Some of the main reasons overuse and pollution of water occurs in the United States is agriculture, accessibility (in some areas) leading to overuse, lack of education an awareness, and ignorance. Most Americans do not realize how little freshwater is on the planet for us to use (less than 1%) and think it is only a problem in places like Africa. However this is not the case and many people are without water, often because certain communities use too much. People are also ignorant when it comes to veganism. Many people have this notion in their mind that all vegans are tree hugging animal rights activists, and they eat meat so they don’t fall into that category. These issues are up against many years of societal norms build up in the United States. Meat used to be very expensive, but once America’s economy improved people began to afford more meat, and started to have it with every meal. This is now an American staple, and it is uncommon to see a typical meal served without meat. Many people also do not know how much water they use in a given day, and how much water they waste. Anything from taking a long shower to having a leaky pipe can cost someone money and can waste gallons of water a day.
To my knowledge, there are no official policies to decrease the water footprint of Americans. However there are policies governments could adopt to reduce national water use. Columbus Utilities suggests a policy of: “setting maximum sustainable limits for water consumption and water pollution in river basins and aquifers to ensure the appropriate balance between water people and nature. These limits can be defined through a geographic Water Footprint Assessment, which provides information on river basins’ and aquifers’ water availability and pollution assimilation capacity”. Also, importing less foreign goods will decrease the amount of water consumption and use in our country.
There are organizations in Columbus that are offering ways for citizens to conserve water, however. Columbus City Utilities offers ways for people to save many gallons of water each day such as: getting energy efficient washing machines and dishwashers, watering your lawn in the morning while making sure you only water vegetation and not the street or sidewalk, and covering your pool during the summer.
There are a few places in Columbus highlighting veganism, locally sourced foods, and water waste. One restaurant in particular, Little Eater, with locations in Clintonville and North Market serves vegetarian food with local produce and its menu is based on what produce is in season at the time. They partner directly with farmers in the area and highlight on their website exactly what produce they get from each organization. Another organization located in Hillard, called The Eco Plumbers, strives to help save water for their customers. Their current goal is to save a billion gallons of water, and some of their workers have cut back their water usage by 40%. Their employees have been trained to use sustainable practices and their products go through a five-part accreditation in environmental and technical issues. They also offer education to their clients on how to become more sustainable and better stewards of the environment;.
The TED Talk I chose to watch is called “Why I’m a weekday vegetarian” by Graham Hill. I chose this TED Talk rather than one given by a “radical” vegan because I know that it is more likely for people to slightly modify their diets rather than change them all together. Many people I know would never dream of becoming vegan, let alone vegetarian and the speaker notes how he doesn’t like how dietary lifestyles need to be binary. This TED Talk takes into account modern day American lifestyles as well as the fact that many Americans want to be sustainable. He also says that when people do eat meat, to make sure it is not red or processed meat, but sustainably harvested meats. He highlights many benefits for adopting the Weekday Veg diet, such as saving money, the environment, animals, and feeling healthier and has lost weight.
Sources:
Graham Hill: Why I’m a weekday vegetarian | TED Talk
https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2016/07/19/why-wasting-water-is-a-much-bigger-problem-than-you-think/#6395c8d95af2
https://www.ecoplumbers.com/Conservation.aspx
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/06/26/155720538/the-making-of-meat-eating-america