Source: sciencecenterThat’s what the WHO recommends, at least, and I’ll take their word for it; it doesn’t get much cheaper than free. After just six hours, the UV rays from the sun have destroyed all the microbes in your water, making it safe to drink.
Recent research shows two hacks, both equally easy and nearly as cheap, to improve water purification. Add a dash of salt, of the table salt variety, to cause sediment to clump and fall out of suspension. And use some lime juice, which contains chemical compounds called psoralens, to cut the UV wait time from 6 hours to 30 minutes.
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Source: jtotheizzoePackage Free, Zero-Waste Grocery Store to Debut in Austin
I don’t get to toot my own city’s horn quite as much as I would like to, so I’ll gladly take that opportunity now. I recently heard about a new grocery store debuting this summer in Austin called In.gredients. They will be the first package-free and zero-waste grocery store in the United States, an idea with small footholds in Latin America and Europe.
I’m really intrigued by this idea. You bring in your own reusable containers for, well, everything. That means no package waste, which is a huge fraction of the waste that goes into our landfills. It means less processed foods, which support subsidized and often unhealthy corn and soy products, in addition to a bunch of unpronounceable chemicals. It means seasonal, local foods, reducing transportation costs, pollution and promoting natural agriculture. It means less food waste, since you only buy what you need, and you don’t throw away spoiled food.
This is an environmentally-friendly idea that I think could be adapted in almost any city. It could also give major grocery chains some ideas on how to improve their big box offerings.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Is this an admirable but unscalable solution? Or is this something you’d like to see everywhere?
Source: fineandfeathered.comDIY Mason Jar Candles, a lovely tutorial by fineandfeathered. Full tutorial can be found here.