Use water wisely

Recently, we had a Water Week in Postaja. We watched several documentaries and had some group discussions to learn more about different aspects of water. Below we mention some interesting facts that we learned. The main thing we learned is the importance of Using Water Wisely!

Only 1% of all water on Earth is drinkable. Big companies take this water for free and sell it to us in plastic bottles. Bottled water in many cases comes from the tap. Although the advertisements make us believe that this water is better, actually it is usually less healthy than tap water. Plastic contains many chemical products that are toxic. Governments have strict rules for tap water; it should be tested several times everyday, but there are no specific rules for Nestlé or other companies who sell us water for controlling the quality of the water they sell.

Water extraction affects local communities, who suffer in many cases from a lack of water, and it affects ecosystems, as lakes and wetlands get dry.

In some places in the world the management of the water is unsustainable. Every year many dams are built around the world for water supply and to generate energy. These infrastructures have many impacts.: alteration of river ecosystems and migration of local communities who witness their homes being flooded. Also huge canals are built to transfer water to other areas for the economic development, with similar impacts.

Indirectly, you probably use a lot more water than you are aware of. You do not only use the water that somes out of your tap, but also a lot of water has been used to grow your vegetables and to produce your possessions. On average, the production of one apple costs 125 liters of water. Meat production needs even much more water: for one kilo of beef, on average 15,400 liters of water has been used!

There are many alternatives that can reduce our water need, like using rainwater collectors, less water demanding agriculture, like permaculture, etc. But also, we can all save water with simple acts, like closing the tap when we are not using water, and recycling water to clean dishes or for the toilet. Just stop for a moment and think about how you can save more water at home and be more conscious about how much water is used in the production of products that you use every day.

For more information have a look at the following documentaries and website and use water wisely.

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