Heating, Cooling and HVAC

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Water conservation is one most important issue out of many environmental issues, that with only a slight awareness, we can make a dramatic reduction in our everyday consumption. Better to cut back now, than pay through the nose in the near future.

If we consider the cycle that brings us fresh water. Rain falls from the sky. This water collects in the ground, feeding lakes, rivers, etc. Cities and towns tap into this resource and people like you and I wash our dishes, clothes, bodies and water our lawns. Consider the fact that our population is ever increasing, however we can’t make it rain. Now you may begin to see the importance of being aware of your water consumption habits.

Let us see where the drought is. It’s in half of the United States. A quick check with Google will find a U.S. drought monitor that is updated on a daily basis. It only takes a cursory glance to see that we are not immune to effects of drought and water shortage. We may not have hostile borders, and our rivers may be our own, but an ever increasing population still results in an ever decreasing amount of groundwater.

When you consider the water shortage problems worldwide, the issue becomes a lot more real to you. You may start to take water shortage issues with some context and realize that your own country could be afflicted by similar issues in the not so distant future. “How do you mean?” you say. “Where’s the drought?”.

Another most interesting point to consider is that more than a dozen nations receive most of their water from rivers that cross borders of neighboring countries viewed as hostile. These include Botswana, Bulgaria, Cambodia, the Congo, Gambia, the Sudan, and Syria, all of whom receive 75 percent or more of their fresh water from the river flow of hostile upstream neighbors.

However if we shift from a local to a global perspective the issue dramatically changes. The World Bank reports that eighty countries now have water shortages that threaten health and economies while 40 percent of the world, more than 2 billion people, have no access to clean water or sanitation. In this context, we cannot expect water conflicts to always be amenably resolved.

Most U.S. citizens, when they think about water shortages, most likely think about them as a local problem. Maybe in their town or city, or maybe in their state or region. They probably don’t usually regard such problems as particularly worrisome, being confident in the fact that the problem will most likely be handled by investment in infrastructure or other management strategies. If any water feuds arise, for instance between Arizona and California, they expect them to be resolved through negotiations or a courtroom.

Save Water, Help Human Health and the Environment
Depleting reservoirs and groundwater aquifers can put water supplies, human health, and the environment at serious risk. Lower water levels can lead to higher concentrations of natural contaminants, such as radon and arsenic, or human pollutants, such as agricultural and chemical wastes. Using water more efficiently and wisely helps maintain supplies at safe levels, protecting human health and the environment.

Save Water, Save Energy
It takes a considerable amount of energy to deliver and treat the water you use everyday. American public water supply and treatment facilities consume about 56 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year-enough electricity to power more than 5 million homes for an entire year. For example, letting your faucet run for five minutes uses about as much energy as letting a 60-watt light bulb run for 14 hours.

By reducing household water use you can not only help reduce the energy required to supply and treat public water supplies but also can help address climate change. In fact:

If one out of every 100 American homes retrofitted with water-efficient fixtures and reduce water usage, we could save about 100 million kWh of electricity per year-avoiding 80,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. That is equivalent to removing nearly 15,000 automobiles from the road for one year!
If 1 percent of American homes replaced an older toilet with a high-efficiency toilet (HET), the country would save more than 38 million kWh of electricity-enough to supply more than 43,000 households electricity for one month.

Save Water, Save Money
The average household spends as much as $500 per year on its water and sewer bill. By making just a few simple changes to use water more efficiently, you could save about $170 per year. If all U.S. households installed water-efficient appliances and use water wisely, the country would save more than 3 trillion gallons of water and more than $18 billion dollars per year! Also, when we use water more efficiently, we reduce the need for costly water supply infrastructure investments and new wastewater treatment facilities.
Click to see:->
Water conservation in households and businesses
Recycling Saves Water!
Thinking Global: How urgent is it to save water?
Ten Things We Can Do to Save Water
Everyday tips to save water

Resources:

http://www.energyefficienthomearticles.com

http://www.wisteme.com/question.view?targetAction=viewQuestionTab&id=950

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