The Quicker the Better

It was a daunting task jumping into the sustainable behavior challenge. I chose to cut back on my water usage by shortening my shower time. It was much easier than expected, and I was able to decrease my shower time by an average of five minutes per shower. Using a rate of seven gallons per minute, I saved an average of thirty-five gallons per shower. This is just by cutting my time down by around thirty percent, and I made a considerable difference in the amount of water that was used.

The most difficult aspect of this change was not being able to enjoy a refreshing, hot shower. I needed to rush, and make sure I stayed on task. This was especially difficult while shaving. I found that if I turned off the water during this process, I was able to not use the water for the five minutes that it takes me. This is another thirty-five gallons saved! By doing this I felt infinitely better about my environmental consciousness, and the ability to save so much of a natural resource with so little effort. I no longer feel guilty every time I step out of the shower and calculate the enormous amount of water that I have lazily consumed. This has not had the significant impact that I was expecting. True, I have been helping the environment, but it did not have the substantial benefit that I was hoping for. I feel the need to pursue more environmentally friendly habits to my quest to better the environment and slowly make a difference.

By participating in this challenge, it has further motivated me to find other wasteful habits of mine that can easily be changed. Possible examples of these habits include: food waste reduction, power conservation, and less meat consumption. I hope as this challenge continues, I am able to keep up with my new sustainable ways of showering quicker as well as starting to investigate more environmentally conscious behaviors.

Link:

http://fi.edu/guide/schutte/howmuch.html