From Guest Blogger Katica Maric: We are Running Out of Fresh Water and This is What We Have To Do About It
The data is in and it’s definitely not good. Our planet is running out of fresh water at an alarming rate, because our reserves are being depleted before they’ve had time to replenish themselves.
This information is coming directly from NASA satellites that have discovered nearly two-thirds of our largest underground aquifers are in trouble.
The only real way we’re going to fix this mess is by doing everything within our power to save as much fresh water as possible. We’ve all been guilty of wasting far too much water over the years, but this is a wake up call and it must change.
Here are a few things you can do as an individual to help save the world:
Build A DIY Low-Flow Toilet
Every time you flush the toilet you waste a lot of water, but it’s obviously someting we all have to do.
A low-flow toilet is the perfect solution because it will only use enough water to flush the waste away and no more. Unfortunately you’d have to spend money replacing your toilet, but there is a way to do it DIY style.
Fix All The Leaking Faucets
If you have a leaking faucet inside your home it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but you wouldn’t believe how much water each one actually wastes. One faucet could leak up to 15 liters of water per day.
It is an unbelievable 5,500 liters of water per year, which would go some way to filling an Olympic swimming pool. To think all that fresh water could be saved by simply checking your faucets and fixing the leaks.
Be Careful When Washing Clothes
Nobody expects you to sit outside and wash your clothes like they did in the good old days. We only have a limited amount of time each day, so washing machines are fine to use if you’re not wasting water.
If you don’t have enough clothes to put on a full load you should wait until you do. In you are ever desperate to clean one item of clothing in an emergency, it will only take you a few minutes to do it by hand.
Make Your Own Urban Garden
When vegetables are grown it takes a disgraceful amount of water to nurture them until they arrive at your supermarket. The obvious solution would be for everyone to grow their own at home in the back garden.
There will be those who complain they don’t have enough space, but urban gardening has a solution for everyone. You’ll also be able to water the vegetables using some of the tips we’re speaking about today.
Turn All Your Faucets Off
You’ll have to brush your teeth every morning, but you don’t have to leave the faucet on. Even though it’s a simple trick it could save you roughly 6 liters of water per minute, which will add up to a huge amount over the course of a year.
Ideally you’ll do the same thing when you’re applying soap in the shower, because you will waste up to 45 liters per minute. It’s good to get into the habit of jumping out of the shower as quickly as possible.
Use A Bucket In The Kitchen
Some people who are really into saving fresh water will take a bucket into the shower with them. They’ll use all the water they collect in the garden instead of wasting perfectly good water from their hose.
You don’t have to go to the same extremes in order to make a big difference. One way you could do something similar is by washing your vegetables over a bucket, which could then be used to water all your plants.
Start Harvesting Your Rain Water
Every time it rains a huge amount of water is lost because nobody has any way of collecting it. Once you know the basics of harvesting rainwater it will be easy to start collecting it to use in your garden.
If you want a simple explanation all you need to do is imagine the roof of a shed inside a garden. To harvest the water you would simply need to add guttering and direct the downspout into a rain barrel.
You’ve Got To Trust NASA
If NASA is telling us our fresh water is running out it’s vital we listen to them. We’re already seeing problems in certain areas across the globe, so everyone needs to do everything possible to slow the problem down. The days of taking fresh water for granted are well and truly over.
