World renowned for it’s beauty and beaches, California also supplies the country (and world) with crops such as fruit, vegetables and meats. If you eat food, you may have noticed that some meat prices have risen recently, this is an indirect effect of the critically serious drought in California.
According to the LA Times the first time in 15 years, the entire state is in a drought, with 58 of California in the highest category of drought on the Federal monitors.
Although you may live in a different state, this is a national concern. Other than the environmental costs of not having enough water to sustain ecosystems, such as low lake levels, this drought affects the prices of food and water, and can impact your summer lake fun. The image of Lake Oroville provides a clear indicator on just how reduced our water levels are right now, at only 36% of capacity. Look at more comparison pictures here http://mic.com/articles/83887/12-stunning-then-and...
Although this is a tragic situation which has larger implications on how we are affecting our planet, there are steps you as an amazing, smart and environmentally conscious college student can take to help mitigate the problem. Check out the website http://saveourwater.com for daily tips on how to save water. The best thing you can do is talk about the issue. Raising awareness is the most important thing you can do, when people know about the issue, they are more likely to follow any of the tips below
- take shorter showers, turn off the water while applying soaps and shampoos
- shorten your showers! If you did by two minutes, you could save up to 150 gallons of water a month
- turn off water while brushing teeth
- wash only full loads of laundry, same for dishwasher loads
- defrost in the fridge, not water
- soak dishes and pans instead of letting the water run while doing dishes
- wash fruits and veggies over a bucket, and use that water to water plants
- make sure sprinklers are not broken and pointing only at plants, not the driveway or sidewalks
Seriously, check out the website http://saveourwater.com for many more tips, some may seem almost unrelated, but water is such a huge aspect of our lives that it touches everything we do. Although the drought makes water conservation extremely important, don’t go back to your water wasting days when the drought is over! Water conservation is always in style!
http://ca.gov/drought/ for new news on the state of the drought!
