by Fern Shaw | Jul 18, 2013 | Health and Hydration
It seems strange that water should be such a scarce resource when our planet is drenched in 326 million trillion gallons of the stuff. But it turns out that less than one-half of 1 percent of it is drinkable. Out of the rest, 98 percent is oceanic salt water and 1.5 percent remains locked up in icecaps and glaciers.
Between droughts, natural disasters and the large-scale redistribution of moisture threatened by climate change, the need for new sources of potable water grows with each passing day. Each year, the global population swells by another 85 million people, but worldwide demand for freshwater increases at twice the rate of population growth, doubling every 20 years or so. Throughout the world, our most vital resource is under stress from pollution, dam construction, wetland and riparian (meaning of, relating to, or situated on the banks of a river), ecosystem destruction, and depletion of groundwater aquifers, with poor and marginalised populations getting the worst of it.
So why can’t we convert seawater into drinking water? Actually, we can and we do. In fact, people have been making seawater drinkable at least as far back as the ancient Greeks. But when taken to the scale of cities, states and nations, purifying seawater has historically proven prohibitively expensive, especially when compared to tapping regional and local sources of freshwater. However, as advancing technology continues to drive costs down and freshwater continues to grow scarcer and more expensive, more cities are looking to seawater conversion as a way to meet this vital demand.
How and where is desalination used today?
Desalination has come a long way in the 2,400 years or so since people boiled salt water and collected the steam in sponges. Yet, the most widely used method is still based on the same principle: distillation. Essentially, distillation artificially mimics what occurs in nature: Heated water evaporates to become water vapour, leaving salts and impurities behind, and then condenses as it cools to fall as freshwater (aka rain). Distillation plants refine and speed up this process by applying artificial heating and cooling and by evaporating water under lower air and vapour pressure, which significantly reduces its boiling point. This method requires a great deal of energy, however, so distillation plants are often located alongside power plants, where waste heat is available to bring the water up to a volatile temperature.
Another method, reverse osmosis (RO) desalination, uses pressure to force water through filters, straining out other substances at the molecular level. Developed in the 1960s, the process became feasible on a commercial scale in the 1970s, ultimately replacing distillation as the method used in most new desalination facilities, in part because it requires less energy. Besides removing salt, both methods remove virtually every mineral and most biological or organic chemical compounds, producing water that is safe to drink.
As much as desalination has increased over the years, it is still just a drop in the bucket.
Of course, you lucky fish don’t need to resort to these rather extreme applications – all you need to do is visit us here , drop us an e-mail and no sponges, boilers (we have those too by the by) necessary; just a range of water coolers tailor-made to suit your requirements. We’ll be happy to guide you in the right choice of water cooler solutions using our oodles of experience.
So, really, step away from that manky sponge and make use of our expertise.
Excerpts from https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/oceanography/desalination.htm
by Fern Shaw | Jul 5, 2013 | Health and Hydration
Cereal. I personally have never been a fan. Bo-ringggg. The name itself conjures up an image of sleepy-eyed morning zombies sitting at the kitchen counter cud chewing their way through their morning repast.
I’ve always been more of the ‘Breakfast? Pah! Breakfast is for sissies’ type of roller. Me, I chug-a-lug 2 mugs of industrial strength coffee, come ten o’clock, I’m invincible. We won’t mention that come two thirty-ish, you’d invariably find me in a little heap draped around the water cooler, sobbing piteously without enough energy to raise my Despicable Me water bottle to the spigot.
Anyhow, I digress. Consequently, as with most bad eating habits, there came a point when my poor digestive system rebelled. Quite painfully. So I realised I had to woman up and start eating breakfast. But not the full Monty type of breakfast; bacon, eggs, tomatoes, toast, etceteraa, but … cereal type of breakfast.
I remembered in the mists of time that I had once tried muesli. Not the sugar coated, candy type of muesli, but rolled oats, dry as the desert and enough seeds and nuts to keep an aviary of seed cracking birds happy for a week type of muesli.
Apparently, the muesli I was after is called Bircher’s Muesli:
Etymology (fancy term for the origin of a word and the historical development of its meaning.)
Originally known in Swiss German as Birchermüesli or simply Müesli, the word is an Alemannic diminutive of Mues which means “puree” or “mash-up.” See, enuff said – “mash-up” says it all!
History
Muesli was introduced around 1900 by the Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner for patients in his hospital, where a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables was an essential part of therapy. It was inspired by a similar “strange dish” that he and his wife had been served on a hike in the Swiss Alps. Bircher-Benner himself referred to the dish simply as “d’Spys” (Swiss German for “the dish”, in German “die Speise”). Muesli in its modern form became popular in Western countries starting in the 1960’s as part of increased interest in health food and vegetarian diets. Traditional muesli was eaten with lemon juice and not milk. Goodness gracious, lemon?
Packaged muesli is a loose mixture of mainly rolled oats together with various pieces of dried fruit, nuts, and seeds. It commonly contains other rolled cereal grains such as wheat or rye flakes as well. There are many varieties. This dry packaged muesli can be stored for many months. It can be served quickly after mixing it with milk, yogurt, coffee, hot chocolate, fruit juice, or water.
So, if you, like me, have been given a serious health slap by your very own body, take a page out of my book. Skip the caffeine charging coffees on an empty stomach; pack your moo-oo-sli into your ‘lunchbox’ every morning and meet your workmates around the water cooler, (so that you have company while you cud chew your way through your brekkie), pour water into your breakfast of champions and you’re set for the day.
by Fern Shaw | Jul 5, 2013 | Health and Hydration, water cooler, Water Coolers
In short, no.
But the following all contain water (clever that), so is it a conundrum? Water is found in most liquids, antioxidants are found in some of those liquids so whereas an antioxidant can be water, water can’t be an antioxidant. Excuse me, I have to sit down, my brain is hurting. (Clearly, not enough water). Okay. So, not a conundrum, it’s something else. Moving swiftly along!
What are antioxidants?
Antioxidants are phytochemicals, chemicals found in plant foods. In our bodies, antioxidants protect healthy tissues from “oxidants,” also called free radicals. Over time, free radicals can damage cells and cause disease. Antioxidants are like microscopic police officers who seize these bad guys that plan to harm our cells.
Which do you crave in the morning—a cup of java or a spot of tea? Popular belief labels tea as a health drink and coffee as bad. Not so! Mounting evidence suggests that both are good for you because they’re brimming with antioxidants.
All teas contain a group of antioxidants called flavonoids.
Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world, next to water. Green tea is especially popular in Japan and China.
According to studies carried out tea drinkers take in 20 times more flavonoid antioxidants per day than tea non-drinkers.
Experts say tea provides as many disease-fighting flavonoids as fruits or vegetables. Many brands of tea list antioxidant and caffeine content (in milligrams per serving) right on the box.
What about fruits and veggies?
Since coffee and tea are high in antioxidants, can they replace fruits and vegetables in our diets? Absolutely not! Fruits and veggies supply fibre, essential vitamins and minerals, plus a variety of different antioxidants that promote good health.
A word of caution
Plain coffee and tea are healthful, calorie-free beverages. Be careful how much cream, sugar, and flavourings you dump into your cup. Just 1 tablespoon of cream and 2 teaspoons of sugar can add up to 80 calories and 6 grams of fat. Squirt in flavoured syrup, pile on whipped cream, and your once-healthful drink becomes a rich dessert.
Which is better—coffee or tea?
Science can’t really say one is superior to the other, so fill your mug with whichever brew you like. To benefit from both sets of antioxidants, try this: drink one or two cups of coffee in the morning, then enjoy tea throughout the day.
For all your cool and hot water requirements for said antioxidant drinks, remember that AquAid have all that you need. We supply bottled water coolers; mains-fed water coolers; desktop coolers; water boilers and in-cup drinks.
If what you require isn’t listed here, drop us a mail, we’ll be more than happy to provide you with a solution.
by Fern Shaw | Jun 28, 2013 | water cooler, Water Coolers
Tadaa! In this the 3rd of 4 instalments, we present to you the continuing saga of how cool, refreshing drinking water trickled its way through the past until it reached you in the very convenient water cooler machines of today.
1900
Manchester enlarged the Lake Thirlmere reservoir in the Lake District.
1906
Further abroad, the water fountain was first invented. It is credited to two men – Halsey Willard Taylor and Luther Haws. Haws patented the first drinking faucet in 1911.
1930s
By the 1930s the routine way to treat water was to:
- Screen it to catch branches, solids and dead animals (charming).
- Treat it with aluminium sulphate to remove solids (even less charming).
- Chlorinate it against bacterial infections (ay caramba!).
1945
The Water Act reorganised the water industry and encouraged more efficiency.
1963
The Water Resources Act created 29 River Authorities to look after the river systems and control the use of water.
1967
The Central Scotland Water Development Board was set up to supply more water for sale to Local Authorities.
1973
The Water Bill for England and Wales created 10 Regional Water Authorities.
1975
The nine new Scottish Regional Councils and the Islands Councils were set up to control public water supply, sewerage and sewage disposal.
1982
Kielder Reservoir was opened. It was one of the biggest lakes in Europe.
1961-84
The water needs of England and Wales rose from 110,000 million litres per day to 164,000 million litres per day.
1989
The Water Act of 1989 allowed Local Authorities in England and Wales to sell off the water companies.
1996
Three new Scottish water authorities were created – East, West and North of Scotland Water. They took over water and waste water services from the former Scottish Regional Councils.
Next stop, MODERN DAY – the 21st Century – exciting stuff in the water cooler world!
At AquAid, we offer a rather more modern version of the 1906 original – yay for us, yay for you – from bottle fed water coolers through to water coolers for schools.
by Fern Shaw | Jun 24, 2013 | water cooler, Water Coolers
So, there I was, lurking (and trust me, blogista’s lurk with style) at the water cooler, almost in a lion-gathering-around-the-watering-hole (but not as predatory) manner, waiting to pick up on tips regarding the general consensus of the effectiveness of said water cooler.
Sadly, even though I lurked for a number of days (perhaps my four day leg fuzz was a tad off putting?) I didn’t pick up anything worthwhile – apart from Tad’s recipe for lemony corn fritters – way to go Tad.
So, I broke my watch and haired *harf harf harf* off to my desk and my beloved pc. Now, there’s true inspiration, just waiting to be resourced.
Factual and informative stuff
- A water cooler on site can increases staff productivity.
- Saves on electricity costs. For a reference on this story, read about Winston.
- AquAid have more distribution centres than any other water cooler company.
- Water wastage is reduced as there are no dripping taps and no having a beady eyed staff member appointed to constantly check on potential water wastage.
- AquAid also include an illustrated urine chart for the bathrooms upon purchase of a water cooler. This chart indicates hydration vs. dehydration so you can see at-a-glance whether you should be upping your water intake.
- The water in AquAid’s bottle fed coolers means you are drinking water from source, with a consistent mineral content.
- By having an AquAid water cooler on site, you allow easy access for your schoolchildren at schools and staff at your company to keep hydrated, thereby indicating your care for their well-being.
Touchy-feely feel good stuff (also factual)
- By having an AquAid water cooler on site, you allow easy access for your schoolchildren at schools and staff at your company to keep hydrated, thereby indicating your care for their well-being.
- Every purchase of an AquAid water cooler means a donation to our chosen charities, Christian Aid and The Africa Trust.
- Donations to The Africa Trust mean that millions of people in rural communities throughout Africa have access to clean, fresh drinking water and continue to have access due to more Elephant Pumps being built every year.
- By keeping yourself hydrated and learning more about correct hydration, you become an ‘ambassador’ for drinking sufficient water and thereby create awareness while keeping yourself healthy, happy and productive.
We have oodles of information about sufficient water intake, hydration and all other matters water available for a squizz at our blog page. We also welcome your feedback and comments on the blogs as learning every day is just grand.
