According to a March 9 AP article, a vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — were found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans.

Although the AP report assured readers that only trace amounts of the drugs were found, it is still a little off-putting to think about what we are dumping in our water. After all, what may be nothing more than trace amounts to us could prove lethal to our environment. For example, one can’t help but wonder how these floating pharmaceutical bits are affecting fish and other inhabitants of our water.

I’m not sure what the solution is. People are of course going to throw away their prescription medicine bottles, so how do we prevent those bottles (and subsequent synthetic chemicals) from ending up in our drinking supply?