In a world full of comfort and convince it can be hard to think, and act, with conservation in mind.
Some of you may want to add more daily conservation acts to your life, but difficulties may be holding you back. As Conservation Vice Chair, I want everyone to know I also have a hard time being as ecofriendly as I should. While I do recycle, and turn off lights when not in the room, I still find myself committing eco-sacrilege. I sometimes find myself buying drive-thru coffee (in unrecyclable cups) out of shear convenience. It wasn’t until recently my wife and I finally got reusable shopping bags. And my biggest act against the environment-LONG SHOWERS! My position as Vice Chair of Conservation and my personal pursuit of the SEM Conservation Patch have caused me to be more critical of my daily activity. Since my biggest concern is water conservation, I thought reducing my showering time was a great place to start. Most of you know the guilty pleasure of long, hot showers after a long hike, and I am no exception to this delight. I’ve probably taken 20 minute showers after a long muddy hike or obstacle course race. So what did I do? Rest assured I did not stop taking them. I took a stopwatch into the shower and timed the cleansing process. I
averaged a little over 10 minutes on a regular work day. After doing some research, I found the average shower last 8.2 minutes, wasting over 17gallons of water (2.1 gallons per minute)! I was over the average, so I decided to reduce my shower time and water use. I’m currently approaching
the average, but I’m hoping to reduce my overall time to 6-7 minutes. I am also planning to invest in a showerhead that uses less water. Check out http://www.home-water-works.org/ to calculate your water use in the shower, and the rest of your home. We often have to give one thing up to gain another, and some choices are harder than others. The trick is to not give up all together. I hope everyone keeps pushing on with their conservation efforts (and any other goals) despite the difficulties. As always if anyone has any questions about the Conservation Patch Program, or any other SEM Conservation topic please contact me at conservationvicechair@amcsem.org. And...if you still haven’t checked out our Conservation Patch Program, please do. Participating in the program is a great way for families to bond while saving the planet, or for the individual looking to set clear conservation goals.
Thank you,
Joshua Tefft
AMC SEM
Conservation
Vice Chair
