image from Mother Jones
Your Contribution to the California Drought NY Times, May 2015
“The average American consumes more than 300 gallons of California water each week by eating food that was produced there.”
The World’s Most Wasteful Megacity: “I live, fairly happily, in the world’s most wasteful megacity. It is a densely populated, steadily aging, consumerist utopia where we buy, and throw away, a staggering amount of stuff. Where some faucet, toilet, or pipe, is constantly leaking in our apartments. Where an armada of commerce-beckoning lights are always on. Where a fleet of gas-guzzling cars still clog the roadways. I, along with my twenty million or so neighbors, help New York City use more energy, suck down more water, and spew out more solid waste than any other mega-metropolitan area.”
California Drought Tests History of Endless Growth, NY TIMES
“A punishing drought is forcing a reconsideration of whether the aspiration of untrammeled growth that has for so long been the state’s engine has run against the limits of nature.”
“The city has reduced its water consumption 6 percent since the drought started. The new meters can detect illegal watering in real time, and they’ve helped to cut some homeowners’ use by 80 percent. … when people see what they’re doing, they change.”
“I only shower once a week. I do not leave the water running when brushing my teeth. I now use hand sanitizer (which I purchase) quite regularly, rather than wash my hands.”
“I’ve cut my shower time in half by not using very hot water — gets me in and out a lot quicker than my favorite scalding hot showers. I collect the water from the shower as its warming up in a bucket to use to water my plants or wash down my car a bit.”
“My husband and I use our iPhones to time a three-minute shower. This includes the time it takes the water to heat up.”
