Online Education has an infographic that provides strong evidence against the popular belief that bottled water is healthier for you than tap water.  In reality, bottled water is just water and may not even be as clean and pure as drinking water from the tap.  In addition, the plastic this water comes in is just oil based trash that takes a thousand years to decompose!  Below are some interesting takeaways from the infographic:

                – “People in the US drink and discard more than half a billion bottles of water each week- enough bottles to circle the Earth 5 times”

                - ”Nearly 2.5 billion bottles of water a year are sold in New York alone—stacked up end to end, they’d reach the moon.”

                - ”Single-serve bottled water is the fastest growing beverage of choice in the United States.”

Although a bit dated, a report from Applied and Environmental Microbiology pertaining to Giardia and Cryptosporidium in filtered drinking water is still very relevant to your health.  Giardia  and Cryptosporidium are parasites that exist in rivers and lakes and cause intestinal illnesses in humans and animals.  In May 1993, an epidemic of intestinal illnesses occurred in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area.  It was discovered that these illnesses were caused by Cryptosporidium and, since then, nationwide attention has been brought to cryptosporidium and giardia in water supplies.  These parasites are very difficult to get rid of, especially for animals whose main sources of water are rivers and lakes.

The report details how Giardia cysts were detected in 17% of filtered drinking water samples taken from 66 surface water treatment plants in the U.S. and Canada and Cryptosporidium in 27%. Since it’s difficult to assure that your tap water is coming from a treatment plant that is in full compliance with the Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR), which was enacted primarily as a means of controlling waterborn diseases caused by parasites, then your best bet is to go with a water filter that can eliminate these parasites. 

Fortunately, New Wave Enviro’s Premium 10 Stage Drinking Water Filter removes micro-organisms such as cryptosporidium and giardia, and dozens of other lesser known organic contaminants.

Energy Times Magazine featured New Wave’s Double Wall Hot/Cold Insulated Stainless Steel Bottles in this year’s Holiday Gift Guide.  And what better time to buy these bottles!  With winter coming up, these bottles will maintain the perfect temperature for your hot chocolate and favorite soups.  These are excellent gifts for friends and loved ones too.

In case you missed New Wave at the recent Green Products Expo, here is a video of President Lee Archer spreading the green word and providing more information about New Wave’s product line at the event.  Very informative if you ask me!

Many people have just finished putting the final touches on their jack-o-lanterns, but it’s already time to break out the ski and snowboard gear from the storage unit. Winter has arrived extra early in some parts of US this year, and what better time to start getting excited about our US Ski and Snowboarding teams!  You can support this group of talented athletes by purchasing a Stainless Steel Drinking Water Bottle by New Wave Enviro. New Wave is proud to be the exclusive provider of Stainless Steel water bottles for the U.S. Ski and Snowboarding teams.

The U.S. Ski Team and U.S. Snowboarding are governed by the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, the national Olympic organization for skiing and snowboarding. The century-old organization manages year-round nationwide development and elite programs, including the national teams, in six distinctly different Olympic sports: alpine, cross country, freestyle, nordic combined, ski jumping and snowboarding, as well as two Adaptive sports – disabled alpine and disabled cross country. The USSA is based in Park City, Utah. For more information about the Teams, visit http://www.usskiteam.com orhttp://www.ussnowboarding.com.

American consumers are expected to spend $3.12 billion on candy, costumes, and various other ghastly goodies for this upcoming Halloween.  Everyone loves big piles of candy, but think about the big piles of empty, crumpled wrappers that build as we eat through our trick-or-treating stash.  Also don’t be surprised to see trash cans filled with one-time use Halloween costumes, a sight that may be more horrifying than the most gruesome Halloween outfit you saw the night before.  So why not go “Green” this Halloween?  Below are a few tips to put together an eco-friendly Halloween:

-Recycle old clothes into a one-of-a-kind costume.  Don’t forget to include such other items as old bedding or jewelry to add some spice to your personal costume.

-Use re-usable utensils and plates, especially if you plan on throwing a Halloween bash at your own home.

-Shop for pumpkins, apples and other seasonal items at your local farmers market.  Farmers markets sell vegetables that are grown locally, whereas vegetables sold at super markets may travel thousands of miles from farms to get there.

-Instead of using plastic bags or paper to collect trick-or-treat candy, use recyclable bags, or, of course, your own pillowcase.

Did you know that 7 million Americans become sick every year from contaminated drinking water?  This contamination, in some cases, can even be lethal.  Contamination of drinking water is due to old pipes and outdated water treatment facilities.  These alarming rates of water contamination are a call to filter all municipal water sources.

A recent study of 19 US cities has shown that public water supplies pose a risk to the citizens due to the poor conditions of the water infrastructure.  Much of the piping and water treatment facilities are using century old technology.  These old pipes leak and become contaminated with pollutants and bacteria and the old ages filtration systems often fail to remove pesticides, arsenic and other pollutants.  The amount of untreated sewage that enters the environment every year is enough to fill up the Empire State Building and the Madison Square Garden.

Along with these pollutants, a recent study has found that 41 million Americans are exposed to prescription drugs in our drinking water.  The levels of these prescription drugs is far below the prescribed dosages, but the long term effects of these drugs is still unknown.  Studies have found that this long term, low level exposure to prescription drugs has alarming effects on human cells and wildlife.  By using a New Wave Enviro Premium 10 Stage Drinking Water Filter, you can filter these contaminants out of your drinking water while saving money at the same time.

We recently gathered some reviews from our customers that were so positive we couldn’t help but share with our blog readers.  New Wave Enviro’s Stainless Steel food container provides an affordable alternative to plastic for food storage and lunch boxes. Constructed of 100 percent food-grade stainless steel, this container contains zero plastics and will not leach any chemicals or toxins into food. Additionally, the stainless steel is easy to clean and will not retain leftover food flavors from your last meal. Durable and leak proof, the container is designed to fit into your lunchbox and carry a sandwich, salad, or snack.  See the reviews below!

“My family has been using one for 6 months for daughter’s school snack. It gets thrown into her backpack, takes a beating and still looks new. I wipe it out daily and throw in dishwasher on Friday. Stainless feels high-quality, very thick and sturdy, has not dented yet.”

“Besides using my New Wave container for lunches and snacks, I freeze ready made hamburger and turkey burgers patties in them. It will hold a turkey theigh or a rib eye steak or two depending on thickness, and keeps them very well. I put a double layer of waxed papper in between so that I can remove one at a time. Sure beats putting them in plastic and they won’t fit in my glass freezer jars.”

“I got these containers for my children, 6 and 9, for school lunches. We all love them. They are easy to open. I don’t find the edge sharp at all. They are tight, light, the right size. Will purchase more! Thank you.”

“This has been one of my better “back to school” purchases. No more worries about lingering odors from forgotten items in lunch boxes. It holds plenty of food, and after months of daily dishwashings still looks new. Both my younger and older student think these boxes are cool.”

Also, make sure to check out New Wave’s new Tinted Stainless Steel Food Container with Divider!

It’s difficult to believe that we are highly susceptible to dehydration while skiing and snowshoeing, what with being in the presence of so much frozen H2O and all.   Not only are we losing fluids through vigorous activity on the slopes, but also by being at high altitude levels where less oxygen is available and our bodies are forced to work harder.

When dehydrated, exercise makes us fatigued more quickly.  I’m talking real fatigue, not just shortness of breath.   Dehydration compounded by the low vapor pressure of oxygen forces our blood chemistry to change, making it more acidic and harder to absorb what little oxygen is available.   Subsequently, altitude sickness or “acute mountain sickness” ensues, as we begin experiencing splitting headaches and nausea.  When the sickness is prolonged, we become afflicted with such life-threatening symptoms as pulminary edema (fluid in the lungs) and cerebral edema (swelling of the brain).

Sounds unpleasant, right?  Well, thankfully if we just stay hydrated, this whole aforementioned mess can be avoided.  Next time you prepare for a snow-filled adventure, make sure a New Wave Enviro water bottle is on your checklist.