If You Drink Tap Water, You May Be Doing Drugs

This news story from yesterday probably got buried under all the coverage of collapsing economy, but it is of critical importance to everyone's health and well-being.

Recent testing prompted by an Associated Press article about trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in drinking water found that at least 46 million people are consuming trace amounts of drugs and hormones on a daily basis. These figures do not include the populations of an overwhelming majority of U.S. cities, including both New York and Los Angeles, which implies that the total could be significantly higher.

Although the effects of ingesting these chemicals are not clear, studies found these chemicals impair the workings of human cells in laboratories, as well as harming fish, frogs and other aquatic species.

Unfortunately, pharmaceutical drugs and artificial hormones don't seem to be on the EPA's list of dangerous contaminants.

Again, the full effects of consuming trace amounts of these substances is not yet known, but if you have any sort of endocrine system imbalance or you are having trouble conceiving a child, you (and your partner) should consider either purchasing a home water filtration system or drinking only bottled water.

And all of us should contact the candidates seeking to represent us in elections and let them know that safe drinking water is an issue that we will be voting on. Election time is the perfect time to get candidates to listen.

Don't give up on changing the world for the better.