Before I started writing this article, I didn’t spend much time thinking about water. I knew that drinking water is a good thing, and drinking activated charcoal water can be a bad thing. But if you asked me the difference is between mineral water and regular water? I had no clue.

Admit it. You don’t know the difference

It’s pretty obvious that mineral water is, well, water with minerals, but what minerals? Doesn’t all water have minerals? I wanted a concrete definition — I’m talking Scripps National Spelling Bee level, people.

It turns out, some people do know what mineral water is. Those people are the FDA, which actually regulates bottled water. They say that natural mineral waters must contain at least 250 parts per million (ppm) “total dissolved solids,” originating from “a geologically and physically protected underground water source.” In other words, mineral waters have to come out of the earth that way. Read more

Easy tips for conserving water at home

Diverse plantings, such as the ones seen at this home on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza, can help conserve water.

With Earth Day approaching and California’s drought-related water restrictions in the news, water efficiency is on many people’s minds. Fortunately, simple changes at home can often result in major water savings. “Most homeowners can take action to reduce their water use in a significant way,” says Bill Christiansen, program manager at the nonprofit Alliance for Water Efficiency. “We’ve seen the marketplace transform, and a lot of the fixtures have become very efficient.” Read more

Plastics are flooding into the oceans. But you can help.

This story is part of a series on ocean plastics.

Plastics are overwhelming our oceans and landfills. Every year, an estimated 19 billion pounds of plastic garbage end up in the sea. In the U.S. alone, approximately 56 billion pounds of plastic are dumped annually in landfills.

Worryingly, it remains unknown exactly how all these plastics ― which don’t biodegrade and could linger in the environment for centuries ― could impact human health and the world around us. But here’s a heartening truth: We can all do something to mitigate this growing plastics crisis. Yes, all. From entrepreneurs and corporations who need to rethink the way plastic products are designed and manufactured; to lawmakers who can push for the protection of fragile environments from plastic pollution; to individuals (that means you) whose seemingly small daily actions can add up to something huge, we all have a role to play. Read more

In the modern world the availability of clean drinking water is a major backbone of our civilisation. We hardly think about what happens when we turn on a tap in our home and have an unlimited supply of clean and safe drinking water.

However, despite the availability of clean water there are still issues with the public water supply, in the US there are, on average, almost 7,000 boil water notices which is when water companies require water to be boiled before it can be safely drunk due to problems with the supply which cause it to become unsafe to drink. Additionally there are notable issues where the water supply has been contaminated and potentially poses a risk to those who drink it. Read more

The Greenpeace project is part of mission to create a massive Antarctic sanctuary.

The Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise near an iceberg in Charlotte Bay in the Antarctic Ocean.

A crew of scientists on a mission for Greenpeace have surfaced with astounding first-ever photos from the depths of the Antarctic Ocean showing surprisingly diverse and abundant life even in the frigid dark.

The mission, involving state-of-the-art submersibles launched from the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise, aims to discover new life, gather data and help develop a love and appreciation for the Antarctic Ocean. Its key goal is to build support to create the largest protected area in the world: a 700,000-square-mile Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary where industrial fishing would be banned. Read more