[Guest]

http://interestalert.com/brand/siteia.s ... 20Breaking

[Specop_007]

Something to think about.... Clicky

It might behoove one to live next to a body of water.

[Permanently_Baffled]

i guess that is mcdonalds future stuffed then!!

Mind you i don't know how i am going to cope without BBQ spare ribs

[KiddieKorral]

I live near a spring-fed stream, so water is no problem for me. It is something to think about, though. There was some... how should I put this... "unpleasantness" on the western barrier islands this past week over water. And about the ribs; may I suggest substituting chicken fried chicken?

[JR]

The shower thread got me to thinking of other ways people waste water. Obvious things like watering the lawn came to mind. But, how much water is wasted when we brush our teeth? How many people turn on the faucet and just let the water run while brushing their teeth? I turn it on when I start to wet the brush, then at the end when I'm done to rinse the sink. If you brush your teeth for the full five minutes that it is said you should....thats a lot of water wasted if you leave the tap run the whole time.

Guess I must be bored tonight if this is what I'm thinking about.



Jodi

[Terran]

I am really water conservative when I brush my teeth, I don't just let the water run. I take a cup and I fill it with water... Then I go on the brush my teeth, after I'm done, I use the water that is in the cup to rinse my mouth. To sum it up, I only use two cups of water to brush my teeth.

I don't think this is wasteful but it takes less than 5 seconds to rinse toothbursh, so overall use cups like I do, and you'll save water.

[JR]

That's pretty much what I do too, Terran. I have to wonder how much water would be saved if everyone did this when brushing their teeth. I actually heard something about this on the Chicago radio news a few months ago. They gave an estimate on how much water would be saved if people did this, but I didn't hear what they said.



Jodi

[savethehumans]

Me, I wet the paste and brush enough to get a good lather going. (Takes about 2 seconds.) Then the water doesn't come back on till I've finished brushing, and spit out. On goes the water for a few secs as the stuff goes down the drain. Off it goes! I doubt I use more than 10 secs of water in the whole process. (And, yeah, I know the above description is disgusting! )

People will catch on to water conservation once mandatory rationing is in effect--not just during regional droughts, but all the time, all over the country. Then people will learn REAL quick how to still have water at the end of their rationing period!

[MonteQuest]

Here's an eye opener: 90% of all of the Colorado River water goes to raise mostly alfalfa, which is fed to beef and dairy cattle. This beef production only represents 13% of the entire US beef production. No other single activity has altered the shape and texture of western lands, than the raising of cattle. Nor does any other activity consume more water. If real reductions in the consumption of water in the West are to be achieved, our production of water intensive crops like alfalfa and cotton, will have to be severely curtailed. It has been estimated that a 7 percent reduction in agricultural water use would provide a 100 percent increase for urban use. While urban use accounts for only about 6 percent of Colorado River water, nearly 50 percent of that figure goes to water lawns.

[skateari]

wow those are some suprising statistic there monte..

[fastbike]

Where I live we are blessed with a supply of pure artesian water. The local council just pumps it out of the ground and into the pipes. Regular testing shows it is some of the best municipal water in the world - and believe me, I lived in a few places where you wouldn't want to drink the local water (taste as well as health issues).

Now, what do my fellow citizens do with this wonderful endowment.

Pour great heaps of it on their LAWNS. And we live in a temperate climate so there is truely no need to water a lawn even if you want to grow a lawn.

Last summer the water supply was under pressure so locals were asked to stop lawn watering. Not a popular request.

Does this sound like a parallel to our planet's oil endowment - i.e. find trivial uses for it rather than truly life enhancing/sustaining uses !

Finally, the biggest growth industry here is conversion of dryland sheep farms to fully irrigated dairy farms. Just one conversion last year, extracts more water on a daily basis than does our city of 300K pop.

[MonteQuest]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('skateari', 'w')ow those are some suprising statistic there monte..

[gg3]

Monte, I read that item about cattle to suggest that a 7% reduction in meat consumption will result in a 100% increase in water available to urban areas. Is that correct?

In which case, no reason it can't be done. (oops, there's that word "reason" again!)

Toothbrushing: I turn on the water at a trickle and put the cup under it. Wet the brush, add toothpaste, do the brushing, and by the time I need to rinse, the cup is about 3/4 full.

Lawns: Yes, another exercise in pure idiot waste that should be done away with. Though, perversely enough, in some areas, municipal codes *require* large lawns. Places like that should have their water cut off entirely for a while.

[frankthetank]

I've read Saudi Arabia uses huge amounts of underground water to raise crops in the desert.

In dry deserts, I bet evaporation rates are very high. I live in a very wet climate, so water use isn't a top priority. Crops grown around here depend on mother nature for water.

I don't use much water, but i will say this. Why don't US homes have urinals? All stores have them. I think peeing in the toilet and then flushing is very wasteful. Maybe I'll start peeing outside...

[MonteQuest]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('gg3', 'M')onte, I read that item about cattle to suggest that a 7% reduction in meat consumption will result in a 100% increase in water available to urban areas. Is that correct?

[stepka]

My vote for all time stupid water use is . . . growing rice in the desert. I have heard they do this in certain arid parts of California and Texas?

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', ' ')Maybe I'll start peeing outside...

[trespam]

I have used water sparingly for years. I turn the shower on, get wet, turn it off, lather and shampoo, rinse, and out. I use hardly any water at all. Same for brushing teeth and everything else. I hate waste. Especially of water.

Of course, if we use everything sparingly, it just means that we'll be able to fill this damn planet with 15 billion people instead of 8 or so. Kind of makes you want to spoil the commons. Wouldn't be moral though. Conservation is a personal virtue. Cheney was right. Well, partially right. It also should be a public policy.

On the beef thing: I eat hardly any beef. In general, I tend towards vegetarian, but am not adverse to eating meat. But cows seem like such a waste of resources and, more generally, people eat way too much protein. They could get by with a lot less.

[gg3]

Why not urinals in houses? They take up expensive square footage of floor space, and they only serve half the population.

Two other options are a whole lot better:

a) Graywater recycling: filter the water from the shower and laundry, pump it up to an overhead tank, use it to flush the toilet; and/or,

b) A two-handle toilet. One is labeled "1" and is for Number One. The other is labeled "2" and is for Number Two. (translation for non-Native English speakers: #1 and #2 are USA slang for "pee" and "poop")

Anyone who can't figure out the difference between the two flush handles is probably suffering from a diagnosable cognitive disability and would have custodial care anyway.

[fastbike]

Why do you need all that water to flush?. In most other parts of the "flushing" world you use 3 litres for a #1 and 6 litres for a #2. These 2 button toilets work well too.

[Itch]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')hy do you need all that water to flush?. In most other parts of the "flushing" world you use 3 litres for a #1 and 6 litres for a #2.