International Wasters

Have you ever wondered how long you shower? Maybe you shower for a minute(I hope you don't) or for 2 hours(Definitely hope you don't there). I was in my suite the other day and I was waiting on one of my suite mates to finish showering and he literally took about 30 minutes to shower. I felt like I was waiting for days! Whenever I hear how we should take shorter showers, it kind of gives me a different perspective because we can't shower in just 5 minutes because we at least to be clean enough to present ourselves in front of others. If people want to shower and clean themselves in 5 minutes, then by all means! But the main idea is that, How much do we consume not only domestically in the United States, but globally? I did a little research and saw some shocking facts about our water usage in the US and abroad. Here are the top 10 facts, according to ecosalon.com:

1. Set in the desert of Dubai, the Tiger Woods Golf Course uses 4 million gallons of water every day to maintain its lush appearance.

2. Since 1950, water usage in the United States has risen 127 percent.

3. Even though each person only requires 48 liters of water on a daily basis, individuals in the United States use an average of 500 liters, those in Canada an average of 300 liters and those in England an average of 200 liters.

4. Of all the water that enters each household, about 95% of it ends up down the drain.

5. With access to just 5 liters of water each day, more than a billion people in water poor regions around the globe survive on the same amount used to flush a toilet or take a 5-minute shower.

6. If you shorten your showers by just a single minute, you can save approximately 700 gallons of water in a month.

7. Letting the tap run when you brush your teeth wastes up to 4 gallons of water every time.

8. It takes an average of 300 gallons to water your lawn. During the summer, this can account for almost half of your water usage.

9. Every time you throw your clothes in the washer, you use about 50 gallons of water.

10. Another wasteful desert endeavor, the proposed Waveyards water park in Mesa, Arizona will require up to 100 million gallons of groundwater every year in an area that receives a mere 8 inches of rainfall in that time.

Some of these really alarmed me, especially numbers 1-3, 5, 9 and 10. This is disappointing that we use this much water daily, especially when those in third world countries are suffering more than we are. They are barely surviving on a little water to drink or use throughout the day and yet we waste so much by the minute. We need to understand that what we do everyday can affect our future and everyone around us. Water usage is extremely important. We have learned throughout this week that water is a key part to us going green. We have addressed the issues and have to take different and more creative steps to promote and cut water usage globally. We have discussed in our global class that we are the change and WE must be the generation that makes an effort to do more to protect our environment. We must change our ways and promote more to be the people to save future generations. Next time, time yourself on how long you shower or how much water you use daily, you might be surprised at how much you consume. Just make sure you don't take 2 hour showers... We need to sit down and have a serious talk, if that's the case..

For more information on what to do to conserve water, checkout this link:http://www.wateruseitwisely.com/100-ways-to-conserve/index.php 

B. L. J.= The Waterboy