Taking that extra few minutes in the shower while washing your hair. Next, we get in our cars to go to work and sit in traffic polluting the air quality and consuming petroleum. If these are such simple tasks why are we not implementing them in our daily routines? .
These simple things that can be done by engineering and behavioral practices. One engineering development is the showerhead that reduces the water output. With these shower heads the average family can save approximately 54,000 gallons water a year with an average of $60.00 in savings. Another engineering device is the low-flush toilet. The low-flush toilet uses about 1.5 gallons of water per flush versus the conventional, which uses about 3-5 gallons per flush. The average American uses about 9,000 gallons of water and 230 gallons of wastewater. By using the low-flush toilet we can reduce that by more than half. Behavioral practice is also an important form of conservation. By turning the water off while brushing teeth and washing hair. Also, by flushing the toilet less is another way of saving gallons of water. If these are simple behavior patterns we need to change then why are we not doing this more often?.
The lack of knowledge is one reason why our behavioral practices are not changing. If people are not aware of the destruction we cause on a daily bases, how will they try to prevent the devastating effects on the environment? Knowledge is power. We must begin by teaching our children the importance of conservation. This is the beginning step of saving our planet by using our younger generations. If a child is taught to the importance of the environment at a young age he or she will most likely use this in their daily behavioral practices.
Another concern is the daily destruction of our forests and woodlands. We are losing approximately 27 million acres per year. Some of the consequences are the extinction of plant and animal life, landslides, and poor air quality.