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October 2008
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watermatters Store Opening Celebration – You’re Invited!
Tuesday, October 28th, 2008Join us for the grand opening celebration of watermatters new store
and for chances to win valuable water filtration systems for your home.Thursday, November 6, 2008
11am – 8pm– Refreshments
– Doorprizes
– Info about your water2539 Laurel St
one block east of Oak
between Broadway and 10th Ave -
Study Spotlights THMs in Bottled Water
Sunday, October 19th, 2008A newly released U.S. study has just confirmed that contaminants often found in tap water are also present in some leading brands of bottled water.
Thirty-eight contaminants including bacteria, caffeine, pharmaceuticals, fertilizer, solvents, chemicals for making plastics and a radioactive element (strontium) were found in tests on 10 top of bottled water brands.
Triahalomethanes (or THMs), also known as chlorinated by-products, are chemical compounds that result from adding chlorine to water.
These compounds are know to be carcinogenic. They were found in the Sam’s Choice brand sold by Wal-Mart at levels exceeding California’s standard for safe drinking water.
The variation in standards for THMs reveals the uncertainty in the scientific and political communities of safety thresholds for chemical compounds. Typically, industry interests assert high safety levels while new research finds catastrophic health effects at minute levels of exposure.
California has admirably stringent drinking water standards and sets its limit for THMs at 10 parts per billion or less. By contrast, the US federal limit for THMs is 80 parts per billion.
Health Canada sets our maximum acceptable concentration for trihalomethanes (THMs) in drinking water at 100 parts per billion!
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Canada to Ban Bisphenol A as Toxic
Saturday, October 18th, 2008The Canadian government has just proposed that bisphenol A be declared a toxic substance and is expected to ban its use in Canada, effective January 2009.
“It is concluded that bisphenol A be considered as a substance that may be entering the environment in a quantity or concentration or under conditions that constitute or may constitute a danger in Canada to human life or health,” said officials from Health Canada and Environment Canada on October 17, 2008.
Bisphenol A, also known as BPA, is a chemical found in the plastic used to line food cans, water bottles and baby bottles, and consumer products like CDs.
Human studies have recently provided new data substantiating that exposure to BPA is linked to toxicity and metabolic alterations, heart disease, diabetes and liver problems. It is considered to be especially risky for infants and fetuses.
Meanwhile, industry groups, like the American Chemistry Council who represent plastic makers, continue to argue that common levels of exposure to BPA are not a significant health concern.
All Canadians now have 60 days to let the federal government know what they think before it moves to legally declare BPA as toxic.
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New Study Affirms BPA Link to Serious Health Problems
Sunday, October 5th, 2008The first large study of Bisphenol A exposure in humans affirms that it is linked to higher rates of heart disease, diabetes and liver abnormalities.
This important new study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on September 16, 2008 by a team of British and American scientists. The report is based on their research carried out on 1455 men and women.
Despite the fact that this controversial chemical has been the subject of more than 100 studies that have linked Bisphenol A exposure to health effects in animals, the FDA maintains that BPA is safe. This stance is largely based on two studies funded by the chemical industry!
Contrary to the FDA’s position on BPA, a report by another American federal agency, the National Toxicology Program, has found “some concern” that BPA may cause developmental problems in the brains and hormonal systems of children.
Bisphenol A is a basic component of epoxy resins and polycarbonate plastic. Epoxy resins are used to coat the inside of almost all food and beverage cans. Polycarbonate is used in the manufacture of household electronics, CDs and DVDs, and many household products including baby and water bottles.
One obvious precaution is to stop buying water bottled in plastic. There are safe, affordable and convenient alternatives!
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Must-See Film about Water Showing in Vancouver
Sunday, October 5th, 2008An excellent film about water will be showing in Vancouver this week.
The Vancouver International Film Festival is presentingBlue Gold: World Water Wars
“Wars of the future will be fought over water, not oil. There have indeed been many films made recently on what might very well be the hottest topic of our new century. This is likely the best of them. It is based on Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke’s call to arms Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of the World’s Water, and features eloquent testimonials from them as well as from the likes of the ever-admirable Vandana Shiva.
Directed by Sam Bozzo and executive produced by Mark Achbar (The Corporation), this incendiary film travels to a dozen countries to make explicit the connection between water and power. Witness the Bush Family buying up large sections of South America (Jenna Bush recently purchased an enormous parcel of land on the border between Brazil and Paraguay). Do they know something we don’t? The world’s largest underground aquifer sits beneath Brazil, and as Clarke points out, this area shows every indication of becoming “the next Middle East of the water wars.”
There are many jaw-droppers in this film, but it’s the cumulative power of the overall argument that is so impressive. From what exactly happens to a human body after seven days without water, to the fact that corporations have a clear disincentive in limiting pollution (making dirty water clean again requires people to pay for the process), it pulls no punches and is unafraid to name names. This is not a film without hope, however, and courage; witness people from Barlow (“My mother always said serious people have serious enemies.”) to South Korean farmers to Bolivian shoemakers, perfectly ordinary folk who’ve reared up and told those multinationals to go straight to hell.”
Thu, Oct 9th 7:15pm
Empire Granville 7Fri, Oct 10th 1:00pm
Empire Granville 7
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