So Serious Saturday #10 Water Wisdom Part II

Fiction needs a basis in reality. Exercising non-fiction muscles once in a while benefits an active imagination, channeling creative energies as it focuses on a subject. So Serious Saturdays will be an active place for critical essays or writing about reality in the context of real events - even when it is not written on Saturdays.

Type: Informational/Persuasive

Water Wisdom Part II

As I said two Saturday issues ago, there are many important and everyday ways to stay water-conscious. The previous part gave an overview of what water is and its importance in making food and materials. This section focuses on water usage.

Water Use in Food

I touched on this subject briefly in Part I.  National Geographic  has a neat infographic showing how much water each meat or item requires. Notice the large difference between, say, lettuce and beef.

Why is meat so water intensive? The simple answer is stacked values: the grain the animal eats takes water, and so does giving water to the animal while it is alive in order to keep it alive, and then the water used to make the gasoline that trucks use to transport the animal to stores. Added up, this is a lot of water spent over the course of the animal's lifetime.

Stacked values does not just plague the meat industry. Water is used to grow produce and transport it. Gracelinks.org states that "approximately 1 to 2.5 gallons of water is used in the process of refining a gallon of gasoline", which means that every time a gallon of gas is used at least a gallon of good water is being used, too. If any food has to travel a distance by truck or other gasoline-fed vehicle, it uses more gas and therefore more water for every additional mile.

 Buying local food, when available, can lessen the problem by reducing water usage. In addition to saving water, buying local also means enriching the local economy and supporting small farmers. 

Water Use Indoors

Water use inside of homes includes faucets, toilets, showers, and unknown leaks. According to HomeWaterWorks.org, the average shower uses two gallons per minute for a total of over 17 gallons per shower. Too much of that goes down the drain. If that water was collected in a bucket and used to water outdoor plants the waste would not be as great. 

Another option is the Navy shower, developed by a military branch and basically a fancy way of saying to turn off the water/sink/showerhead/hose when not immediately using it, even turning off water to soap up or brush teeth clean. 

After California Governor Brown's announcement about mandatory water restrictions, I started taking Navy showers and I've got to say, it isn't as difficult as I thought. It is simply a matter of making sure that all the shower tasks that need water go together and all the tasks that don't need water happen between rinses, when the water is turned off.  Sponge baths are also a great way to keep clean and conserve water in days between showers, 

Water Use At Home

Indoor water use is important to control, but so is outdoor water use. To review how water is used inside and outside of your home, consider using an interactive water calculator. It gave me an idea of where I could easily cut back my water usage. Being aware of water use is the first step in conservation efforts.

Look for Part III, Coming Soon!