Posts Tagged ‘water shortage’
There’s something about the acoustics of a shower that magnifies raw singing talent and washes away inhibitions. Every morning American Idol rejects all across the country turn into Beyonce or Bono as soon as the water starts to flow.
If you’re going to sing in the shower, try to pick a song like “She Loves You” by The Beatles, not “Terrapin Station” by The Grateful Dead Live from The Garden ‘91. That’s because, when it comes to water conservation, a two-minute pop song is better than a slow, sandwich-laden jam session complete with musical guests and a laser light show.
The graph above (click to enlarge) shows just how much water goes down the drain during a typical shower. The numbers vary, of course, depending on the efficiency of your showerhead. And your musical aspirations.
For more information, visit the Alliance for Water Efficiency.
In addition to drought, population growth is one of the greatest reasons for water shortages in this country. Metro Nashville and the ten surrounding counties (commonly called the Cumberland Region) have experienced tremendous growth since 1960.
According to the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR), the greater Nashville area will have a population of over 2.3 million by 2030—in comparison to Nashville’s 1.6 million population today.
Offering incentives for residents to conserve water will hopefully be an integral part of the city’s urban planning. If not, where will this water come from? What happens if Tennessee is hit by another serious drought? Shouldn’t we answer these questions before the proverbial well runs dry?
On Friday, November 13th, I attended the 3rd Annual Summit for a Sustainable Tennessee, and, man, was it an action-packed day. I learned about everything from protecting our natural resources to smart urban planning to the benefits of rain gardens. I even had the chance to speak with several people about our favorite way to conserve water: Brac Systems.
The summit was all about educating, advocating and collaborating, and it was a great way for people to get organized and speak with one voice. I’ve always believed that the right words can lead to action, and Kathleen Williams, the Executive Director of Tennessee Parks and Greenways, proved it when she gave a short presentation about Tennessee’s abundant natural resources.
Williams asked a room full of people who is willing to commit 30 minutes of their time each week to help keep Tennessee green. Naturally, everyone in the room raised their hands, so Williams upped the ante by saying that she wanted our time right then and there. Go hard or go home, right, Kathleen?
This country’s water crisis hardly ever gets any attention in the mainstream media, but every now and then you get lucky and the issue appears on an award-winning show like Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show.” In this interview, Stewart talks with Robert Glennon, author of Unquenchable: America’s Water Crisis and What To Do About It.
Without explaining the interview away, I’ll just say that Stewart is his usual witty and sardonic self, lamenting the fact that it’s not easy to get most Americans to change their behavior. But isn’t that always the case? I’m just happy that we have folks like Jon Stewart (and his 2 million nightly viewers) who are starting to take notice.
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| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Robert Glennon | ||||
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If you live anywhere in the Southeast, you know that we have been getting a great deal of rain lately. All different kinds of rain. Little bitty stinging rain. And big ole fat rain. Even rain that flew in sideways. Despite this rainfall, the fact remains that many areas are still in a severe drought.
Drought happens in cycles. It comes and goes. Cecil Bothwell, an activist and conservationist in Asheville, says that we need to start thinking of ourselves as living in a permanent state of drought. While I don’t like the thought, I like the mentality. Knowing how serious our water shortages are might actually cause changes in our behavior.
It’s also important for us to understand the real reason for the shortages, since places like Atlanta continue to grapple with water restrictions. Yesterday I came across an article that examines the true cause of water shortages in the Southeast. The article was printed in the New York Times, and it confirms what many of us already knew: growing water shortages are caused by population growth, not global warming.
