I live in a dormitory at a small junior college in Kagoshima, Japan. Before coming to Japan I had these ideas of what Japan would be like: technologically advanced. In some ways they are, and in some ways what I find surprises me.
Something I’ve been shocked and disappointed about is the lack of conservation by some of the young people. I believe something has been lost on this newest generation, and they are not thinking about conservation the way they should be, especially considering the small size of their country, and its limited natural resources.
Water. They are water wasters… or at least this particular group of students (which I doubt the water-wasting is occurring only with this particular group of young people). They let the water run when they’re brushing their teeth and washing dishes. They like many baths and long showers, and they do a whole load of laundry for the sake of washing two or three articles of clothing (they prefer to do laundry every day). I was shocked to see these habits.
I have been doing what I can to increase the awareness of water conservation within the dormitory. It has been getting better, thankfully, but that caused me to think about water conservation around the world.
Are we doing our parts to try to save water? Do we consider a green lawn to be more important than saving some drinking water for future generations? As many people take two showers a day, the rivers in Southwest USA are drying up. What will happen to communities in Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, etc, because of the carelessness of millions of residents? Whether we live in a desert or not, water conservation should be taken seriously.
Let’s take a look at our lives and see what improvements can be made. Fix that leaky faucet. Reduce your shower time by a couple minutes. Collect rainwater for houseplants. If we all do a little something, a lot can happen! Do what you can. Mother Nature (and future generations) will thank you!
ur right. it is projected for the next gen (sorry, can't remember the source from where i heard this) that clean water will be the next big commodity of scarcity after oil. we should probably be saving water and preventing contamination. good for you for spreading awareness!
I personally have no worry that we will be able to get the water we need for a while. There are already desalination plants in the deserts of the Middle East to supply water there.
That's actually illegal here in Colorado. You're not allowed to collect any rainwater that falls on your property, because the water doesn't belong to you... it belongs to the city.
~C
Check out the latest entry in the Between The Lines column!
Want the highest rated list to change? RATE those blogs, then!
Sure, perhaps we'll have all the water we need "for a while," as you said. However, this is ONLY for a while. This is the same thing that's been said by others regarding oil, or the arctic ice. Don't worry, we'll still have plenty for a while! But what happens when our "while" runs out? Perhaps that won't even happen in our lifetime, but does that mean we're leaving the problem for our children? Nah... we can't just put this stuff on the back burner just because we're not facing a crisis NOW. NOW is exactly the time we need to act to prevent a crisis from happening.
70% of the earth is covered in water. We'll be long dead before it all disappears.
And by 'we', I mean the human species.
~C
Check out the latest entry in the Between The Lines column!
Want the highest rated list to change? RATE those blogs, then!
it's also not for the sake of water in itself, for ourselves. it is about being responsible with ecological systems. they rely on water. so tamper with this life-source, and there will be many immediate and long-term repurcussions beyond our own thirst.