Water Conservation Begins at Home

Turning on our taps only to have nothing emerge isn't something that many of us think about. We're grown up with a never-ending supply of water; or so we thought. Drive through any Texas town and you'll see vast areas of dried lakes and reservoirs. Ask a resident of California what it's like to have a hose pipe ban. Water is not something to be taken for granted.

Conserving water is something that we can all do on an individual and household basis. If we don't start paying close attention to how we are using our water, we may soon find ourrelves in very limited supply. Here are ways that you can reduce your water consumption at home, at school and in the office:

1 Turn It Off
Turning your water off when you brush your teeth, shampoo your hair or even wash your hands can save hundreds of gallons of water per year if you have a family of four. Teach your children to turn the tap off when they aren't actually using the water.

Water Saving Tips - How You Can Help Conserve Water

Water is a requirement for life of every living thing on the Earth. A whopping 70 percent of the Earth is covered with water but 97 percent of it is salt water. Only three percent is fresh water and a lot of that is frozen in the form of glaciers. We are left with approximately one percent of fresh water for sustaining life. Human water consumption is using up the fresh water supply before the Earth's hydrological cycle can naturally clean, recycle and restore it.

Follow these easy water saving tips to help reduce this planet's water shortages:

• Leaking faucets and toilets can waste tens of thousands of gallons of water in just a month. Make sure none of the faucets or toilets in your home have any leaks. Check them often to insure there is no dripping or leakage of water anywhere.

• Each flush of an older toilet uses about three and a half to six and a half gallons of water. Never use the toilet as a trash receptacle and only flush when necessary. Install a newer low-flow toilet that uses less than two gallons per flush to conserve water.

Benefits of Sustainable Homes

There are limitless benefits of building green. As more sustainable practices are perfected and information becomes much more advanced and readily available, the costs of building green homes and buildings will soon become mainstream and much more affordable for everyone. This will have great impacts on our standard and quality of life, as well as improve environmental conditions. It can even be an investment and end up saving you money in the long term.

Building materials and our infrastructures have a profound influence on our environment and use of limited natural resources and especially on the environment, which has a direct impact on our quality of life. Human health should be our number one priority when designing residential spaces. In my opinion, waste should be considered a felony because you are affecting not only your well being, but of everyone that calls earth their home. Harmful building methods are a pressing issue that should be confronted from the start. We have all the means to develop sustainable building methods and the ability to explore more eco-friendly building materials. Finding new ways to integrate green construction principles will be at the forefront of architecture in the upcoming year.