{"id":431,"date":"2017-02-03T00:03:08","date_gmt":"2017-02-03T00:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hippy.com\/hip\/uncategorized\/how-saving-water-helps-reduce-global-warming\/"},"modified":"2019-04-10T16:15:58","modified_gmt":"2019-04-10T16:15:58","slug":"how-saving-water-helps-reduce-global-warming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/activism\/how-saving-water-helps-reduce-global-warming\/","title":{"rendered":"How Saving Water Helps Reduce Global Warming"},"content":{"rendered":"

I waste water.  I admit it, I love a nice long leisurely shower.  And
\nbased on what I learned while being a municipal public works
\nemployee, it’s about one of the worst things<\/strong> I can do to
\nthe environment.  Saving water should be on the top of everyone’s list.
\nLet me explain why:
\n 
\nIn the next twenty years, water shortage
\n(along with  and related to global warming<\/u><\/strong>)
\nis going to be one of the greatest threats to
\nmankind’s survival since
\nreality TV, combo meals, and texting while driving.<\/p>\n

Water
\nshortages can grow exponentially.<\/strong>  This has much to do with the
\nway potable drinking water is delivered to your humble abode.  I hate to
\nsay it, but most people have do not have a clue how that water got in their
\nflue.  Let’s just say that every gallon of water you use increases your
\ncarbon footprint – massively.  Let me explain how:<\/p>\n

First, you
\nhave to get the water to the water treatment plant so you dig a well, divert
\na river, desalinate the briny blue ocean, or dam up something and create a
\nreservoir. And how do we build things in America, with big, really
\nbig construction equipment.  The thing about those great big yellow
\ndiggers and bulldozers is that they use lots and lots<\/em> of diesel
\nfuel.  Of course, burning
\ndiesel fuel creates carbon dioxide, soot,
\nand, well you get the picture.<\/p>\n

Also, when you diverted or
\ndammed the river, you probably flooded and killed who knows how many
\ntrees and plants that would have otherwise transformed carbon dioxide into
\noxygen. <\/p>\n

Drilling wells presents its own challenges.  An
\nunderground reservoir (an aquifer) has a fixed recharge rate which often
\ndepends on rainfall.  So you had better not suck it out faster than it
\ndripped in.  And of course, maybe your
\nfracking<\/strong><\/u> buddies with the funky pipeline might turn
\nyour well into a Bunsen burner.<\/p>\n

After treating the water,
\nit has to get to your house.  That involves miles and miles of very
\nhigh pressure pipelines<\/strong><\/u> with lots of
\nelectric pumps.  The greater the demand for water, the more the very
\nlarge, very powerful, very hungry electric pumps kick-in.  And how do we
\nmake our kilowatts in the U.S.?  The table below shows the various
\nmethods of electrical power generation by
\npercentage:<\/p>\n

Coal                     
\n    42% 
\nNatural Gas            
\n 
\n25%
\nNuclear                  
\n  19%
\nHydropower         
\n      8% 
\nOther Renewable   
\n     5%   
\nPetroleum             
\n     1%
\nOther
\nGases            <
\n1%
\n 
\nTherefore, 68% of electrical power generation in America
\ninvolves burning fossil fuels which increases our carbon
\nfootprint. 
\nBecause providing you with clean water uses so much
\nelectricity, you can see that opening the tap creates more global
\nwarming crap.   How can you save water?  Try these water
\nsaving tips:<\/p>\n

Get a low flow toilet.<\/strong><\/p>\n

According
\nto the Federal Energy Management Program<\/u>, a 1.6 gpf low flow toilet
\nwill reduce water usage from 27,300
\ngallons to 12,500 gallons per
\nperson annually.<\/p>\n

When they first appeared in 1994, low flow
\ntoilets often clogged and required double flushing. Thankfully this
\nis no longer the case!  Redesigned, modern low flow toilets work quite
\nwell and can save you a lot of money too!<\/p>\n

Repair
\nleaky faucets.<\/strong><\/p>\n

One leaky faucet can waste 35 gallons per
\nyear.  Imagine the cumulative water wasting if only half of the
\nhomes in America had just one leaky faucet!<\/p>\n

Insulate your
\nwater pipes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dislike cold showers?  Most of us waste
\nwater waiting for the hot water to reach the showerhead.  Insulating
\nyour hot water pipes will save water, gas, and prevent your pipes
\nfrom freezing.<\/p>\n

Take a sailor\u2019s shower.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Did
\nyou know that if you reduce your shower time by just 1-2 minutes you can save
\nup to 700 gallons per month? Adding a low flow showerhead to the mix can
\nsave up to 800 gallons of water per month.<\/p>\n

(Note: I still take
\nlong showers but I save water by taking a \u201csailors shower\u201d.  That
\nis, I rinse and then turn off the water.  Soap up
\ncompletely,
\nthen rinse again, turn off the water, and so
\non!)  
\n 
\nUse energy star approved
\nappliances.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Look for the energy star label when you purchase a
\ndish or clothes washer.  You may also qualify for a rebate from your
\nlocal utility company.
\n 
\nDon\u2019t water your lawn
\nduring the day.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Water your lawn early in the morning to
\navoid excessive evaporation.  (Early morning watering will help
\nprevent grass diseases as well.) Also, avoid
\nfrequent watering. You’ll find that occasional deep
\nwatering\u2019s build healthier roots and save
\nwater. 
\n 
\nTest your garden sprinklers.  Don\u2019t
\nwater the sidewalk, (don’t be
\na gutter flooder!)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Leaky irrigation systems,
\noverwatering, broken or incorrectly aimed sprinklers can waste hundreds
\nof gallons of water.<\/p>\n

Plant a drought
\ngarden.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you live in a hot dry climate, plants which require
\nlarge amounts of water are ill-advised. Instead, consider landscaping
\nwith drought tolerant xeriscapic plants.  They not only require
\nvery little water, but they are colorful and disease resistant. 
\nAdd a \u201cdrip-watering\u201d system to your garden for even more water
\nsavings.<\/p>\n

Now if you will excuse me, I’m off to plant my drought
\ngarden!<\/p>\n

My Story:<\/p>\n

Hi!  I’m Michael, the webmaster at the new The
\nEnvironmentally Friendly Shoppe at http:\/\/enfriendshop.com\/index.html<\/a><\/p>\n

The
\nEnvironmentally Friendly Shoppe is a light-hearted website which advocates
\ngreen sustainable living.<\/p>\n

We feature recurring articles such as The
\nHypo Critic Oaf which depicts one flawed man’s journey to reach an
\neco-friendly lifestyle.  We publish Rogers PET Column, an article
\ndiscussing green living from a dog’s point of view.  Finally, we have a
\nshopping directory featuring ecologically sound products.  We also have
\nan environmental blog!<\/p>\n

Hope to see you there
\nsoon!<\/p>\n

Peace!
\nMichael<\/p>\n

Posted by:
\nViews: 10294
\nTopic:6<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I waste water.  I admit it, I love a nice long leisurely shower.  And based on what I learned while being a municipal public works employee, it’s about one of the worst things I can do to the environment.  Saving water should be on the top of everyone’s list. Let me explain why:   In the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-activism","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9434,"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431\/revisions\/9434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}