I ran across this post on saving water at lifehacker. The article itself only provides a link to a chart depicting how much water is required for typical things you do and eat during your day, I find the water usage comparison chart less interesting than the actual comments to the post. Most people talk about how ridiculous the examples are or mock the comparisons (“no bath? what about hygiene? low-flow toilets? Did they count how many times you actually have to flush one before it actually does a proper job?” to paraphrase a few). I think they are missing the point.
In fact, I’ve been seeing this more often (and admittedly, I am as guilty as the next guy). We crawl the internet looking for answers – “What can I do to save money? What should I invest in? What should I do to lose weight? How can I save the planet?” – we are often looking for the easy answers. One thing I learned from reading Your Money or Your Life (read my review) is that you will benefit more from being conscious of your behavior. Want to save money? Track your spending habits and be aware of what you are spending and why. Want to lose weight? Be more present when you eat – take mental note of why you are eating, when you feel satisfied (as opposed to full), and how you feel when you are done. Information is important; awareness is the key to making changes.
And so we return to the chart. Is the point to tell you to replace your old toilet with a low-flow one? To stop taking baths? Give up eating beef? Or could it be that it is merely trying to raise your awareness of how much water a few examples use, and that the choices you make can affect how much water you use (or is used on your behalf) in a typical day. Armed with that knowledge and hopefully more after you do some research, you can answer the question yourself; no need for spoon-feeding. And once you have the information, you can make conscious changes to your behavior.
It’s a video published by Bonfire of the Brands, a book and website dedicated to speaking out against consumption for consumption’s sake. The video is made in a propaganda style, telling the viewer to consumer more, buy things you want, don’t fix things; just replace them, follow fashion, and buying more means you can recycle more.
I’ve always had the nagging feeling that I’m a good consumer (not in a positive way) because I have acted on a lot of wants, even though nearly all of my needs are taken care of. I feel a little rush of endorphins when click the ‘Add to Shopping Cart’ button or when I buy a shiny new toy at the store. This also takes me back to the Story of Stuff which also focuses on the environmental impacts of our consumption-based culture.
The key here is understanding the psychology of consumption and realize when we are being manipulated. “Do I really need a new computer? Not likely, but I want it.” It’s a learning process, and I am getting better about it. I’m really looking more closely at whether something I want to buy is a need vs. a want and avoid buying something that is just a ‘want’.
I had to install a new head in my shower the other day (tried cleaning the old one and it just made it worse), and I found one that has a ‘trickle’ mode where the water is still on, but just barely. This allows you to get your shower up to temperature and then shut off the flow without getting a cold water shock when you turn it back on.
Why would I want to turn off the water in the shower, you ask? Read on…
I’ve decided to try my hand at the Navy Shower the past couple days. It is quick and saves quite a bit of water. The basic principle is:
Turn on water and get wet
Turn off water
Lather up
Turn on water and rinse off
Turn off water and get out!
I figure that since I usually take 2 showers a day – one in the morning and another after my evening workout, the Navy Shower is a good way to conserve water. I get just as clean, and as an added bonus I get out of the shower that much quicker!
The difficult part – and it will take some getting used to – is that it is definitely not as comforting as a long hot shower. ...But you can spend a little extra time in the rinse cycle off to make up for it.
We went to see a special screening of The 11th Hour last week, with a Q&A with one of the producers and people interviewed in the movie. The movie is about 90 minutes long, and is mostly in a ‘talking heads’ format featuring environmentalists and scientists concerned with life on Earth, our connection to, and impact on everything else associated with our home.
Parts of it do come off a bit preachy or alarmist, but overall the movie contains quite a bit of interesting information. It is relatively light on data (see An Inconvenient Truth for that), but delves more into the philosophical aspects of environmentalism. Many of the interviewees emphasize that we are not above_ nature, or given dominion over the world; we are a part of nature; we are tied to every other living thing. They talk about the need to ween ourselves off fossil fuels and live in more sustainable way; we have the technology to do so today. Of course there are some accusatory/inflammatory topics and statements – especially as they pertain to politicians and corporations.
Another interesting aspect they go into is the American consumer economy (I’ve posted on this before) – and an interesting factoid – “for every 1 truckload of goods that have lasting value, there are 32 truckloads of waste.”
I recommend you check out the movie. It is very interesting and informative. The best part is that it doesn’t end on a ‘doom and gloom’ note. We can do something about this; we need to take action.