Make Your Chioice Tap Water or Bottle Water

On environmental science blog #7, I'm here to debate about what is better tap water or bottle water. I was to find out some information on my home city Annual Drinking Water to determine what water system my city uses (if it's an underground water system or municipal water system). What federal agency is in charge of the tap water or bottle water drinking standards, and which federal agency have the strictest criteria. Then gather what I had learned from my city Annual Drinking Water Support of safety on our health.

My home city is Riverside California, I went on Riverside Public Utilities http://www.riversideca.gov/utilities/water-wqr.asp known for the citizens whom pay bills of daily uses of water, electricity, and gas if your a Riversider. I found out Riverside California has an underground wells from Bunker Hill Basin (located in San Bernardino) and Riverside Basin. Riverside city's underground sources are fed by rain and snow falling in the San Bernardino Mountains and local foothills. A known fact is that Riverside Public Utilities are a completely independent underground water system constructed from facilities. This independence allows RPU to provide their customers with quality service at lower rates, as they are free from having to purchase higher-cost imported water supplies. Riverside Public Utilities main objective on their water service is to provide the highest quality drinking water that met or surpassed all state and federal water quality standards. There are some regulations or provided laws that the California Department of Public Health, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and RPU had or currently establishing to keep their water safe. Water Supply Plan: Designed to expand additional local water supplies in a cost effective, sustainable manner, and increase local water supplies. There are three important parts of Water Supply Plan, but can be noticed on the Riverside Public Utilities. The 2012 Annual Riverside Drinking Water, it mention about 17,600 water samples to test for a variety of potential containment, and all collected at the water resources ( along transmission pipelines, throughout the distribution system, including reservoirs, and booster stations, and treatments plants to ensure water quality from its source to the people meters.Riverside city water are tested by certified independent laboratories, and Riverside pays $600,000 towards these experts to test the satisfied water standards. RPU water sampling data are 5,762 samples collected to test for bacteria, 6,856 samples collected for source and system compliance and monitoring, 5,033 Samples collected for treatment plant compliance and monitoring, and 17,651 total samples collected.

Bottled = Tap

Through some research to figure out which is better to drink from bottled water or tap water, I found out that tap water is way more better. A Los Angeles Times article by Elena Conis dated from October 13 2008, Dr. Sarah Jannessen a scientist from the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco states "Bottled water is no way safer or purer than what comes out of tap". Bottle water actually comes from the same sources of lakes, springs, and aquifers. A great portion of bottled water are albeit filtered and treated with extra steps to improve taste. Even though tap water can taste funky by too much chlorine and look discolored by air bubbles or rust in pipes doesn't mean it's not safe water to drink. Environmental Public Agency states that tap water in the country does meet their drinking water standards, which regulates the level of roughly 90 different containment. The health concerns of containment are microbial, inorganic, pesticides and herbs, organic chemicals, radioactive, and lead. A lot of states like California are taking care of different contaminant health concerns. Bottle water does hold the same problems as water tap because they come from the same resources. 

The big difference between tap water and bottle water is how often each one test for containments. Large public water suppliers will test for contamints up to several times a day, but FDA will require private bottlers to test for containments once a week, once a year, once 4 years. Tap water suppliers face broader scrutiny because they're required by law to publish and circulate annual Consumer Confidence Report, which states sources of water and any containments found. FDA does not require this of bottled water makers and water bottling plants, such as visits are assigned low priority. Bottle water may not get lead from residential pipes, it holds PET and polythylene terephalate that are leached from plastic bottles.PET can release minuscule amounts of the toxic chemical antimony into water. They are below toxic levels, but microwaving a bottle, leaving it in the sun, or in the car of a hot day can accelerate the process. In addition, bottled water has not been vilified for its health risk, however environmental toll mass consumption (American have consumed 9 billion gallons in half of 2008) that's driving consumer back to the tap. Annually, 1 billion of water bottles are thrown out, 15% of billions of bottles consumed each year, and billions of bottles required 17 million barrels in oil. Bottle water are priced by the gallons single serve bottle is more expensive than even today's high priced gasoline all stated by several big know water companies like The Pacific Institute in Oakland and California Department of Conservation.              

     

       

Considering How Sustainable Riverside City College is Achieving

What is more green than the spring semester season? Finding out whether your college campus is really sustainable to be called a green campus.This is what my 5th blog will be discussing about, so I will let you know that I attend Riverside City College. Slowly and maturely, Riverside City College is becoming a sustainable campus. Here are some impacts that I see where Riverside City College is trying to make changes are in the cafeteria, garden area by the math and science building, the water fountain and grass area in front of the nursing building, and how the campus want to become a free smoking campus.In the cafeteria, the school have a poster telling students to think about what is really trash or recyclable items. Therefore, students  must decide what is really trash or recyclable among the poster that they see in front of them. I will admit that in some classes and buildings at RCC are quite strict on keeping their classes clean from drinks and snacks being inside their buildings. When I am in the math and science building, I see some tutors get mad about having the boards dirty after someone else leaves a finish problem on the board for awhile. In addition, Riverside City College makes the professors or tutors to supply their own makers or materials to class or a learning area. However, when you visit RCC you will still see some needs of improvement in being sustainable.

How to improve Riverside City College Sustainability

• Energy Usage: Riverside City College can improve in this area because we are consuming a lot of electricity around the campus such as the classes building, administration offices, student store, football stadium, baseball and softball field, parking lot, swimming pool, tennis court, walk way lights, and the cafeteria. The electricity we are consuming comes from a lot of technology being used at once. There are several ways we can definitely go around using these electricity usage on campus.
• Water Usage: This is another area of focus Riverside City College can concentrate on because there are still a lot of wasted water system going around on campus. For instance, in the cafeteria where the dishes are being washed over and over again each day from breakfast through the end of the day. There are several bathrooms and drinking fountains that are consuming a lot of water found at the Quad, Martin Luther King building, Math and Science building, Cafeteria, Business building, Music building, Theater building, Gym building, and finally around the fields or courts. Riverside Aquatic at RCC does use a lot of water in it's pool, and it is used for quite a few events. Riverside City College may use their water to keep their field green, and the campus grass, trees, bushes, and roses fresh. 
• Transportation Decision: Every professor, students, and staffs have a choice on how to get to Riverside City College. On each open days that the school is open, commuters have an impacts on whether keeping this campus sustainable or not sustainable. The choices may contain from is driving a car to school alone or carpooling, riding a bike, skateboarding, scootering, riding a motorcycle, walking, by the RTA bus, and either getting a family or friend to drop them off at RCC.
• Grounds: We already know that Riverside City College has a small garden by the Math and Science building. Water Fountain attraction and grass area in front of the nursing building. However, we need to keep count how much nature the school is actually using up instead of paving the surrounding area. Some counts must be consider on how many trees, bushes, types of plants, and other natural surrounding like sand, rocks, and grass sections.
• Waste Management/ Green Waste/ Recycling: Riverside City College must do better in our waste management, green waste, and recycling proper materials. For instance, our parking lots may have trash laying around the ground of our parking lots and campus grounds.This might be a lack of students properly throwing away their trash..The campus needs to consider what can be recycle through the campus such as all types of paper materials, cans and bottles, metal scrap, and whatever materials that are reusable. I actually learned that some grass you mowed can be used to help be nutrient for a lot of fruit trees. The grass really help the fruit trees grow, and would be nice to have at school.

Arizona State University More Green Than Dry

In order to focus on an assessment plan for Riverside City College, I wanted to figure out what other colleges have gone more sustainable. I went on the examine a college that I would have like to play football or wrestled for is the Arizona State University. The Sun Devils is an amazing campus to attend to for your education and for sports. This leads me to what a dry Arizona State University was able to come up to become a sustainable school. If there is one focus that I want Riverside City College follow to Arizona State University footsteps it will be to reduce our water usage. Arizona State University is definitely hotter temperature state than Southern California, so we can handle what they are achieving. ASU is committed to reduce their indoors and outdoor water consumption through technology and refined practice. One way they are trying is going through with is an installation of low flow water - fixtures around the campus dorms, bathrooms, and anywhere water is pumping. Water management had instituted on reducing the amount of water used in landscaping their campus. Two -third of campus is watered at night to prevent evaporation. Different types of plants on campus are being automated for a remaining senser-system, so it can get the proper amount of water. This will mean the plants will get water by an evaporation rate and current weather condition. I will now need to create an assessment plan, so first thing I will do is talk to my father's friend name General. He is a ground keeper for my main campus, and he can give me some ideas to go see whoever is in charger of the utilities. He will be an advisor for myself, so I can plan this water waste plan the right way.I will talk to professor Huff if her club will want to go along with a water waste control plan. This plan will benefit the campus on the long run because of how much money and water we will save. Employing someone for the labor is not that big of problem because General worry about it on his job. This plan should be measured for about a semester or half a semester for the soonest. We will just measure what it will take to have the plan accomplished by seeing if the dean of RCC will accept using less water on campus. It's simple our winter was by far the driest, and even Arizona State University a dryer campus than us is doing it already.