Jesus Said:

Why should we conserve water if there is plenty of it in the ocean?

We Answered:

Desalination requires energy, that energy comes from electricity. Electricity is generated by hydro (dam) all suitable locations for dams are used. Coal, this is very dirty technology, think about strip mining and increased carbon emissions. Can come from gas fired generating plants, gas is a non renewable resource, burning it also increases carbon emissions, or nuclear. Fresh drinking water is one of the most precious commodities on this planet, wasting it needlessly is very irresponsible.

Joanne Said:

why is everyone saying we need to conserve water?

We Answered:

Sure, the total amount of H2O on Earth stays relatively constant. There are relatively few processes that change the amount of water on Earth. Organic processes never permanently alter this (for example, a plant consumes water and releases oxygen due to photosynthesis, but decomposers will consume oxygen and release water as they break down the plant after its death; etc., etc.)

However, we're interested above all else in fresh water, since we can't drink salt water. Global warming is causing a massive redistribution of water (remember not only does it increase average temperatures but it also redistributes heat, and thus water as well). We are also polluting our fresh water, and since this increases entropy it is terribly difficult to reverse. In conclusion, the amount of available fresh water (that is, relatively pure H2O in concentrated form) is declining.

Jean Said:

My wife insists that we try and conserve water around the house....?

We Answered:

sponge bathe from the kitty's dish

Sarah Said:

How Do we conserve water?

We Answered:

1) advocate for your nieghbours to keep all the waste water from clothes washing for toilet flushing or washing the floor.

2) collect rain water for watering the plants.

3) Petition for all commercial buildings to use non-flush urinals.

4) Reduce number of basin in public toilets.

5) Use water recyclcing technology

Calvin Said:

if we conserve water ,how does it benefit the planet?

We Answered:

That is a fantastic question.

I dont know. I have thought about this myself and discussed it.

Water companies pump water to us (in the UK anyway) on a feeder circuit - a loop.They are big electric pumps but they are fixed rate - their output does not increase if 1000 people all flush the bog at once for example.

So, from an energy = electricity point of view, I can see no point in saving water to help global warming.

The only minor trivial argument I see is that water is only chlorinated on a basis of what we use, so you could have a weak argument about using less chlorine, phosphoric acid, ammonia etc... but it would be a weak argument.


Fab point.