Water Awareness

2010 Blog Action Day is for water and so I thought to add something here. I wanted to keep this a simple post though. Please read and keep these facts in mind every day.

Simple tips you can keep in mind and (hopefully) change in your every day life to make a difference:

- For hanging baskets, planters and pots, place those ice cubes that dropped on the floor or were left over in your glass under the moss or dirt to give your plants a cool drink of water and help eliminate water overflow.
- Avoid watering your landscape during the hottest hours of the day (10 am until 6 pm) to minimize evaporation.
- Plant during the spring or fall when the watering requirements are lower.
- Use the garbage disposal sparingly. Compost vegetable food waste instead to save gallons and use this organic material as a layer on the surface of your planting beds to minimize weed growth that competes for water.
- (For my pet lovers:) Wash your pets outdoors in an area of your lawn that needs water.
-Peat moss, composted leaves (leaf mold), composted manure, composted kitchen vegetable scraps and grass clippings will all improve soil structure and enhance moisture-retaining capabilities (add organic matter into your flower and vegetable beds, preferably 12"-18" deep)
- Divide your watering cycle into shorter periods to reduce runoff and allow for better absorption every time you water.
- Turn your sprinkler system off during or after a rainstorm and leave it off until the plants need to be watered again OR consider installing an automatic rain shutoff device on your sprinkler system.
- Adjust your lawn mower to a higher setting. Longer grass shades root systems and holds soil moisture better than a closely clipped lawn.

Shocking facts that will maybe encourage you to keep the above simple facts in mind:

- In the developing world, 24,000 children under the age of five die every day from preventable causes like diarrhea contracted from unclean water. (from here)
- 884 million people lack access to safe water supplies; approximately one in eight people. (more here)
- Humans largely influence the factors that determine water quality, as they depose off their waste in water and add all kinds of substances and contaminants that are not naturally present. We now know more than 70.000 water pollutants. (from here)
- 17% of the world's population lack access to clean drinking water. (from here)
- The UN estimates that by 2025, forty-eight nations, with combined population of 2.8 billion, will face freshwater “stress” or “scarcity” (from here)

Some sites for you to check out
- Backyard Conservation
- charity water (one of my favorites)
- Global Water Awareness & Action Campaign
- Environmentally conscious agricultural practices by U.S. farmers would ease drain on world water supply, Cornell ecologists report