by Solarphile on October 15, 2010
It’s no secret that the planet’s population has exploded, while the amount of freshwater has remained essentially the same over time. What’s more, water is life— and only 1 percent of the planet’s freshwater is easily accessible. The remaining freshwater supply is increasingly being polluted by environmental disasters. More and more extreme weather events are causing greater exposure of our water supply to biological contamination and water-borne diseases. Many of the synthetic chemicals that are used in our everyday products are accumulating in our bodies and in our water supply. And our water treatment and distribution systems in our most heavily populated areas are aging and deteriorating faster that we can repair and upgrade them.
Lack of access to clean drinking water supplies has been at crisis levels for a long time in some regions of the world, and the crisis is spreading. To deny that we are not all connected by this shared reliance on planetary fresh water supplies is to deny the fundamental science of the water cycle.
Wars are already being fought in some places in the world over access to water for drinking, bathing, cooking, cleaning, industrial uses, manufacturing of goods, food production, and the list goes on.
There are many great resources online and offline with information, statistics, tips, guidance, resources and tools for all of us to get educated on the nature and seriousness of the global water crisis. It’s imperative that we take educated individual and collective action towards water efficient living for the good of all.
And make no mistake—this isn’t about future generations. This mother of all crises threatens our survival within our own lifetimes. Water is life— make an effort and get started NOW. Failure is NOt an option.
by Solarphile on October 1, 2010
Fifteen years ago we were all turning off the faucet while we brushed our teeth and cutting those plastic six pack things up with scissors so that they wouldn’t strangle ducks. These days it’s all about electric cars and windmills and reducing our carbon footprint. In other words, the sermon has changed when it comes to conservation, but the fact is that people never did change that much. So we should still be just as interested in how to save water as we are about carbon credits. Every society changes over time, but perhaps when it comes to saving water we should take a look back – way back.
Just 150 years ago everyone was a water conservationist. No really, no one wasted a drop. Not because they were afraid their grandkids wouldn’t have enough, but for a far more pragmatic reason. If you had to carry every drop of water you used in a bucket from as far as a mile away – you would conserve it too. Gravity fed plumbing is what has led to the monumental waste of water. Call it a crime of convenience. The water runs out, and you don’t even think about it. If you had to carry it one 20 pound bucket a time a thousand steps each way instead of just flipping a little metal handle; well, you would be a lot more careful with it too.
The real shame is that most of the water you use isn’t really all that dirty when you’re done with it. As a matter of fact, the stuff that comes out of your sink and tub makes the greatest stuff ever to put on your plants and lawn. The proper term for this type of water is gray water. It’s a little cloudy from soap suds and maybe some foodstuffs or dirt from your feet and hands, but other than those minor things it’s fine. You wouldn’t want to make lemonade out of it, but it would be great on the rhododendrons. About the only thing in your home that really needs to be seriously treated is what’s coming from your toilet, and that’s completely understandable. Although, not too many decades ago everyone was perfectly ok with the outhouse – but that’s another soap box for another day.
Want to rid yourself of plumbing problems once and for all? Want the greenest yard in town without installing a super wasteful automatic sprinkler system? See if it is within your city ordinances to run your gray water out onto your lawn. we once had a minor leak in the water coming from our kitchen out to the main sewer pipe. It went right under the garden. You should have seen the plants simply explode. There were basil bushes six feet tall and the tomatoes? Our mouths still water to this day in a sort of pavlovian way to the thought of those bright red bulging tomatoes.
So, if you’re really serious about looking for tips on how to save water, the best place to start is the two areas where the most water is wasted; watering the lawn and gray water waste from the house. Hey, if you can kill two birds with one stone, that’s saving a lot of water without ever changing a thing about your lifestyle.
