Conserving Water
| June 24, 2009 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
If you are on my Facebook you know that I post some kind of (VERY!) controversial statuses on rare occasions (almost daily). Well surprisingly enough the one that has gotten the most comments to date is one where I said I was going to go take a bath and something about knowing it’s a waste of water and such.
I think it ended up with over 44 comments. It was shocking to me to learn some people don’t think we have any water related environmental problems. I thought that was fact. But we are often out of touch with the world around us.
“Less than 1% of freshwater is usable, amounting to only 0.01% of the Earth’s total water.”- UNEP, Global Environment Outlook 3 (Earthscan 2002)
“By the mid-1990s, 80 countries home to 40% of world population encountered serious water shortages. Worst affected are Africa and the Middle East.” – NewInternationalist
“40% of America’s rivers are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life.” – Grinning Planet
These are just a few facts that should show us that water is important and we need to protect it. In American we spend more than $15 billion a year on bottled water! While other countries can’t get any clean drinking water.
We can’t live without water, yet we treat it like we can. But we can make a difference. You don’t have spend huge bucks either. Here are just a few ideas, please add your own in the comments!
1. Turn off the water while you brush your teeth. You will save around four gallons of water each time you brush!
2. Check to see if your toilet is leaking. Place a few drops of food coloring in the tank and if you see any in the bowl without flushing then you have a leak. Fixing toilet leaks can save around 200 gallons of water a day!
3. Don’t throw out water. If a glass gets left out with water that no one is going to drink, pour it on a plant or save it until you are ready to water.
4. Get a low flow shower head. You can save around twelve gallons per shower.
5. Get low flow aerators for all your faucets. Can save you thousands of gallons of water a year.
6. Run full loads when washing clothes and dishes.
These are just a few tips. What is your tip??
