Thursday, January 27, 2011

Water Conservation

Today in class we learned about water conservation and how much water we waste today. For instance a bath tub holds approximately 45 gallons of water and it takes 30 full bath tubes to make one cotton t-shirt. Really that's a lot of water wasted on one t-shirt. We also talked about conserving water and soil erosion.  To help prevent erosion of soil fertility we can cover the ground with vegetation and there are 4 ways to prevent water and soil runoffs. One way is contour planting or strip cropping which is rows of crops that goes in different directions. This creates a dam to help hold the topsoil in and slow down water runoff. Another way is alley cropping or wind breaks. Its rows of crops that have trees along side them. This keeps it shady and prevents water evaporation in the heat and also is a wind breaker to prevent wind erosion.  If farmers did this today they wouldn't have to waste water and get new soil every year when they are getting ready to plant their crops.  Now back on the water subject.  There are a couple of things that we can do to conserve on water in our daily lives around the home. We can turn the water off while we brush our teeth or do the dishes, wash full loads of laundry or use less water for a smaller load. Anther thing is water the lawn or garden early in the morning or late at night every other night or every two nights. When it comes to bathing, take a short shower and not a bath because again it takes approximately 45 gallons of water to fill a bath tub. I know it doesn't look like alot of water but it is. Once you notice that you are taking small steps to change the way you conserve on water you will notice that your water bill will go down. So in the long run you are saving water and money.