Blog Action Day: Three Ways to Preserve our Water
By Melissa Mansfield | October 15, 2010 at 11:11 am
Last weekend, I snorkeled for the first time in years.
The small bay we arrived at looked gorgeous and peaceful. But facedown in the water with my snorkel gear on, it was as if I had been transported to another world. The sounds were different. The creatures and plants were different. It was still gorgeous and peaceful – but from a completely different perspective.
This is always a little disorienting to me. I have to get used to my new vision and perspective in the water, with only a dim awareness of the outside world.
Usually, it’s the other way around. We think “green” and pay close attention to what’s happening on land with our earth, people, plants and animals. But most of the world is blue – and even though we don’t always inhabit that underwater world, we’re inextricably linked.
No matter where you live, your actions can affect our waters. Here are some tips for supporting the health of our blue planet.
Watch Your Water Runoff: When water runs down our streets – from rain or household uses – it picks up everything in its path and winds up in our bodies of water. That means that gas, oils, pesticides and other toxins get collected and sent straight to our streams, rivers, lakes and oceans.
- Go to the carwash instead of doing it yourself on your street or driveway. Carwashes conserve, collect and recycle water. DIY car washing causes runoff and uses more water.
- Keep sprinklers on lawns and gardens – not watering the sidewalk or driveway.
- Need to clean off walkways? Use a broom to sweep, rather than a hose.
- Don’t use toxic pesticides or fertilizers on your lawn or garden. Try natural, biodegradable products instead.
Conserve Water: Treat water like the precious and finite resource it is. Conserve water with these simple products and actions.
- Do full loads of dishes in your energy-efficient dishwasher.
- Put an aerator on each faucet and install a simple shower head with a “pause button”.
- Get a low-flow toilet or put a brick in the tank to use less water.
- Never let the water run when you’re not actively using it (e.g. while brushing your teeth).
- Reuse water when possible. As our shower water heats up, we catch the water in a bucket and then water our plants with it later.
- Rinse produce in a bowl of water, rather than under the faucet.
Reconsider Seafood: Our oceans are overfished and many species are in decline. Conventional, corporate fishing industries use terribly destructive practices like bottom trawling, in which large nets sweep the ocean floor picking up almost everything in their paths.
- Cut down on or eliminate seafood from your diet. Start adding more delicious plant-based meals to your menu, with inspiring recipes from sites like VegWeb.com or Fat Free Vegan Recipes.
- When you do eat seafood, make it sustainable. The Monterey Bay Aquarium provides an excellent pocket guide to sustainable seafood, which lets you know which types of fish and fishing practices are eco-friendly.
And, of course, you can always join forces with groups who are working on water issues so you can make an even bigger impact in your community or across the globe:
What are the bodies of water closest to you? Ocean, lakes, rivers, wetlands? There’s a good chance there’s already a local group working to preserve those areas that you can join – so start Googling.
Check out the work that Greenpeace, Oceana and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) are doing to protect the world’s waterways.
What are you doing to help conserve water and protect our oceans and waterways? Have any favorite groups that you’re working with? Let me know and we can spread the word together.
Watch “Keep It Green” Fridays at 9:30pm ET on Halogen!
About the Author:
