The fact is, global warming / climate weirdness is happening; and it is quite clear recent big changes are caused by us.  Independent measurements agree the average temperature of the whole world is steadily going up.  Warmer air holds more water vapor given off by warming oceans and lakes.  Wetter air causes more powerful storms (tornadoes in Massachusetts! as well as hurricanes and superstorms like Sandy.)  In winter, that means heavier snows, even though the average winter weather is not always so cold as it used to be.

You know the rest of the bad news, but don’t get to feeling helpless.  You’re not.  There is a lot everybody can do. 

Last month we discussed saving energy (and money) by managing lighting.

This month we talk about saving energy (and money) at home by avoiding wasting water.

We get virtually all the water we use, whether for drinking and cooking, washing, flushing toilets, growing plants, or whatever, by pumping it up from wells.  And those pumps are run by electricity.  It follows, then, that wasting water costs us in several ways: the electricity used to pump it is money down the drain, but that wasted electricity has a carbon cost—the amps and volts we buy from the local grid are generated mostly by the use of fossil fuels, coal, or gas.  Burn any fossil fuel to spin a generator and you send greenhouse gasses aloft to worsen an already bad situation. A third way may be even less obvious. Our pumps bring water from a finite aquifer; if we don’t use its water prudently and not needlessly lowering the level down below, salt water will start intruding; or we may have to dig new, deeper wells (or both.)

OK, time for today’s tips about how you can stop wasting water every day.

  1. Don’t let the water run while you are brushing your teeth, shaving, or washing pots and pans. Just turn it on and off as needed.  Tiny saving? Not when millions of us change our habits. This takes extra effort; let ’er run is easier? Wasting is usually easier; but in the end it’s self-destructive and, really, dumb.
  2. Take shorter showers (especially, hot ones.)  Time several of your showers for a baseline, then try cutting down by some reasonable amount like 10%, ideally to 5 minutes.  Ditto for tub baths, and try shifting from them to showers only. Especially in summer try wetting yourself, turn the water off while you scrub with soap and shampoo, and then turn it on to rinse. Meditate or practice singing elsewhere!
  3. Don’t take stinging showers; the gentler the flow, the less water you will waste without getting any less clean.
  4. At the kitchen sink, if you need really hot or cold water, catch the tepid water you run off first and use it for another purpose, e.g. to water plants or for minor cleanup jobs.
  5. Machine wash full loads of dishes and clothes; with most dishwashers, you don’t need to rinse dishes first. Turn off the dry cycle and air dry dishes instead.
  6. Repair leaky faucets and toilets.  Of all water used, 5% is wasted in leaks.
  7. Patronize car washes that recycle the water. (Ask; many do.)