The increasing numbers of contaminants in our drinking water today poses a real danger to our continued health and well-being. Learn about the main causes of water pollution and how to keep yourself and your family healthy.

Water pollution is caused mainly by the emission of domestic or urban sewage, agricultural waste, pollutants and industrial effluents into our rivers and seas.

It is a fact that over half of the total pollution comes from industrial sources despite stricter guidelines on disposal.

Other causes of water pollution include oil spills, what gets flushed down the toilet and environmental factors like underwater volcanoes and other things we have no control over.

The President was speaking at the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit in India, which was inaugurated by Indian Prime Minsiter Dr. Manmohan Singh. 

During the summit, President Michel repeated the call which small islands have consistently asked for; that atmospheric carbon dioxide should be capped at 350 parts per million of atmospheric carbon dioxide, and for the earth’s surface temperature increase to be kept within 1.5 degrees Celsius.

“We continue to repeat this call, because amidst all the debates, amidst all the polemics, we can’t change the facts. The facts tell us that climate change will delay our efforts at sustainable development. The facts indicate clearly climate change will affect our fisheries, our agriculture, our water resources, hence our ability to feed our people. And the facts tell us that climate change will inflict poverty and threaten our very existence as a nation.  But we will always continue to fight for our right to exist because island nations are on the frontlines of climate change,” said President Michel.

Sounds a bit farfetched perhaps; however there are a number of arguments accompanied by existing policy and activities in emerging markets that give this idea some credibility.Could the VAT bill paid by consumers on their home refurbishments be finally reduced without upsetting the Government?

Currently the cost of the majority of home refurbishment is enlarged by a 17.5% VAT charge. This not only represents a financial disincentive for people to refurbish their home but also encourages people to engage building companies that are happy to waive the VAT. Customers without contracts are subsequently unprotected against poor workmanship and worse, cowboy builders who cost the nation approximately £42m a year.

Any disincentive to refurbish one’s home hampers the UK economy. The condition and subsequent value of each home in the UK contributes to one of the nation’s largest assets: the housing stock. This asset underpins a considerable portion of citizen’s loans and mortgages from banks and building societies. On a grand scale, the consequence of individuals not refurbishing their home and not making the most of its value collectively reduces billions off the optimal value of the nation’s housing stock.