Cool Vests

Cooling Clothes

Although cooling clothes have been available for some time, it was in the summer of 2010 that awareness took a big jump, and many more people started wearing this type of clothes to stay cool.

Cooling clothes is affordable and effective.  People wear them if they don’t deal well with heat - or just don’t like it - or if their environment puts in them in high heat. For people with MS, this clothing is a great blessing.

Cooling vests are the most effective type of cooling clothes. However, hats, skull caps and scarves are also available. These have the advantage of being small and light, so you can carry them more easily. However, cool vests deliver the greatest impact in keeping cool. Many people find that cool vests with a high collar are best of all.

There are two primary categories of cooling clothes. One is evaporative cooling. This is the less expensive type. Clothes of this style works by putting it in water for a very short time; as you wear it the water evaporates. Cool vests help a great deal. Wherever you are, when you need to recharge your vest, you just put it in water for 10 seconds to 3 minutes, depending on the brand. Evaporative cooling vests can wet your shirt somewhat. Some don’t like that idea, but once they use them and feel how much more comfortable they are, they don’t worry about that anymore! Some people like to wear them without a shirt, especially athletes. If the humidity is high, some don’t want this type of vest. Others however, find it suits them fine regardless of the humidity. It still has a cooling effect. Kitchen workers usually favor evaporative cooling because they are less bulky, and the folks have good mobility and ready access to water.

Most evaporative cool vests are not too great-looking, but there are now cooling clothes available in a beautiful range of colors and styles, and are much more tailored.  They of course cost more than the basic styles.

The other type of cool vests goes by different names, but the idea is that you have cool packs that you put in the freezer, and then insert into pockets in the vest, or accessory.  These are dry, and have the advantage of holding a steady cooling temperature until you refreeze or replace them.  These are more bulky than the evaporative cooling vests.  The cool packs normally freeze in 45 minutes or so.  Many buy an extra set of cool packs so they can swap them out.

The cool pack cool vests are used often by motorcyclists, by people working in very high heat factories, some who live in areas of high humidity, and by those who favor the dry approach and aren’t troubled by the additional bulk.

Timothy Hickey is the Big Splash at www.friendsofwater.com, providing information and products to save, filter and celebrate water. 

"Reverse Osmosis is the only way to filter ........" (something - fill in the blank)

This line is endlessly repeated by individuals and all over the web.  Don't believe it.

Reverse osmosis is a fairly effective way to separate contaminants from the water you want to use.  Membranes allow pure water through while holding back water with contaminants in it, like fluoride, chlorine and heavy metals. 

As Wikipedia says:  "Reverse osmosis (RO) is a filtration method that removes many types of large molecules and ions from solutions by applying pressure to the solution when it is on one side of a selective membrane." 


It seems clear to us that it is far better to use filter materials selected and fashioned to naturally remove the contaminants you don't want, and leave the trace elements that you do.  The technology has existed for decades and is very affordable for home unit.


Health Issues for Reverse Osmosis

• Reverse osmosis removes nutritional minerals (trace elements like magnesium, potassium and calcium) that the body needs
• Removing minerals drops the pH of your drinking water, which reduces free radicals, shown to increase risk of cancer
  • So you should rebuild your water if you use ro
• Because reverse osmosis removes trace elements from the water, when the water is in your body, it tries to replenish itself - by taking trace elements from you! (see footnote *)
• It seems that many drugs, which we know are in the water, are not removed by reverse osmosis 
• Reverse osmosis is not particularly effective on many synthetic chemicals like herbicides and pesticides
• RO lets molecules and ions through, or not, based on size.  This is not the best basis to 'sort' on.
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• For more info see:  http://www.friendsofwater.com/Reverse_Osmosis.html

Single Canister Kitchen Filter

This water filter has more filtration material than others for better and longer filtration. For optimal filtration replace cartridge just once a year! Water filter contains a full pound of pre-washed granulated carbon AND kdf AND 2 sediment filters. Flow rate is excellent; unlike some types of filters, the water flows right through. Change filter cartridge just once a year.

Water filter with sediment filters, kdf and pre-washed granulated coconut carbon for best filtration. Uses the great combination of copper-zinc kdf and granulated coconut shell carbon, for the best-of-all-worlds filtering. Carbon lasts much longer in combination with kdf, water is more natural. Bacteria cannot grow in the carbon because of the copper-zinc. Removes and/or reduces chlorine, chlorination byproducts, sediment, algae, molds, scale, bad taste, odors and hundreds of contaminants.

Change filters once a year. (See replacement filter to the left under "Related Items".) Unit is 11.5" x 4".

To learn more: Water Filters .

To see a list of contaminants filtered, see What Is Filtered? .

UNDERCOUNTER FILTERS SHOULD BE INSTALLED BY A PLUMBER. IT IS A QUICK AND SIMPLE JOB FOR A PROFESSIONAL, normally taking about a half-hour.

The water cycle

The water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle or H₂O cycle, describes the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth. Water can change states among liquid, vapour, and ice at various places in the water cycle. Although the balance of water on Earth remains fairly constant over time, individual water molecules can come and go, in and out of the atmosphere. The water moves from one reservoir to another, such as from river to ocean, or from the ocean to the atmosphere, by the physical processes of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, runoff, and subsurface flow. In so doing, the water goes through different phases: liquid, solid, and gas.

The hydrologic cycle also involves the exchange of heat energy, which leads to temperature changes. For instance, in the process of evaporation, water takes up energy from the surroundings and cools the environment. Conversely, in the process of condensation, water releases energy to its surroundings, warming the environment.

The water cycle figures significantly in the maintenance of life and ecosystems on Earth. Even as water in each reservoir plays an important role, the water cycle brings added significance to the presence of water on our planet. By transferring water from one reservoir to another, the water cycle purifies water, replenishes the land with freshwater, and transports minerals to different parts of the globe. It is also involved in reshaping the geological features of the Earth, through such processes as erosion and sedimentation. In addition, as the water cycle involves heat exchange, it exerts an influence on climate as well.

Philly's naming as most-toxic city is undeserved

Apparently, no one told the folks at Forbes not to mess with Philadelphia.

In an article published Monday, the mag ranked Philly No. 1 on its "America's 10 Most Toxic Cities" list, and even nicknamed us the "capital of toxicity."

Pretty harsh words, especially when their sources are as thin as a slice of prosciutto.

Forbes staffers based the list on five measurements, three drawn from Sperling's Best Places - a website that compiles data on U.S. cities but warns users not to "assume that the provided content is error-free."