Water You Doing For Water

Of course we've all heard the term "Go Green", which is usually associated with recycling paper and plastic or riding your bike to reduce carbon emissions. Although those are all very important things to incorporate into an eco-friendly lifestyle, so is the reduction of water use. Water scarcity is one of the lesser issues considered in society because we use water constantly in our daily lives. Economically speaking, it appears to be a perfect balance of supply and demand. As shown in Water You Doing For Water, water scarcity cannot yet be considered an emergency , but if we, as global citizens, do nothing to prevent further water waste, the light at the end of the tunnel will get darker. Water is already scare in several communities in Africa, India, and the Middle East.

As the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, Haiti is the epitome of what results from water scarcity. The people of Haiti often resort to 'garbage-filled' rivers to supply their households with water for their daily needs, including  bathing, cooking and sometimes drinking. Waterborne illnesses, such as typhoid, cholera, and chronic diarrhea, are the cause of more than half of the deaths in the country every year.

Looking at our planet that is seventy percent covered in water, only 2.5% of that is available for us to us. And of that 2.5%, 68.9% of it is locked in glaciers.

So here's the big question: What can the average Joe do about this? Of course we can send people in Haiti gargantuan packages of water bottles or Brita pitchers, but relief will not stop the problem. The first step to preventing further water scarcity is being conscious of how much water we use each day. Be aware of how long a shower is, how much water you use to wash dishes, and how often you need to do laundry. It is surprising how easy it is to take shorter showers and turn the water off in between wash and rinse, to wear clothing a couple more times before doing laundry, and make sure to turn faucets completely off.

Taking these simple steps doesn't just affect your utilities bill; it affects the people in Haiti, Africa, India, and the Middle East. Having a resource conservative mindset can be contagious, so contagious that it can go across the globe and prevent further water scarcity in areas that are headed in a dangerous direction. But it can't happen without willingness. We have to dedicate ourselves to conserve one of the most essential  natural resources the Earth has.

We need to go blue.