5 ms·

There's also an epidemic of cyanobacterial (also known as blue green "algae") contamination around the US. We've traveled all over the country and have persona

by jen_h 7y ago

There's also an epidemic of cyanobacterial (also known as blue green "algae") contamination around the US. We've traveled all over the country and have personally encountered it everywhere -- from Oregon to New York to central Florida...it's all over the midwest, in the Great Lakes -- seems to be anywhere there's farming. I'm not sure what you do for that, though -- not sure it can be filtered, and boiling just makes it worse as it's toxic when it's dead. I'm honestly more terrified of cyanobacteria than PFAS, and it's everywhere.

swampthing 7y ago
It's cumbersome, but I think you can use something like Steripen for that (UV).
- s0rce 7y ago
  That might kill the algae but likely won't destroy most of the toxins in the water that the algae produce. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanotoxin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanotoxin
  - masklinn 7y ago
    Do the toxins get carried on along with distillation as well? That's ridiculously energy-intensive and you'd probably have to re-mineralise it before storage or consumption to be on the safe side. Cooking might actually be the worst issue here, low-mineralisation cooking water would leech minerals out, leading to lower nutrient intake (unless yo keep the cooking water for drinking).
    - s0rce 7y ago
      Distillation would make the water safe, reverse osmosis should also work. You don't need to remineralize water, you get minerals from food not from tap/mineral water and you don't need to worry about leaching your pots and pans.
      - masklinn 7y ago
        > You don't need to remineralize water, you get minerals from food not from tap/mineral water That's exactly the issue I'm pointing out in using distilled water from cooking, you will lose those minerals in the food to cooking water unless you drink it, so a normally proper died would not be anymore.
        s0rce 7y ago
        I doubt it, tap water and distilled water are both substantially lower in minerals than food, effectively 0 in comparison, I suspect if you boil your foods in either water the mineral content of the resulting food will be roughly the same.
Obi_Juan_Kenobi 7y ago
The trick with algae is to stop it before it happens, which mostly deals with agricultural runoff.
- jen_h 7y ago
  Herbicides, specifically (https://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/news/2009/fe052/researchers-study-roundup-as-possible-cause-harmful-algal https://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/news/2009/fe052/researchers-stu...). The stuff has adapted to eat glyphosate like candy. Makes sense when you see where it flourishes (like wheat and sugarcane-growing areas -- The Army Corps of Engineers' Lake Okeechobee releases fuel the blooms on the west and east coasts of Florida).

by jen_h 7y ago

swampthing 7y ago

It's cumbersome, but I think you can use something like Steripen for that (UV).

s0rce 7y ago
That might kill the algae but likely won't destroy most of the toxins in the water that the algae produce. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanotoxin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanotoxin
- masklinn 7y ago
  Do the toxins get carried on along with distillation as well? That's ridiculously energy-intensive and you'd probably have to re-mineralise it before storage or consumption to be on the safe side. Cooking might actually be the worst issue here, low-mineralisation cooking water would leech minerals out, leading to lower nutrient intake (unless yo keep the cooking water for drinking).
  - s0rce 7y ago
    Distillation would make the water safe, reverse osmosis should also work. You don't need to remineralize water, you get minerals from food not from tap/mineral water and you don't need to worry about leaching your pots and pans.
    - masklinn 7y ago
      > You don't need to remineralize water, you get minerals from food not from tap/mineral water That's exactly the issue I'm pointing out in using distilled water from cooking, you will lose those minerals in the food to cooking water unless you drink it, so a normally proper died would not be anymore.
      - s0rce 7y ago
        I doubt it, tap water and distilled water are both substantially lower in minerals than food, effectively 0 in comparison, I suspect if you boil your foods in either water the mineral content of the resulting food will be roughly the same.

Obi_Juan_Kenobi 7y ago

The trick with algae is to stop it before it happens, which mostly deals with agricultural runoff.

jen_h 7y ago
Herbicides, specifically (https://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/news/2009/fe052/researchers-study-roundup-as-possible-cause-harmful-algal https://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/news/2009/fe052/researchers-stu...). The stuff has adapted to eat glyphosate like candy. Makes sense when you see where it flourishes (like wheat and sugarcane-growing areas -- The Army Corps of Engineers' Lake Okeechobee releases fuel the blooms on the west and east coasts of Florida).