Day 6

Day 6: Water
What surprised me the most about today's aspect of the experiment was how much water I used indirectly. I always make sure to turn off the water when I'm brushing my teeth, never throw away a water bottle (or any bottle for that matter) that still has water in it, and turn off the shower when I'm washing my hair. However, after looking at the amount of water it takes to eat a lot of the food I ate today, I'm now aware of how greatly we can increase the amount of water available if we all could eat lower on the food chain. Of course, this also relates to the discussion we had in class about changing the way a certain society functions, and one of the biggest cultural differences is food and diet. This was the one thing that worried me the most about how much water it takes to keep up the lifestyles we are used to; no matter how hard we try to conserve water in ways like turning off the faucet or soaking dishes, water is still incorporated into all the food we eat. Another thing I really noticed was that I could reduce the amount of time I take showers. While yes, it feels good to take a hot shower, it uses up gallons and gallons of water, so I need to stop thinking about showers as a time to relax, but more as a quick chore to clean up and get out. For instance, in places like Costa Rica, a lot of people have grown up accustomed to taking cold showers, saving water, energy, and time. Many other countries, except for the U.S., take environmentally-friendly ways and incorporate them into their lifestyles. It saddens me to think that there might just have to be a "Pearl Harbor" incident, where something really tragic happens with our water supply, for more people to start acknowledging the importance of this resource.