, it takes only 1.32 liters of water i to produce 1 liter of finished bottled water (including the liter of water consumed). This is the lowest water-use ratio of any packaged beverage product. Using less energy. On average, only 0.24 mega joules of energy are used to produce 1 liter of bottle of water – the lowest amount compared to any packaged drink. Providing consumers with packaging that is 100 percent recyclable (even the caps). Entering into partnerships with stakeholders to educate consumers and increase recycling rates. Home and office delivery…

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport provides gateway refilling stations for water bottles.
(Thomas Ondrey, The Plain Dealer) Cleveland Hopkins International Airport CLEVELAND, Ohio – Passengers at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, blocked by regulations from carrying full water bottles through checkpoints, can now get free filtered water at bottle refilling stations once they’ve cleared security.
The glorified water fountains are intended to provide customers with a free alternative to buying bottled water, while at the same time reducing the number of plastic bottles used by consumers, the airport said.
Three others will be in place by the end of May, said airport spokeswoman Michele Dynia.
The additional filling stations will be located near Gate C8 across from the new Bar Symon and in each restroom in the Food Court.
Bottle-filing stations have been popping up at airports around the country as an answer to ratcheted up security put in place over time since Sept. 11, 2001, Dynia said.
Among airports that already have filling stations in place are Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Once through the checkpoint, they can fill the bottle for free rather than having to buy bottled water.
"It’s just another amenity we can offer," Dynia said.
At that pace, the four units planned for Hopkins could save the equivalent of 150,000 bottles per year, the airport noted in a news release.

Here are two to start with.
Stop buying bottled water In most places in the U.S. there is no difference between bottled water and tap water.
Bottled water takes five to 11 times more water to produce than the bottle holds, a waste of fresh water.
That doesn’t take into account the water it takes to make the plastic bottle (twice as much as the bottle’s volume) and the fuel to make the plastic and ship the filled bottles.
After you drink your bottled water you then have an empty plastic bottle with an estimated lifespan of 500 years.
Use reusable bags When the clerk asks, "paper or plastic?"
the best answer is neither.
Plastic bags are made from petroleum products, mainly oil, and no one knows for sure how long it will take for them to break down into tiny pieces.
The plastic will still be there, you just won’t be able to see it.
The verdict is still out on whether a reusable cloth or sturdy recycled plastic bag would be better for the environment but either would be preferable to using a bag once and throwing it away.

While Flint waits, Nestle pumps Michigan water on the cheap.
Why does Nestle get to make billions of dollars off of essentially free water while residents of Flint, Michigan, continue to wait for clean water?
“That is the question of the hour: Why is it essentially free?” says Liz Kirkwood, executive director of FLOW (For Love of Water), a Great Lakes water law and policy center.
“It’s because the state has not addressed the issue about bottled water.
In the state’s water withdrawal law of 2008, bottled water is an exception.
As more people lose trust in their local municipal water systems, the more people turn to bottled water, which becomes something of a self-fulfilling prophecy for water giants like Nestle.
“Nestle has indicated on their website that they have contributed to the Flint disaster by donating bottled water, but the rise of bottled water in this century is unprecedented.
It has a lot of deleterious effects, not only in eroding trust in public infrastructure but the whole ecological impact of using plastic, fossil-fuel-based bottles that end up in our landfills.” This isn’t the first time Nestle has landed itself in hot water over ground water.
Did you know that when you support PRI today, your contribution will be matched?
This matching challenge is made possible by the SC Group, whose charitable resources include FJC, a foundation of donor-advised funds.

10 Million Bottles of Life-Saving Water Delivered to Communities in Need by Nestlé Waters North America and Americares.
Tweet The cost of natural disasters worldwide could reach $314 billion annually by 2030, up from around $250 billion now, according to a 2016 report by the World Bank, which cites rising climate change as a key threat to cities around the globe.
Natural disasters, such as floods, tornadoes, and wildfires can quickly cut off access to basic, everyday needs.
Damage to infrastructure, as well as flooding, can contaminate drinking water supplies, not only inhibiting people’s ability to hydrate, but can also lead to sanitation issues and the spread of waterborne diseases.
Nestlé Waters North America has proudly partnered with the global non-profit for more than a decade to deliver nearly 10 million bottles of water to communities in crisis.
Our work with Americares allows us to deliver clean water to communities most in need,” said Nelson Switzer, Chief Sustainability Officer at Nestlé Waters North America, based in Stamford, CT. “We are incredibly proud of the people who work at Americares and the disaster relief support they provide to those in need.” This partnership began in the wake of the devastation brought by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, when Nestlé Waters donated 10 truckloads of water — as part of a larger 1.5 million-bottle donation to all responding disaster agencies — to help Americares bring vital relief to survivors in affected areas.
As Americares’ main partner for providing bottled water in the United States, Nestlé Waters has been able to make more than 300 shipments of bottled water to communities in need since 2004.
“Direct deliveries from Nestlé Waters’ warehouses save critical time during emergencies, ensuring families can quickly access one of the most urgently needed relief items,” said Randy Weiss, Corporate Relations Director for Americares, which is also based in Stamford.
About 100,000 families in Flint were affected by the crisis, including many low-income families whose access to a steady supply of bottled water could be financially out of reach.
Together, the organizations will continue to deliver much-needed bottled water to U.S. families and communities in need.

A Harrison County seventh-grader sought to get to the bottom of that question as part of his science fair project.
To start, Gavin offered a hypothesis: “If I test eight drinking water samples from various locations, then it will prove that bottled water would be the safest to drink over tap water.” He then tested for contaminants and metals.
Next, he separated his findings by tap water location and bottled water brand.
Study findings Surprisingly, Gavin found that within his sample set, it was actually safer to drink tap water over bottled water.
While neither his bottled water nor tap water samples are considered unsafe to drink, he learned that the pH levels in the bottled water he tested was lower than any of the tap water samples he looked at.
Bacteria are more likely to grow and spread in water with a lower pH level.
My science teacher (Patty Brooks) was surprised.” Harrison County Water Systems Manager David Perkins said he also found the results surprising.
“But based on the pH levels alone, his conclusion is a safe one to draw between the two.” Gavin wrote: “I can conclude after the tests, that bottled water is not the safest.
The product is often advertised as “pure” or the result of a “rigorous purification system,” leaving many to conclude the water is of a better quality than tap water.
Upon research, Gavin proved that’s not always the case.

How Airbnb can help communities.
I got a few ideas on how to address Airbnb’s main problem of disrupting communities while talking to a reporter about my post ("Airbnb is harming Amsterdam’s communities").
In most cases, this will happen via a home-owners association (it’s verenigingen van eigenaren or VVE in Dutch, meaning "association of owners").
The requirement for permission will force neighbors to agree on who, how and when Airbnb should be used.
In most cases, neighbors and guests will not interact, but the knowledge that they can see each others’ profiles and have each others’ contact information will make it easier to say hi and harder to be mean to each other.
The neighbors would then check the "I-approve-my-neighbor’s-participation" box and see who is coming when.
Neighbors who have bad experiences with guests (or their neighbor/host) could withdraw their permission at any time, for any reason.
Is this too much power to give neighbors?
Bottom Line A neighborhood is made of connections, rights and duties among its neighbors.
If it refuses to do so in a rush to make damaging profits, then Airbnb should be banned as an anti-social vandal.

Bottled water: Is it all the same?.
“People never tend to read water composition since we all know the importance of water and that a person can live 40 days without eating but never without drinking,” she said.
Each element in different brands of bottled water is important for the body, she adds.
According to Nadine, even though sodium in drinking water contributes only a small fraction of a person’s overall sodium intake, it is highly recommended to drink water low in sodium content.
“It is for nutrition’s best sake to choose water rich in calcium and magnesium but low in sodium.
Since our diet is very high in salt, it is recommended to drink water with sodium content lower than 20 mg/L.
Gulf News looked at the composition of six different brands of bottled waters sold in the UAE and found that each contained a certain level of sodium.
Most of them had sodium that was less 20mg/L.
Nadine recommended such volumes for those who want to reduce their sodium intakes.
Excess sodium consumption from eating a meal high in salt can increase the body’s water content which can show up on the scale, but the body sheds the excess over the next day or so as the sodium is excreted.

What is pH level?
Can water alone do it?
By staying hydrated and drinking a lot of water, the kidneys are able to excrete the acids better.
They will indirectly affect the buffering mechanisms of the body, and therefore also affect the body’s pH.
Once alkaline water enters your stomach, your body simply pours in greater amounts of acid to neutralize it, they say.
It is important to establish the difference between the acidity or alkalinity (pH level) of one’s body, meaning the pH of one’s blood, and the acidity of one’s stomach.
The human body’s acidity level (the acidity of the blood) is not, in any way, affected by the pH level of the stomach or the pH of what is eaten or drunk.
The following is how each buffering system gets rid of the excessive acid in a nutshell: • The lungs get rid of the acids by converting acid into Carbon Dioxide, which we simply breathe out • The kidneys combine the acids with Bicarbonate and excrete the excessive acids through the urine • The blood, which has high a concentration of proteins, combines them with the acids, and this keeps the pH in the normal range Is the human stomach in mainly an acidic environment as the gastric juices are acidic?
Hence, sparkling waters are mildly acidic (pH level is between 6-7).
Some bottled water brands in UAE and their pH and sodium levels