CLEAN WATER -
One of the top priorities at Lost World Adventures is the safety and comfort of our clients.
Nothing ruins an international trip faster than getting sick with Travel Diarrhea (TD). We all know we can’t drink the water in developing countries because it might make us sick from any number of microscopic critters which could cause diarrhea, abdominal cramps or worse. Most people buy bottled water which has huge environmental impacts as well as being expensive and possibly unhealthy. What to do?
Travel prepared to clean your own water or use water in containers provided by hotels and operators if they have it.
WHY?
• To avoid creating a trail of plastic water bottles everywhere you go
• To ensure the safety and supply of your water
• To save money and time
IT’S EASY: Choose a bottle you like. Then choose a method or many to clean your water: electronic, chemical or mechanical.
GRAYL Water Purifier Bottle
• We love GRAYL, the compact device that helps travelers take care of their own safe water and reduce their plastic footprint.
• Lost World Adventures recommends our travelers purchase a GRAYL Water Purifier for their Tour.
• Carrying GRAYL makes you self-sufficient for your water needs and decreased the likelihood that you’ll get sick. Additionally, you’ll reduce your ‘plastic footprint during your tour. Single use bottled water is not recycled generally in countries we serve - most is burned, too much ends up in the ocean.
• GRAYL makes great purifiers that are lightweight and compact, easy to use, and remove all the impurities that can make you sick. Learn more at www.thegrayl.com.
• Customers of Lost World Adventures will receive a special 20% discount. Click here - GRAYL - and enter the code LOSTWORLD2018.
STERIPEN
• A small light weight device that cleans the water with ultra-violet light
• One Steri-PEN cleans 8,000 bottles of water. One charge of the battery will last for one 10-14 day trip.
• The technology is proven and safe
• Cost: $65-140
• Cost per bottle of water: .001 cents
POTABLE AQUA TABLETS
• Proven effective
• Simple to use
• Takes about 35 minutes to take effect
• Cost: $6-8 per bottle of tablets
• Cost per bottle of water: .27 cents
FIRST NEED FILTER
• Great for cleaning turbid water
• Proven effective
• Manual pump takes effort but simple
• Cost: $110 per unit
• Cost per bottle of water: .15 cents. Then the cartridge needs to be replaced with subsequent costs being: .005 cents
WHY BOTHER?
Better for the environment
• Drink bottles are the most common types of plastic waste. Some 480 Billion plastic bottles were sold globally in 2016. That is a million bottles per minute.
• 24 million gallons of oil are needed to produce a billion plastic bottles.
• Plastic bottles take 700 years to begin composting.
• 90% of the trash in the ocean is from plastic.
• Eighty-six percent of single-use plastic bottles become landfill or litter in the US.
Cheaper
• Bottled water can cost as much $10 per gallon. We are paying 2 to 4 times the cost of gasoline for a product that is virtually free.
• If tap water cost the same as the cheapest bottled, monthly water bills would come to $9,000.
Health
• Antimony, which is found in PET plastic bottles, in small doses can cause dizziness and depression; in larger doses it can cause nausea, vomiting and death.
• This is increased by storage in heated areas.
• PET is made from crude oil. PET bottles produce toxic emissions at rates of 100 times that of glass.
Better for communities
• Feeding the bottled water industry has taken a toll on wells from homes in rural communities by draining aquifers, lowered lake levels, and hurt wetlands.
• It takes three times as much water than is produced.
This story by the BBC will help explain the problem plastic bottles are posing to our environment.
Three corporations dominate the bottled water market in the US. Pepsi has 13% of the market and Coke has 11%, both of which resell treated tap water, by putting it through an energy intensive process called reverse-osmosis. This process takes more energy than turning seawater into drinking water.
For more information go to the TAP website. Consider signing the pledge not to use plastic water bottles while traveling. And be the change you want to see in the world.
Be the Change. TAP
PLASTIC POLLUTION: SINGLE USE PLASTIC IMPACT ON OUR OCEANS
A guide titled "Plastic Pollution: Single Use Plastic Impact on our Oceans" has been recently published. It's comprehensive, intensely detailing the facts and figures of plastic pollution, the impact on our oceans and marine life, and much more.
Click here for a link to the guide - Plastic Pollution - The Impact on our oceans and what we can do about it.
MORE ABOUT THE HEALTH ASPECTS OF TD
What causes Traveler’s Diarrhea?
TD is almost always caused by ingesting contaminated food or drink. Water can be contaminated by three primary pathogens:
Bacteria – E. coli, Dysentery, Leptospirosis, Typhoid, Salmonella and others
Protozoa – Giardia, Cryptosporidium, etc.
Virus – Norovirus, Rotavirus, Hepatitis A, SARS, etc.
Other bad stuff – blue-green algae, toxic chemicals, nuclear waste
Dig Deeper:
Learn about many waterborne pathogens in Chapter Two of the Center for Disease Control’s “Yellow Book”.
Hear what an Australian medical doctor has to say about managing TD.
The Mayo Clinic (USA) describes causes of and treatments for TD.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has specific info on every country’s drinking water here. Click on the country, then expand the “Eat and drink safely” section.
Where in the World is Water Unsafe?
Waterborne impurities and water treatment standards vary widely. In general, the “Developed World” has safe tap water and the “Developing World” doesn’t. Always assume untreated (river or lake water) is unsafe before treatment!
TRAVELING TO A HOT AND HUMID CLIMATE? TRY LIQUID I.V.
Liquid I.V.’s Hydration Multiplier is a great-tasting, Non-GMO electrolyte drink mix that utilizes the breakthrough science of Cellular Transport Technology (CTT)™ to deliver hydration to your bloodstream faster & more efficiently than water alone. 1 Liquid I.V. can provide the same hydration as drinking 2-3 bottles of water. Translation? More fuel for life’s adventures.
Learn more and shop Liquid I.V. here.
