I once had a playmate who had never seen running water in a home until she visited mine. Her name was Willow Faye, and she was one of my mother’s students at a special needs nursery school. Her family lived in rural Tennessee. That was the early 1960s. And yet, even today…
Roughly 1.3 million Americans still don’t have hot and cold running water, a bathtub or shower or a working flush toilet. Many more don’t have clean water that’s safe to drink.
At the same time, Americans that have clean, running water at home use nearly 100 gallons a day, more than any other country on earth.
We often take for granted what we have in abundance and that many others lack: water, food, housing, education, family, security. And too often we hear ourselves and others complain of first world problems like missed flight connections, bad service at a restaurant or a wine stain on a white shirt.
March 22 is World Water Day. Here are five ways to be smarter about preserving water:
- Purchase a water filter for your faucet and a reusable water bottle instead of plastic bottles of water. You’ll help save the planet from waste and save money.
- Avoid running your faucet while brushing your teeth or cleaning in the kitchen.
- Take shorter showers and with less hot water. It is also less drying to your skin.
- Don’t use your toilet as a wastebasket. Every time you flush a cigarette butt, facial tissue or other small bit of trash, five to seven gallons of water is wasted. (source)
- Check for leaks and cracks in and around faucets, toilets and pipes inside and outside of your home and get them fixed. Invest in a plumber sooner to fix small problems before they become costly repairs later.
You can find more smart water saving tips at www.eartheasy.com
