Every year we hear more and more about global warming and the effects it is having on our weather, drought conditions, and snow pack buildup in the mountain areas. This year many areas are seeing the La Nina weather pattern which is leaving much less snow behind and making experts concerned about the amount of snow melt farmers will have for irrigation purposes this upcoming season. When we run short on irrigation water everyone has to learn more about conserving what we have. As the years go by and more changes occur and our generations are going to have to become more and more able to reduce and recycle what we have in order to continue. Life as we have always lived it is changing and we must change with it.
The importance of water conservation and reducing water loss is important in everything from agriculture to business and residential users. In agriculture water conservation includes using low volume irrigation technologies, reusing and recycling waste water and having proper soil management. While all of these make a difference in the water usage, now agriculture is also developing more drought resistant seeds in order to grow crops that don’t require as much irrigation water. For instance, the USDA has approved the Monsanto drought resistant corn seed upon fears that droughts could significantly reduce the crop this next year. Monsanto has developed this new genetically modified breed of corn that should produce higher yields even in drought conditions than the previously used corn seed would. The problem that the USDA hasn’t considered is that genetically altered anything may have long term effects on the human body that haven’t been discovered yet. Rushing to allow new seed types on the market may be a huge mistake. Instead of simply bringing genetically altered seeds to the grower, perhaps information and new ways to reduce, recycle and reuse water should be at the top of the list.
All Americans are aware of the necessity of water to sustain life. This is a fact that is taught across the country in health class, children are told to drink more water. Adults are informed that for better health we need to drink more water. We cannot live without water. We are learning to reuse and recycle paper to save trees, plastic to save oil, rubber tires are being recycled. We can learn to reuse and recycle and even reduce on water use as well. It is possible to teach people how to schedule irrigating the yard at a time when it would use less water, not wash the car every week, and even reducing water use in the home. Everything from replacing an old toilet or faucet, fixing leaks, taking shorter showers, turning the water off while brushing your teeth, even bathing small children together saves water, these should be practiced by every American household.
Farmers aren’t the only ones that need to be careful of the water we use; every single American needs to be a responsible consumer. There are many new ways available to help us conserve and use our water wisely. Having our own home water treatment system is just one way to be a responsible consumer. Advances in technology have given us several options in water systems that will not only offer us cleaner, healthier water but will also help us use less of it. When we save water, we save money on utility bills too. In our tough economy even a small savings on any bill is welcome. Having great tasting water at the kitchen sink means no longer buying bottled water and that saves our environment as well. Saving water is easy for everyone to do, having your own drinking water treatment system in your home just makes it that much easier.
