Step 3: One Drop at a Time – EVST 100: Intro to the Environment

So far this sustainability challenge has gotten easier and easier over time. In the beginning I found it very difficult to cut down my shower times and water bottle usage, but now I seem to have it all figured out. I have been able to cut down to one shower a day that lasts anywhere from 5-7 minutes. Additionally, I have also used the same reusable water bottle for this entire week. I am very happy with my progress in this challenge and I also think that I could make this new behavior my new norm. I feel that if i continue to follow my sustainability goals that they will eventually become a part of my routine for the longterm. Thus far in the sustainability challenge I found that making small changes (at least in my case) are not as hard as they may seem.

I chose this challenge because I thought that I was wasting too much water in my life. Wasting water has many impacts on the environment. By conserving water you help to save water for other people and animals, you save energy, and also you save money for you or your family. Water, especially fresh water is a very limited resource, so it is imperative that we conserve it. According to National Geographic less than one percent of all water is available for the world’s population and the numerous freshwater ecosystems. With this in mind now think about how on average, Americans use 2,000 gallons of water a day. If everyone in the world consumed as much water as we did, we would have a serious water shortage on our hands. I believe that this will become a larger problem as time goes on because of the world’s growing population. If everyone can take on a small challenge like I did I believe that it could at least make some kind of impact in water conservation. Hopefully Americans will be alerted of this problem and there is some kind of action taken before it’s too late.

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/top-ten/

https://www.jea.com/community/education/efficiency/wisely/save.html

http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/habitats/riverslakes/help/

Sarah Pavlini says:

April 22, 2014 at 6:35 am

For me, trying to use a reusable water bottle regularly has been a little more difficult. I have found that really stupid things about my reusable water bottles have gotten in the way of me wanting to use them more than plastic water bottles. The one I have is a little bit leaky, and it affects the taste of my water ever so slightly. Combined with the fact that I need to wash it, and that I think dish soap smells super weird, I have found myself less inclined to carry around a reusable water bottle with me than I had anticipated. Though these are rather silly obstacles, the fact is that they do indeed interfere with my willingness to use a reusable water bottle. However, I have been avoiding plastic water bottles- so at least I can try and keep up on that end of my challenge. Still, the temptation to grab a bottle from lower whenever I get a meal there is a little stronger than I would like it to be!

Peter Levine says:

April 22, 2014 at 9:41 pm

I can definitely related to the change becoming easier. Once I got used to changing my laundry habits for a couple of weeks, it became easier to pick up on the new habits. Cutting your shower length and frequency down is similar to how I have cut my laundry usage down. While it is not easy at first, after a couple of weeks I can definitely see myself making this my normal behavior. Using one reusable water bottle is a change that I coincidentally also made this semester. In the fall, I used many Dasani bottles that I bought from Lower Farinon and Skillman Cafe. A couple of months ago, I bought a reusable bottle from the School Store and I’ve been using it ever since. It is convenient to refill and allows me to cut down on spending flex dollars. In my Environmental Geology class, we talked about how ice caps and oceans are where most water is found. However, these water sources are not accessible for drinking water. So, as you stated, it makes sense that less than 1% of Earth’s water is available for use.

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