52 Ways to Reduce Your Environmental Footprint – 3. Take a Shower Together

Water – A finite resource but essential to life on earth. 

As our population continues its upward trajectory to an estimated 10 billion people by 2100 (Source: UN), so too does water usage. Already today, there is an estimated 1 billion people without access to potable water. Just last year in the Brazilian city of São Paulo, home to 20 million people, and once known as the City of Drizzle,the drought became so bad that residents began drilling through basement floors and car parks to try to reach groundwater.

As global warming continues, we are starting to notice that weather patterns are changing. Dry places becoming wet and wet places dry. The on-going crises in Syria is due, in no small part, to a major drought in the years leading up to the outbreak of the war. There are now more than 6 million people displaced. This is a trend that is set to continue.

However, like any problem, there are solutions and below is a list of a few simple things we can all do to help

  • Shower instead of bathing
  • Reduce the length of time in the shower or better still, share with someone you know well (Or even not so well  😉 )
  • Don’t run water when you are not using it
  • Mulching your garden will help reduce evaporation and limit the amount of grass or water thirsty plants you have and water only later in the day to reduce evaporation
  • Install a water catchment system for rainwater
  • Use efficient washing machines, dishwashers and other water consumption systems
  • Even better, install a grey water catchment system

But there are a few things which you probably didn’t realise had such an impact. The food we eat has an incredibly large effect on water usage. Beef, for example, requires up to 15,000 litres for every kg consumed, and chocolate over 24,000 litres. Compare this to  wheat which needs only 1200 litres or olives at 4000 litres.

Many Countries are already experiencing water stress and this will continue unless we all start to act. Where we buy our food from and what we wear. The things we buy and throw away. All these choices that we make have a direct influence on the amount of water we consume.

Take some time to think about what you use. Have a look at this article from UNESCO which includes a little more detail.  If we all start to become aware of these issues now and make changes, then soon enough we will start to see a difference for the good. Many things are possible when we know enough and care enough to try.


There are so many ways in which we can help reduce our environmental footprint but with so much going on it is hard sometimes to remember. Rather than remember, the best way is to form a habit and the best way to form a habit is by utilising the 3 R’s:

  1. Reminder (the trigger that initiates the behavior)
  2. Routine (the behavior itself; the action you take)
  3. Reward (the benefit you gain from doing the behavior)

Each week, for 52 weeks, we will post a new idea to help you reduce your waste and work towards a cleaner less polluted lifestyle. Hopefully, by the end, some of the idea’s will become habitual and stick with you forever. Consider this to be your gift to the world.

#reducewaste #environmentalfootprint #onebrownplanet #sustainability #waterusage