Why worry about a little bit of water pollution?
Maybe you find it as ironic as I do that our former governor, Dirk Kempthorne, cut the budget for improving Idaho’s environment three times in his four-plus years before rising to the heights as a cabinet member for the U.S. Department of the Interior. That’s the federal department whose main responsibility is the conservation of our country’s natural resources.
I’m no scientist, but those who are tell me that water goes through a huge cycle, from rain to wells to oceans and rivers, to our food and drinks to raw sewer, and back to the clouds of the air. I’ve heard that we’re consuming the same water that was satisfying thirst as long as there have been human beings on the face of the earth.
Thaw a chunk of ice next time you’re in Alaska and you might come down with a pre-historic virus if you drink the cold run-off from ages ago.
The reality is that we don’t drink “pure” water. There are microscopic bits of “stuff” in the water we drink, things like the remains of the shells of sea creatures or deadly chemicals like arsenic or cyanide. Because we can measure these substances down to 1 or 2 parts per million, we can give a frightening list of harmful “stuff” in the water we drink. That’s why our water is treated by the city to purify it and keep the worst “stuff” out.
Sometimes poisons or disease-causing items do get through and make us sick. The government doesn’t like this to happen, and neither do the citizens of this country.
More on this later. Meanwhile, how about a glass of treated, filtered, “natural” water from your special dispenser?
