Clean water is one of the cornerstones of our daily lives – as a species that is made up of mostly water, this should come as no surprise. But what may be startling – is the current state of our water supply across the globe.
According to one recent study, a massive 844 million people worldwide don’t actually have access to clean water, to begin with. Another one out of every nine don’t have clean water anywhere close to their home.
With that, it becomes clear that water wastage is one of the most significant problems of the modern era – and sadly, it will continue to be for generations to come. As we’ve previously discovered at LiveTribe, this is especially true in Australia, where it can take 15,000 litres of water to produce just a single kilogram of beef. It can take 200 litres of water to produce your morning cup of hot coffee. The list goes on and on. But for as dire as the problem may seem, it is also not one without a solution.
Combating Water Wastage Means Fixing the Problem, Not the Symptom
One of the major ways that people waste water – both in Australia and around the world – is also one of the least obvious.
Turning the lights on when we don’t need them or raising the thermostat needlessly just to make ourselves a little more “comfortable,” for example, increases our use of natural gas. Natural gas fracking itself uses nearly 10 million gallons of water per well. Only a fraction of that water is ever recycled. This means that the next time you turn the lights on in a room when you don’t need to, or don’t turn your thermostat off because you can’t be bothered, you’re indirectly contributing to water waste in a significant way.
Thankfully, the solution to this problem is also an easy one. Take whatever steps you need to in order to reduce your energy consumption as much as possible. Switch to energy efficient or “smart” thermostats that will provide you comfort AND use smaller amounts of energy at the exact same time.
Saving Water Requires a Proactive Approach
We waste water in our daily lives in other ways, too – but more often than not, this is the consequence of inaction first and foremost. Leaks in taps, pipes and even appliances can waste over 2,000 litres of water per month, for example. Simply repairing those leaks won’t just save you money – it will also help save the environment as well.
Likewise, we need to take fewer showers, run the dishwasher less and practice similar “self-regulating” techniques. When you consider that on average, every Australian uses about 341,000 litres of water a year – making us the most carefree group of water users on the planet – even taking seemingly small steps like these ones will make a big difference. For the record, the world average is about 57,000 litres of water per year per person – making Australians public enemy #1 to that end.
We’re All In This Together
Imagine what a difference it would make if we flushed the toilet less, did the laundry fewer times per week and practised similar conservation methods. Australia would once again be leading the world – only this time, it would be in something positive. Something that would act as an example for future generations about what we can do when we all band together to come up with a solution to a problem in front of us.
Isn’t that the type of country you want to live in?
