Daily Greenz #161

As temperatures rise, so does our national water consumption. We guzzle more gallons to stay hydrated, keep our lawns and gardens green, and fill up our swimming pools. As we mentioned not too long ago, a third of all water Americans consume is devoted to outdoor uses, and that amount increases during months in which we’re outside more. Switching to low flow shower heads, low flow garden hose nozzles, and energy-efficient washing machines and laundry detergent can all help significantly lower your family’s water usage.

But we’re also consuming water in ways that aren’t as obvious. The production of 1 kilogram of beef, for example, requires 16,000 liters of water. And 140 liters go into making just 1 cup of coffee. Our water footprints aren’t just the amount of water we use daily.

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Daily Greenz #155

  Just because your lawn or garden is lush with vegetation doesn’t mean it’s actually green. The EPA tells us that an astounding 30% of the water Americans use is devoted to the outdoors, and more than half of that is used on lawns and gardens. Save water by fitting your garden hose with a low flow nozzle like Niagara Conservation’s 6 Position Hoze Nozzle, $9.95. But saving water isn’t the only way we can make our own backyards more eco-friendly. The millions of pounds of fertilizers and pesticides we apply to our lawns every year have the potential to pollute water when used incorrectly. And pesticides don’t discriminate – they kill all of the insects in your garden, including the beneficial ones.The National Resources Conservation Service
suggests these natural methods

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Daily Greenz #120

As a general do-gooder, you try to take shorter showers and run the dishwasher less often, but how much water are you really saving?  The researchers at Water Footprint show us that water consumption doesn’t end with just drinking, cooking, and washing – it extends to producing food, paper, clothes, and other things we don’t generally relate to water.  In fact, a person’s water footprint is more accurately defined as “the total volume of freshwater used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual.”

What does that mean, exactly?  For one, it challenges us to rethink even the most mundane of activities, such as brewing a cup of coffee.  According to the site, that one cup is equal to nearly 37 gallons of water.  How about that burger you ate the other night?  Water Footprint tells us it takes 4,160 gallons of water to produce 2.2 pounds of beef.  While this isn’t a plug to become a caffeine-free vegetarian, it’s a good way to start thinking about your overall impact on the environment.  Calculate your footprint at www.waterfootprint.org.

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