Good piece in the Chronicle today about water and the current drought / shortage. I have to admit the water situation in the state, as well as global, is pretty bleak. Even if we were to get “normal” rainfall, what does normal really mean when we are surrounded by growth? Growing population, growing industrial needs, aging infrastructure. Normal or average water becomes totally irrelevant if your demands on the resource continue to increase. And it isn’t enough to just do more. Maybe you installed a low flush toilet. Maybe you have a front loading High Efficiency washing machine. Maybe you have a drought resistant landscape. I congratulate you, you made important changes.
Do more.
I am sorry, but it is not enough. I was struck by a post on the boards by a citizen who had listed all the conservation steps they had taken, and was complaining that they were being punished now because they could not reduce their use further. I understand that frustration, but if you have cut as much as you can from your own household, then your next step is to make your friends, your family and your neighbor cut back their use too. Sustainably can start as an individual effort, but it sure can’t stay that way. I hate to get all hippie dippy but if it is not a communal effort, forget it. San Francisco has one of the lowest per capita water use levels in the state. Great. Now we need to get Daly City, Oakland & Sausalito there as well. And we can do more. I know for a fact that I waste water. I can upgrade my house, my properties, and my lifestyle to live more sustainably. And if a nut job like me can do more, imagine how many gallons I could save if I got, for example, my lazy brother to do something? If increased conservation effort does not mirror increases in demand due to population and industrial growth, we will loose.
I had a great email from one of our readers, Bill Roth, who has developed a set of 4 homes out in San Antonio called Arroyo San Antonio. He incorporated a lot of common sense features attentive to both power and water conservation: energy star appliances, dual flush toilets, front load washing machines. I was particularly struck by his approach to greywater harvesting. Obviously being in the desert the good residents of San Antonio are very water conscious, but frankly we all need to think that way. Too much water flows through our homes that can be given a second use, and we all need to think about water consumption more seriously.
I am very much in a graywater mood atm…there are so many freaking smart people out there doing cool things that we can all do to save water, save money, save or future….really its just a question of lighting fires under our collective asses and getting to work. Here is one fookin interesting idea from Brac Systems for a home graywater system that seems to be a straightforward, low maintenance approach to leveraging your existing water use with conservation. Me likey!
I was talking with one of my friends at SI yesterday about the drought – made me think again about how large our water problems are, but also how hidden the problem can be since the state is so big, and users are often so separated from the storage facilities they just don’t get how significant it is. And all each of us has to do to help out in our own homes is to do the little, simple things, like buy a energy star rated front loading washer the next time we need a new appliance. Here is a great Guerrilla Reporting Vid from socal, props to the person who made this.
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