How Do YOU Conserve Water?
Kelsey Rae of Vocal Trash reuses her dryer sheets as cloths that absorb grease and grime from her pots and pans. That way, she can avoid throwing these big items in the dishwasher altogether! Did you know that you use 15 gallons of water every time you run your dishwasher? In fact, if every American installed water-efficient appliances, this would save more than 3 trillion gallons of water each year!
Here are some more water facts*:
- Less than 2% of the Earth’s water supply is fresh
- Only 1% of the Earth’s water supply is unfrozen and suitable for drinking
- A person can survive a month without food, but less than a week without water.
- In California, landscaping accounts for 50 percent of their home water usage.
- In 1990, industries released 197 million pounds of toxic chemicals into our water supply
- Water suppliers process 38 billion gallons of water for domestic use each day
How much water do you use?
- Most Americans use between 140 and 170 gallons of water each day
- Showering and bathing uses 27 percent of our home water consumption
- A leaky faucet can waste 100 gallons of water a day
- A 10-minute shower uses 40 gallons of water
- Baths use 36 gallons of water
- You go through 5 gallons of water leaving the sink run while you brush your teeth
- A toilet flush uses 6.5 gallons of water. This adds up to 881 gallons/week/household
Stop and consider the importance of water
Vocal Trash members, Kelsey Rae, Steve Linder and Greg Dugan are letting you know that you can do your part in our national water conservation efforts by taking quick showers instead of baths, upgrading to energy efficient appliances, only running full loads of dishes or laundry, only watering your lawn as necessary, fixing leaky faucets, and using a bowl of water to clean fruit and vegetables rather than running water over them.
Tell us what you are doing today to conserve water by leaving a comment below. Vocal Trash wants to hear from you.
Vocal Trash is a troupe of environmental entertainers who have been engaging audiences with their unique and exciting brand of entertainment for a decade from New York to Seattle. Whether in Madison Square Garden or the Venetian Hotel and Casino, Vocal Trash is environmentally conscious using upcycled materials on stage. The group asks that you "THINK… before you throw it away!"
When I turn on the shower, a lot of cold water comes out before it warms up so that I can get under it. I catch that water in a bucket and use it to flush the toilet or water my house plants. If I pour a glass of water and don't drink it all, that also goes into my house plants.