Bottled Water Effecting Kids' Teeth

Bottled Water May Boost Kids’ Tooth Decay, Dentists Say

By: JoNel Aleccia

Published on March 21^st, 2012 on msnbc.com

http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/21/10778671-bottled-water-may-boost-kids-tooth-decay-dentists-say?chromedomain=moms

 Picture: This picture shows the results from tests that scientists did on several different brands of water. The numbers show the fluoride amounts that each bottle contains.
 http://www.oralanswers.com/2011/08/bottled-water-fluoride/  

Summary: Dentists are finding that kids are starting to get cavities at very young ages. One of the main causes to this problem is the drinking of bottled water. Children need to provide their teeth with fluoride, so their teeth can become strong. Children should go to the dentist twice a year to receive a fluoride treatment, should brush their teeth with toothpaste containing fluoride and should also be receiving fluoride in the water that they drink. The problem with bottled water is the fluoride level. There is little or no fluoride in bottled water, while tap water has fluoride it in that can provide the needs of children’s teeth. The more bottled water a child drinks, the less fluoride the child will receive. Research also found that more than 65% of parents who give their children bottled water, do not know of the low levels of fluoride that it contains. Since so many parents are not aware of the problem with bottled water, more kids are getting cavities and are showing signs of tooth decay. The problem tends to be worse for kids in minority families because parents are more worried about the tap water being safe to drink. If parents think that their tap water is not safe for their children, then they will give their children bottled water. Since more kids in minority families are drinking bottled water, more of those kids are getting cavities. It also happens often in wealthy families because bottled water is expensive, so if the family has the money to buy bottled water and sports drinks, that contain sugar and no fluoride, the children will have high levels of tooth decay. Tooth decay and cavities can happen at a young age if children are not getting enough fluoride, so to help prevent unhealthy teeth children need to start drinking tap water, instead of bottled water when they are very young.

Opinion: I found this article very cool and interesting. I knew that bottled water was bad for the environment, but never knew that it could cause cavities and teeth decay. Bottled water is just not good all around. Overall, tap water is healthier and better for the environment. I know I drink at least two bottled waters a day. This article made me scared for the health of my teeth. I am going to start drinking tap water out of plastic water bottles. More people need to be informed of this problem, so that the cavity rate in children decreases. I was also surprised that the problem tends to occur more in kids in minority families and kids in wealthy families. I never would have thought of that, but the article makes a very valid point. This connects to my life because my whole family drinks bottled water. All of the children in my family play sports and before we head to practice we grab a bottle of water. I will try to switch my family to tap water, because my siblings are young and I do not want them to get cavities because they are not getting enough fluoride from the bottled water that we drink.

Questions:

1.   Do you drink bottled water or tap water? If you drink bottled water, will you switch to tap water after reading this article? Why or why not?

2.   How much fluoride does a teen your age need, to have healthy teeth? How much of that fluoride should come from water?

3.  Why doesn’t bottled water have enough fluoride to provide the needs of healthy teeth, in it?

4.  Can we increase the amount of fluoride in bottled water? How? 

This picture shows how close the erosion is to the "great highway"

Summary: San Francisco faces erosion that could cause harmful effects on the “great highway” a huge stretch of highway that is on the land side of the erosion. The main question many counties are asking are shall they try and artificially reconstruct the beach, or let Mother Nature take its course. Millions of dollars are at stake as officials decide what to do with the beach.  Ocean beach is a “hot spot” for erosion and even though it has been expanded many times, it still faces huge effects from the erosion.  The answer right now for the erosion is dumping tons of sand on the beach regularly, provided by the Army Corps of Engineers. The sand needs to be dumped so the waters are deep enough for the huge ships coming from the golden gate bridge can pass through. Another plan drafted for the issue of the erosion coming close to the "Great Highway" is to take the highway from four lanes to two lanes. Also the southern section of the highway would have to be closed, but this plan will take close to 30 million dollars.

Opinion: I have no idea how much of an issue erosion was in San Francisco. I only thought that erosion was on a small scale at the beaches all over the country. The amount of money and time put into keeping the Ocean Beach from disappearing completely is insane. The tons and tons of sand going into the beach can not be cheap. Plus if the highway has to be rerouted then that could cost another 30 million dollars. If I had to make the decison to keep saving the beach or let Mother Nature take its course I have no idea what I would do. That  is a really tough decsion to make.  

Questions

1. What would you do, keep saving the beach or let Mother Nature take its course?

2.

Water Quality/ Contamination

http://articles.cnn.com/2008-08-13/health/usc.india.water_1_drinking-water-unsafe-water-water-related-illnesses?_s=PM:HEALTH

This picture clearly portrays the condition of the contaminated water in India, and the quality of their drinking water that is given to people throughout India. It shows the pollution with trash and waste in the water that reaches some of the undeveloped countries.

           SUMMARY: It was found by the World Health Organization that 88% of the 1.8 million deaths that occur that are a result of diarrhea is caused by the quality, and hygiene of the drinking water. The horrible part is that in places like Hubli, India the population isn’t even aware of why there are so many sicknesses and deaths among them. The summer of 2008 was to be spent by the University of South California Hubli Water and Health team trying to create a plan to improve the conditions of the people impacted by the unsafe water and to decrease the number of deaths caused by this. From the University six students will be conducting a guided pilot project in the low developed area of S.M. Krishna Nagar. The teams goals are to employ close by students from college to take care of and monitor the accuracy of the water purification technology. The team plans to provide great purification systems that are not over peoples budget, trying to create a sense of importance. These six students also planned to spread the awareness of the water and the importance to drink purified water. The water source that is provided by the Hubli-Dhaward Municipal Corporation is said to be filtered, however sewage leaks and poor management makes the contaminated water reach homes of residents, which means even if the water looks clean it isn’t safe at all. The USC Hubli Water and Health Team has main concerns to spread the awareness of the issue of unsafe drinking water and educate, while providing sustainable improvements as well as a step toward purifying water in areas around.

         OPINION: This issue of water contamination is spread out throughout countries around the world and it’s absolutely horrible to think that some populations like in Hubli India, aren’t even aware of the issue and when they are harmed by the water they think it is caused by something else. This really scares me because I have relatives that live in India, and it concerns me to think about the water they may be drinking. Even though they live in pretty well and high developed parts in India, who knows what can happen. I think the government really needs to step in and create plans and ways of fixing this water contamination issues. After reading Jenna’s blog on prescription drugs contaminating water, I thought certain substances are the cause of contamination, however here the plain old water is even contaminated because of the lack of caring. I really hope people start to understand that they are taking our countries to a point where the next generation and our children will be scared to drink water and will question what the water will do to them. I am actually very concerned with this issue now, and hope to learn soon in class about the water we drink and its impacts so I know how to be more cautious.\

QUESTIONS
1)      Is there any way for our government to provide any equipment or technology that can help countries in India to develop better water purification systems?
2)      How many more serious impacts can this contaminated water have on people that can lead them to serious diseases? Why isn’t the government considering this?
3)   What places in India have pure clean drinking water that is not harmful to people, and can we use those same techniques used in places with clean water to help out under developed communities advance?
4)   Is there any treatment or medication available to cure any diseases caused by unsafe drinking water?

Coral Reef Bleaching

Extreme Heat Bleaches Coral, and Threat Is Seen

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/science/earth/21coral.html

Picture: This photo shows coral that has been bleached under extreme stress.

Summary: Extreme heat has put coral reefs under extreme stress, which gives scientists fear that there will be widespread die-offs. From these die-offs, even the richest ecosystems and fisheries that feed people will become greatly endangered. In 2010, coral from all over the world reacted to heat stress the same way - by bleaching, which is shedding their color and going into “survival mode”. Scientist hoped that 2010 would not be as bad as 1998, when approximately 16 percent of the world’s shallow-water reefs died. Scientist say bleaching is linked to climate change; they have warned for years that the highly excessive heat sensitive corals would serve as an early indicator of the distress on this planet from greenhouse gases. Although coral reefs only occupy a small fraction of the sea, they are called the “rain forests of the sea”, housing a quarter of all marine species. During the 1983 El Niño, there were drastic die-offs of coral; 2010 was an El Niño year. Clearly, natural weather variability plays a role in the overheating of the reefs, but scientists cannot, by itself, explain what has become a recurring phenomenon. 

Opinion: I never knew coral reefs bleach themselves under extreme heat stress. It is sad how the coral can serve as an indicator of what greenhouse gases have done to this planet. So many coral reefs have already died out because of the heat, and I have no doubts that more will die off in the future. However, I find it interesting how the coral reacts to heat. Shedding their color and going into “survival mode” is a very strange way of reacting to the heat. What the coral does reminds me of the science section on adaptations. I would relate the coral’s reaction to a behavioral adaptation, since it is reacting a certain way when faced with an outside force. 

Questions:

1) Is there a particular reason why the coral sheds its color under extreme stress?

2) Are there other things that stress out the coral that make them shed their color? If so, what, and why?

3) How many coral reefs have died because of the issue of bleaching?

4) Why are corals so heat sensitive?

-Angela Mei

Prescription Drugs Being Found in Drinking Water

 

This picture basically shows what people might take in when they drink contaminated water.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,336286,00.html

Summary: Recent studies have found traces of prescription drugs in drinking water. When people take medication, some of the medication is absorbed in their bodies while the rest goes into their waste. When the waste gets filtered, not all of the medication is cleaned out. Thus the medication appears in the water that we drink. This is becoming a major issue in the world because scientists are afraid that the long-term consequences will affect the human health. The saddest thing about this problem is that “the federal government doesn’t require any testing and hasn’t set safety limits for drugs in water.” If people do not start caring about this issue, human embryonic kidney cells, blood cells and breast cancer cells can be affected. Besides humans, wildlife can be affected too. Pharmaceuticals were found in wildlife waterways all around the nation and globe. One way the water is hurting wildlife species is making male fish become feminized by creating egg yolk proteins that are usually found in females. Prescription drug drink water is hurting our precious ecosystem.
Opinion: After reading this article, I was surprised that traces of prescription drugs were found in drinking water. I was also really surprise when I read that the federal government doesn’t really care about this issue. They need to realize that this is serious problem in the long run. Many humans and wildlife species can become hurt or even die from taking in this contaminated water for over a period of time. We as a global community need to help end this problem by getting filters that are able to clean out the leftovers of prescription drugs. We also need to be careful with what we drink and how we can prevent the prescription drugs from going into the wildlife waterways. This problem should be solved in the near future or we might not have a future.
Questions:

1.      How can we prevent prescription drugs from getting into wildlife waterways?

2.      What are some other long term consequences?

3.      How can we get the federal government more involved?

Humans Impacting Water Cycle

HOW HUMANS DIRECTLY DISRUPT THE WATER CYCLE/HOW HUMANS INDIRECTLY DISRUPT THE WATER CYCLE

http://worldsavvy.org/monitor/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=717&Itemid=1205

PICTURE
This picture shows how humans impact 
the water cycle in a negative way through
 factors like pollution

SUMMARY
Humans have been and continue on disrupting the water cycle in various ways. One of the main ways is through pollution. The toxins harm water in all its forms of water, liquid and gas, and even when it returns to the phase of freshwater the quality is usually not at its best. Depletion of aquifiers, in other words underground water, is another cause of disruption. There is an over extraction and process of drilling to recieve freshwater. Annual rainfall and melting of snow packs are rechargers for aquifiers, however the pace that humans are using it at is too fast paced for the aquifiers to replenish. Because of this, there is a lesser amount of water in the underground lakes that used to be abundant. Also, damming of rivers and streams impeded the water flow, which harms fish and other organisms. Humans have also urbanized/industrialized our environments which has had impacts on the natural water cycle. Soils have been replaced with cements, trees that control water runoff have been removed, and they have caused a lack of water resources for human activities. Our species has impacted the water cycle negatively and indirectly by causing global warming. Global warming leads to melting snow changes, rises in sea levels, climate change to warmer temperatures and weather patterns have been altered. Just by adding to global warming we are indirectly but still disrupting the water cycle every day. 


OPINION/REFLECTION
It is truly shocking to see the number of ways we alter the water cycle which usually doesn't end up with good results. We are slowly creating a shortage of water resources and sooner or later we might lead up to point where we will end up questioning the quality of our daily water that we drink. The water cycle is a natural factor, so I never really thought about humans even being able to impact the cycle. However, after reading this article, I realized that our society disrupts the water cycle everyday by doing simple things like building sites, and extracting water from underground. I believe we should try to conserve our water and let the water cycle run the way it is supposed to be without being a nuisance, which will ensure that our water is plenty and high quality.


QUESTIONS


1) Is there an effective way to get necessary water from underground without causing disturbances?


2) What can society do other than using up too much of water to let the water cycle run naturally?


3) How many other ways do humans impact the water cycle on a daily basis that we don't even think about or realize?


4) If we keep disrupting the water cycle, will it ever get to a point where it won't go through the cycle like normal and cause issues?


5) Are there any organizations that run to preserve natural cycles on Earth?