allaboutwomen

Water is reused all the time: we drink the same water that the dinosaurs drank. Still, only 1% of earth's water is drinkable. Infact, it's less than that.

There are a lot of things that need to change, from what kind of foods we eat, to how much non-biodegradable stuff we use, to how we get life-saving medician to the people who need it, to how we treat third-world laborers. There are a lot of fights out there. Think about it: how much more water, grain, money, and land are used to produce cattle, as opposed to producing just grain? Wouldn't grain feed more people? If we give people a dollar an hour in another country, it's about $8 more they would earn per day than if they worked for somebody else in their country, but it's still insanely less than we would pay somebody in a first world country. And how do we treat others in Africa and South America, if we don't treat most Americans? As for the way we treat stuff, go to youtube and look up, "The story of stuff."

But I started this blog about water. I mentioned that there are a lot of fights out there: I think we're probably all called to one. Maybe you are a breast-cancer awareness advocate. Maybe alzimer's is your thing. Perhaps you grow your own organic vegitables. Maybe you worked in the Peace Corps.

I think I've been called to water.

If you want to hear my arguments, read the April National Geographic. It's a water special.

There are other things I do, sure: I prefer not to eat agriculturaly raised animals, because of how they are treated, and I think it's horrible to raise an animal for the sheer purpose of killing it. I like to raise a handful of chickens, and plant my own garden. I buy locally grown foods. I stick to wild-caught fish; animals who had a chance to live their lives the way nature intended. I donate to March of Dimes, and just about any other ligitimate charity.

But I had never thought about water before.

I grew up in Arizona, so I learned early about 5 minute showers, turning the water off when brushing your teeth, fixing leaks, and installing low-flow everything. Still, I loved my baths, swimming pools, and mud puddles. My parent's only complaints were about the hot water bill (our water came from a private well, so cold water didn't cost much), and killing the plants with a combination of overwatering and stirring up the clay in the soil. I envied the retiree's houses, with their emerald green lawns. I wanted large trees, not the brush known as misquiet (although its wood can't be beat for barbeque). If there was a stream a foot wide that ran year 'round, it was marked as a river on the state map. I loved the rain, even if the lightening and thunder terrified me. It seemed I would become depressed in the sun, and then the rain would arrive, comforting me. Seattle was my favorite spot for vacation.
When I moved to NC, all the water and the greenery were overwhelming. The screams of "drought!" on the TV I recieved with laughter: what did they have to worry about? So their rivers ran a little low, and their wild fire warning would be a little high: a drought in Arizona was much worse, and it didn't last a season, it lasted decades. I swam as oftan as I could, in lakes and rivers, and I took longer baths with even more water. If the temperature wasn't just so, I would drain the tub a bit, and fill it up again. I worshiped water like others did the sun.

Now, I feel a bit ashamed. I have used more than my share of water. Yes, it will be evaporated, and rained, and reused. But it will probably end up in the ocean, where we can't use it. Desalinating water is expensive and uses lots of energy. Energy costs the planet, in fossil fuels, and yes, in water too. Infact, everything uses water, including producing food and products. Cars and toys use water, not just in building materials, but also in cooling the machines, and in energy.

I was a water worshiper. Now I want to be a water priestess. A temple keeper. I want to be a steward. And I will start with me.

I will not sacrafice water in drinking or cooking. That's foolishness. I will choose appliances that use less water. And I will not use more water than I should.

On personal hygene, I use 269 gallons of water a week.
I will reduce this by:

I will shower once a week: a 20 minute shower at max. That is 40 gallons at max. This is my luxery shower, with body washing, shaving, and hair washing.

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday: sponge bath, with 3 quarts of water. 2.25 gallons of water.

Wendsday: Hair washing in sink-5 gallons

Monday, Wendsday, Friday: spot treatment with witchhazel and rubbing alcohol mixture (dilute for sensitive skin), if hair is yucky, brush with cornstarch, spritz with vineger for "rinse," spritz with water.

Turn water off when brushing teeth and washing hands at home.

This is aproximately 49.25 gallons a week on hygene. I will save almost 220 gallons a week! And that's just on me!

I will still take baths, but significantly less often: no more than once every 3 months. I will still swim as often as I can, and in my usual place, the lake.

I am going to record my water usuage, and try this for 4 weeks. If I can sustain it, I'm sticking with it. If this works, I will try to spread yet another word about restraint.