Water Fluoridation

The practice of adding fluoride to public water should be prohibited because of the severe lack of evidence that the cost-benefit of the systemic human ingestion of fluoride is beneficial. For purposes of protecting teeth, topical applications, such as through toothpaste, are far more effective.

Public Water Fountains

Water drinking fountains should be placed in heavily walked public areas, such as the corners of busy districts, major bus stops, subway stations, shopping centers, parks, etc. They should also be located right next to public restroom facilities. Among other things, it may encourage exercise because people would no longer need to carry liquids or otherwise make significant provisions for hydration. It would also tend to increase the health of a population by making water more readily available, thus decreasing people’s desire to purchase sodas or other drinks.

Perhaps in areas where such fountains are abused, a small fee (perhaps 1 cent for each minute of available water run time) could be charged to the users of such fountains. After the money has been deposited, a button would still need to be pressed in order for the water to flow. This would save much more water than just having the water begin flowing automatically after the coins have been deposited. All such fountains should have a countdown meter indicating how much purchased time is left. Or some sort of mechanical crank could be installed that would require a user to actually do something other than simply press a button so that water is not needlessly wasted.