Water, Water....uh, nowhere?

This article (via Common Dreams) is a good reminder that as important as it is to reduce energy consumption and look for sustainable materials, etc., etc....water conservation cannot be forgotten. Sitting in my cubicle with a bottle (the reusable kind, but of course) full of ice and fresh filtered water from the machine in the break room, it's easy to put the world's water crisis out of mind - but there are water-based injustices all over the planet, and if I do NOTHING else to help them out, I can at least use the water I'm lucky enough to have access to as sparingly as I possibly can.

Suggestions (surprisingly easy!) on how to save water:

* Get rid of your lawn (try ground cover or food plants, instead!!). Or, if you must have a grass lawn, plant native grasses that require less water. Water only when the plants need it, and avoid watering the driveway or sidewalk.

* Turn the water off when you brush your teeth. Shorten your shower; install a low-flow shower head. Catch graywater (water that would normally go down the drain) and use it to water plants.

* Eat less meat; plants require less water before harvest. (More info on environmental reasons to eat less meat here; fair warning, this reference does advocate vegetarianism...but from a strictly environmental perspective.)

More water conservation info here, here, and here. Also, a lot of good advice from Grist's "Ask Umbra".