April 26, 2008
‘Water Wars’ aren’t helped any by the climate
Wired has an article out today on the worldwide impact the climate is having on Earth’s most abundant resource: water.
Without even reading their seven page article though, this infograph makes it apparent where this post is headed. I should, of course, point out the obvious up front: while individuals can’t really have all that big of an impact on Earth’s climate, we can curb our spending habits. So sorry GAP and all the other dungaree outfitters out there, I won’t be buying anymore jeans after seeing this image; I bet Levi Strauss & Co didn’t see this coming!
On the subject of saving water, we should all take a hint from the good people of Goat Island, that wonderful little nook of a paradise island right here off IOP: save your rain water! I haven’t gone and checked every house, but I have been to several for one reason or another over the years 
, and I can’t remember one that didn’t have a giant rainwater catching cistern under the house.
True, they don’t have water piped to the house (and from the owners I know, that’s a good thing), so it’s really more of a matter of necessity than being ‘green’ or frugal, but the point is, for every well that is dug here on the mainland to water the grass, all that money and energy could be saved by tapping into the rainwater that falls from the sky for free.
Just the other day, the Today show had a segment about the Bush’s post-White House residence and their desire to go ‘green’. They will be saving their rainwater by not using any gutters, and instead, letting the water fall straight down into a pebble bed that filters it into an underground cistern for use later.
Coincidentally, I read How to Build a Rainwater Collection System a few weeks ago, something you may want to check out if you’re interested in setting up a rain retrieval system yourself. Meanwhile, here’s a short video I just grabbed from YouTube:
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What do you think about that?
