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It's a good time to think about how we use water in our daily lives.
From RARE: "It takes 3 litres of water to produce one litre of bottled water & in the USA alone an additional 17 million barrels of oil. via @UNEPandYou"
Something easy we can all do today is say 'No' to bottled water!
Here's a cool video about it:
http://storyofstuff.org/bottledwater/
You can calculate your water footprint from here:http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/03/infographic-all-the-water-in-the-world-doesnt-amount-to-much.php
Here's a petition for the right to clean water (one of many petitions floating around on this topic):
http://www.joinliveearth.org/page/s/speakup
Here's an effort to help Haiti:
http://www.charitywater.org/unshaken/spreadtheword.php
Interesting paragraph about water and meat production here:
http://blog.peta.org/archives/2010/03/world_water_day.php?c=pfs
This year I'm looking into rain barrels. Do you have any experience with these?
What do you do to save water? Thanks for sharing!
Well, first off, I save water when I take a shower. My shower is "to get me clean" as fast as can be....not to be in a "sauna" or "Spa" while the water washes away all my baggage (we can meditate for that or do yoga). The longest my shower takes is 5 minutes and that's when I have to shave my legs. Otherwise, I'd say three minutes.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I use water bottles with filters. I take along my own water when I travel in a reuseable cup.
I never let the water run when I brush my teeth or wash my face.
I only do laundry when I have a full load.
I will try to find more ways to save water, but in this area, I think I'm on top of it!
Now let's talk to the people out there taking 15 minute or more showers!!!!
Good luck, Kate.
ReplyDeleteHow will you control Mosquitos in your rain barrels? Screens? Earth-Friendly chemicals? I've seen things about these but have yet to see anyone actually using them (except those people that live 'off the grid' and do everything the old fashioned way.)
I'd be willing to help with construction but you seriously have to do the research first. Do you even need that much collected runoff to support your garden, lawn, and car washes? I guess every little bit helps.
@sikbrik: Thanks for the comments! Just read in the April 17, 2010 issue of Woman's Day that 40% of the average household's water goes to outdoor watering in dry months. I will do another blog post about xeriscaping and things like that, but I can tell that we wasted a lot of water when we had new sod put in...we had to keep it watered and that took a TON of water. Now that my whole perspective has changed, I don't really care to even water my lawn and would love to be able to water outside using only collected water - and maybe some drip irrigation for my garden. I think we can buy $40 rain barrels at our Earth Day Fair here in Burlington County....I will check into it and let you know!
ReplyDelete@Dolly: That is fabulous! Every drop counts!
ReplyDeleteMy shower might avg. 5 mins. if you count the days I don't take a shower! LOL! We are still working on that one here....But here's some interesting info. about showers vs. a pound of steak from PETA:
"In observance of World Water Day, PETA Germany placed this aqueous installation on the sidewalk of Berlin's Potsdamer Platz to remind people that it takes 4,000 liters of water to produce one steak, while it only takes 1,100 liters to grow a vegan enough food for a whole day.
It's a fact that no one can dilute: You can save more water by not eating 1 pound of beef than you can by giving up showers for an entire year. In addition to saving the lives of more than 100 animals per year, going vegan is the best way to conserve water and the most sustainable way of life for people and the planet."
Here's some info. about rain barrels: http://www.mnn.com/your-home/around-the-house/stories/how-to-start-a-home-rain-barrel-project#
ReplyDeleteI forgot to mention...we employ the Focker method of water savings: "If it's brown, flush it down. If it's yellow, let it mellow." LOL
ReplyDeleteLiving in an older house, flushing the toilet less often does save quite a few gallons of water.