Distiled Water and Politics, Essay Example

Introduction

There has been a raging debate about the place of ethanol and bottled water at the public realm. Ethanol has been condemned not to be in full supply to the public while bottled water has been seen as the safest way of accessing water when in urgent need.

Composition of Water and Ethanol

Water is a familiar composition basic for life of human beings. It is made up of hydrogen and hydroxyl ions. It is found in two ways namely; tap water and distilled water. Tap water is not highly purified and hence it contains amount of Salts, Nitrates, Chloral, Fluoride and microorganisms. Moreover, we have Bottled water as the second type of water. Bottled water also is known as Distilled water is prepared through purification of boiling water and water vapor that results into separation of impurities and distilled water leaving water in its purest form. This is achieved by condensation of steam (Darlene, 2010).

However, Ethanol is a colorless liquid with pleasant smell of agreeable odor. It is made up of two mixtures of Alcohol and water at a percentage of 95% and 5% respectively. In its nature is a chemical compound prepared in a special way containing molecules of hydroxyl group. A solution of ethanol and water is prepared through distillation of fermented sugars. This fermented sugar provides raw materials of Zymase, an enzyme from yeast that changes simple sugars into Ethanol and carbon (IV) oxide. This fermentation process is represented by a simple equation as shown below.

C6H12O6   ? 2 CH3CH2OH + 2 CO2

According to the form of preparation, Pure Ethanol is not obtained through only distillation method hence a dehydration agent is added to remove the remaining water producing pure Ethanol. It is used in making synthetic Rubber, as an automotive fuel, Provides gasohol when mixed with gasoline and forms chloroform and many other organic chemicals (Adela, 1983).

Ethanol, bottled water and politics

Ethanol is a chemical therefore; people in authority have been debating about its supply to people without proper education on the effects of ethanol. Politics have influenced the distribution of ethanol to the public since it is said that it should not be accessible to every body without approval from physicians.

For many years, bottled water was not recommended by governments of different nations because it was believed that it can be easily contaminated with chemicals like chlorine that could affect the health of a person but it has been a big debate on whether to approve it to be distributed to people at affordable rates or not. Bottled water is preferred than tap water because it is pure and easily potable than tap water.

It has been argued that bottled water is good than the tap water because of its availability thus is necessary for water suppliers to meet the rules and regulations set by the environmental protection agencies. Bottled water contains extra layer that the tap lacks. Bottled are purified through the process of reverse osmosis therefore eliminating any possibilities of impurities. Purified and oxygenated water is also treated by addition of oxygen molecules hence removing contaminants. At the end, safer, cleaner and good tasting water is produced than tap waters.

Bottled water is seen as the most convenient and safer kind of water to drink while absent from home. Due to lack of chlorine in bottled water, it is nutritious because of the additional minerals it contains that add flavor to its taste than other waters. More so, it is preferable in case of an emergency when other sources of water are not available or is contaminated. For instance, during   the emergency situation in Haiti, many people were in need of water after the disaster (Adela, 1983).

Despite its advantages, bottled water can be disastrous as a result of toxic chemicals that are released during the manufacturing process. More so, the bottles that are produced pollute the environment since 90% of these plastic are not recycled. Furthermore, it is expensive to purchase bottled water as compared to tap water, also it is heavy to carry around bottled water and the quality of this manufactured water is questionable by physicians.

Ethanol on its side is used as cheap fuel as compared to other fuels. For instance, the organic origin of ethanol is very important since they are used to make alcoholic spirits. In United States for example, ethanol is used to make corn. This corn and sugarcane are renewable sources of energy that are grown at large scale by domestic farmers therefore, its linkage to the land is often regarded as the main role of ethanol(Darlene, 2010).

The disadvantage of ethanol as source of fuel is that when it is used on lands, it depletes its minerals and other important nutrients. It is also expensive to produce ethanol. Politics about the pros and cons of ethanol will continue for many years. This is because those in authority are supporting production of ethanol.

Conclusion

All in all, Politics have influenced the use of ethanol and bottled water both positively and negatively as discussed above.

References

Adela M. Bolet. (1983). National Security Implications: A Report of the Energy and Strategic Resources Staff (Paperback). Washington DC: Georgetown University Center.

Darlene E. Marshall. (2010).Ethanol Economics and Ethanol’s Impact on Food Prices and Greenhouse Gas Emissions. New York: Nova Science Pub Inc.