This post was sent in by Jessica from www.thefrugalmrsjones.org – Enjoy!
Water makes life on Earth possible – it is our most precious resource! However with a limited supply and a worldwide shortage, it is more important than ever to use our most precious resource responsibly. Did you know that while roughly 71% of the Earth is covered in water, less than 1% of that water available to us is actually fresh? Much of the planet’s freshwater is locked up in glaciers. Did you also know that within the last 15 years, most of the western states (such as California) have had more of a persistent drought than in any other period of the last 850 years?
California has tried working with this drought by making a lot of changes. They are replacing lawns with drought-resistant plants and offering incentives for more water-efficient appliances. That drought was expected to cost California more than $2 billion in 2014 alone – imagine how much it will cost this year!
I have read that eating less meat means using less water. How? Livestock farming requires considerable amounts of water. According to some estimates, it takes approximately 1,800 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef! That is an incredibly large amount of water for something that does not stretch very far. Meatless Mondays, anyone?
Day-to-day fixes such as installing low-flow toilets and replacing lawns are only one part of the solution. Those solutions cost money, though, and not everyone has the money to do something such as that. By doing what we can to protect our most precious resource, our water, we can change the way the world operates and lives! Every little step makes a difference. What do you do to conserve water? Do you catch rainwater to use for your garden? Do you take shorter showers? Let us know!
Photo Credit: beforeitsnews.com