Bubble Wrap

i can't sleep. i keep wondering what we can do next.
well, we'll have to find the basics to survive. we've got shelter. we'll need fresh water, food. we'll need torches because the electricity grid is out.
it's eleven thirty at night.
this warrants further exploration.
maybe there's still some electricity stuck in the wires here.

by Dan

I was recently asked in an email to fill out a petition to prevent the council from adding recycled water to the dam. I felt compelled to write back (and commited that most awful of sins, replyed to all) but when it comes down to it this is just blatant mis-information.

I've edited the email to into this note to inform all of you guys.

It's always good to question your trust in someone who has something to gain from lying to you. The government looks like they're doing something good if they're providing water for it's citizens during drought. But it's useful to remain vigilant.

Now onto the things that are wrong.

Number one.
The current research says that not only is the water good enough to put in the dam,.. it's better than the water that's already in the dam.

Normal rainwater collected in rivers, streams and dams contain microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, that may come from septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife. All the water in the dam aggregates the faecal matter of every animal and decaying flesh of every dead animal in the area. Returning a small percentage of recycled water to the dam is like pouring a bottle of Evian into a swamp. It makes no difference to quality in the big picture and is actually making it incrementally more healthy. The water from the dam is all processed for drinking after this point.

Number two. (in response to that notion that we don't know what could happen years down the road, health-wise.

Your future children will not be born with cancer (that's carcinogens) or diabetes (that's hereditary and diet re: sugars). We already know what faecal matter does to humans. It's called dysentery. It's one of the biggest killers in the developing world and (like malaria) one that we have the good fortune of not having to worry about. The danger of ingesting molecules of faecal matter from recycled water are hundreds of time less than that of smelling when someone breaks wind. (That's the sensors in you nose reacting to microscopic parts of faecal matter landing inside your body) The smell of farts is measured in parts per million. In comparison the remaining particles in recycled water is measured in parts per billion.

We also know that recycled water schemes have been in use in other parts of the world for 40 years and not blamed for increased outbreaks of anything.

Number three.
God has not provided good, clean water for you to drink. All over the planet there are millions of faithful and righteous followers of the Christian faith who die from dysentery every year. If god was in any way interested is saving people from drinking water that was bad for them you'd see it emerge statistically. Of course this is not the case. It's naive to think that the clean water we have the good fortune of enjoying is not the result of careful planning by our City council and the accident of geography that allows us the luxury of having the resources to put towards such a service.


Our climate on this planet is constantly changing and we need to ensure that our growing population controls the limited resources that we have available to us.

If you do care about future, you'll keep this in mind.


Now I certainly don't blame (Adam X), or anyone for having such a reactionary viewpoint. Our bodies have evolved to be sickened at the thought of ingesting human waste. The offshoots that didn't have this reaction quickly died out before they could propagate that trait in the gene pool. It's normal to be sickened by the notion but when you understand the facts you'll see why it makes so much sense and that it's totally safe.