Superhero Tips from the "Green Girls" - Saving the Planet One Lightbulb at a Time

OK, so this week I really want to expand more on water. I did a post a couple of weeks ago about water, but I want to go further and dive deeper into that particular pool. Why, you ask? Well one main reason is because we have a leak somewhere under our house which seems it can not be found and my water bill has increased to the point that it is more than my electric bill. This in and of itself is bad.

To give a more eco-friendly reason (and less selfish one), when I go walking at a local park (Sandy Springs Park to Pearson Springs Park) it has this lovely stream that runs all along side the walking trail. It almost looks good enough to let the kids go splash around... until you look a little closer.

The water is a murky white color and though plants live in it I have never and I mean NEVER seen a living creature. Not a tadpole, minnow, water skate bugs... NOTHING. Now how filthy must that water be that it can no longer support its natural inhabitants? This stream comes down from the Smokey Mountains where it starts out nice and clean. On its way down it is passing by all sorts of new construction, farms and heaven knows what else to create this frighteningly dead stream that I see at the park. So in honor of this little stream, the fact that my water smells like a public swimming pool, my new clothes fade and many are ruined upon first washing (as pictured below - first washing made these leggings look like tie dye)

and the fact that we drink and cook with distilled water because the city water is just not pleasant, I am renewing the post on WATER.

I decided to go on a search at the local library (which is a favorite place of ours) for some books on the subject and came up with a book that at first glance gave me several new ideas. And on top of that this book is about "... still getting everything that we want, but just doing it the right way, in a good way..." as Cameron Diaz says in the Forward of the green book.

Here are some tips to add to the ones that were mentioned in my last "Green Girls" post about water.
These are taken directly from the green book

1) Take a shorter Shower. Every two minutes you save on your shower can conserve more than ten gallons of water. And that can add up: If everyone in the country saved just one gallon from their daily shower, over the course of a year it would equal twice the amount of freshwater withdrawn from the Great Lakes every day. The Great Lakes are the world's largest source of freshwater.

2) Dishwasher. Run full loads in your dishwasher and save energy, and don't pre-rinse your dishes before putting them in. Do both and you'll save up to 20 gallons of water per dish load, or 7,300 gallons over a year. That's as much water as the average person drinks in a lifetime. (If you must hand wash, turn off the tap while you scrub.)

3) Water Filters. If you want to be sure the tap water in your house is clean, try installing water filters on your faucets instead of buying bottled water - you'll save money over time and get better-tasting water. OOPS MY BAD, BUT I DO RECYCLE MY PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES

4) Shaving. Instead of letting the water run when you brush your teeth, brush while you're waiting for the water to get hot for your shave. You could save time and money on water, up to 1,825 gallons of water per "brushaver" each year. This much water would fill your bathtub more than thirty-five times!

5) Toilet. Try to flush just one less time per day, and you'll save about 4.5 gallons of water - as much as the average person in Africa uses for a whole day of drinking, cooking, bathing and cleaning.

Want to learn more? Check out this wonderful book! Though this isn't supposed to be a book review, I just found so much useful information in here that I want to promote it as much as possible.
We have only one Earth, let’s treat it with respect so our children can learn from our example and have a great place to raise their children.