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RE: 10 ways to cut water consumption
Install one of in-wall urinals. Saves an entire flush with every use...
Learn efficiency. Shower by. Rinse. Turn off water. Soap & scrub. Turn on water. Rinse.
My 12 yo used to stand outside the shower and watch it until I was at a facility where the water system was loaded to 5 times capacity and I took her in and she learned how to shower 'Navy style.'
Get rid of your grass lawn! Go native. Especially in places already short on water.
If you live in an area of the US which is water-short, don't just think that you can use the Great Lakes--there are international agreements which prohibit removal of that water from it's watershed.
Find and repair even the tiniest leaks and drips--they add up to large amounts of water over time!
Don't pour out that half-glass of water down the drain--give it to a houseplant or your yard!
Avoid cooking by boiling things like vegetables--steam them instead, you'll save water, money and have more nutrients.
Quit buying things 'to keep up appearances!'
Quite buying things becuase they're popular.
Buy what you need, find it used or refurbished if possible.
Recycle!
If you simply MUST have a lawn, water it before sunrise--you'll use less.
Turn the faucet off when you brush your teeth etc. Turn it off any time the water is just going straight to the drain--you pay twice for that water, once for the water and once to get rid of it!
Don't buy bottled water! Carry your own, get a purifier if you don't like your local water. I pay around ten cents/ft3. Thats 8 gallons.
Do the math.
ANYTHING you purchase that you do NOT actually NEED, is a waste of water and money and energy.
Now, that's not saying that you don't 'need' art, or books, or anything that serves a non-physical need, but if you don't need it physically, take time to think about it--will you really use it? Or will it be a short-term toy that you'll toss in a closet or let collect dust?
For your children's sake, don't buy them lots of things--give them time and hugs, they need to learn how to manage resources, and this means money.
Discuss the subject with them, let them earn small amounts doing chores--gifts are for holidays and such. If a kid 'needs' new shoes because there's a new style, make them pay for it themselves--give them the amount that you would spend on a reasonable pair.
Children are fantastic mimics, you can say anything, but they will copy your behavior. Set an example. If you have money troubles (who doesn't at one time or another?) Discuss it in front of them, let them learn how to work through such things.
Children who have things handed to them do not appreciate the value--they gain no experience in what things cost in 'real' non-monetary terms. They will not learn to make decisions about how they should allocate money when there's not enough for everything--impossible if you give them whatever they seem to want.
Resource management, be it water, time, money, energy has to be lived to do any good. Money is convertible to most everything else, but in and of itself, it's just pieces of paper. But managing it is managing all resources.
We already devote over 30% of the land on the planet to feeding ourselves. Potable water is a precious resource--only slightly less so than air.
Learn efficiency. Shower by. Rinse. Turn off water. Soap & scrub. Turn on water. Rinse.
My 12 yo used to stand outside the shower and watch it until I was at a facility where the water system was loaded to 5 times capacity and I took her in and she learned how to shower 'Navy style.'
Get rid of your grass lawn! Go native. Especially in places already short on water.
If you live in an area of the US which is water-short, don't just think that you can use the Great Lakes--there are international agreements which prohibit removal of that water from it's watershed.
Find and repair even the tiniest leaks and drips--they add up to large amounts of water over time!
Don't pour out that half-glass of water down the drain--give it to a houseplant or your yard!
Avoid cooking by boiling things like vegetables--steam them instead, you'll save water, money and have more nutrients.
Quit buying things 'to keep up appearances!'
Quite buying things becuase they're popular.
Buy what you need, find it used or refurbished if possible.
Recycle!
If you simply MUST have a lawn, water it before sunrise--you'll use less.
Turn the faucet off when you brush your teeth etc. Turn it off any time the water is just going straight to the drain--you pay twice for that water, once for the water and once to get rid of it!
Don't buy bottled water! Carry your own, get a purifier if you don't like your local water. I pay around ten cents/ft3. Thats 8 gallons.
Do the math.
ANYTHING you purchase that you do NOT actually NEED, is a waste of water and money and energy.
Now, that's not saying that you don't 'need' art, or books, or anything that serves a non-physical need, but if you don't need it physically, take time to think about it--will you really use it? Or will it be a short-term toy that you'll toss in a closet or let collect dust?
For your children's sake, don't buy them lots of things--give them time and hugs, they need to learn how to manage resources, and this means money.
Discuss the subject with them, let them earn small amounts doing chores--gifts are for holidays and such. If a kid 'needs' new shoes because there's a new style, make them pay for it themselves--give them the amount that you would spend on a reasonable pair.
Children are fantastic mimics, you can say anything, but they will copy your behavior. Set an example. If you have money troubles (who doesn't at one time or another?) Discuss it in front of them, let them learn how to work through such things.
Children who have things handed to them do not appreciate the value--they gain no experience in what things cost in 'real' non-monetary terms. They will not learn to make decisions about how they should allocate money when there's not enough for everything--impossible if you give them whatever they seem to want.
Resource management, be it water, time, money, energy has to be lived to do any good. Money is convertible to most everything else, but in and of itself, it's just pieces of paper. But managing it is managing all resources.
We already devote over 30% of the land on the planet to feeding ourselves. Potable water is a precious resource--only slightly less so than air.
Posted by wizoddg
25th Mar 2011