ABC-DEFinitely Gross: Things most parents don’t tell their kids about the environment

After writing about taking three minute showers in The Londoner a fellow on my hockey team razzed me after we stepped off the ice, doffed our gear and headed toward the dressing room shower stall.

“You better be out quick, Harrison,” he badgered.

“No sweat,” I replied, though covered in it.

The showers at the Western Fair arena have showers with automatic timers, about 45 seconds per lukewarm squirt. I used two squirts and stepped out for my towel.

“Hey, Tim. Get moving,” I said, loudly enough for all to hear. “What are you waiting for?”

I’m confident that 95 per cent of all Canadians can take as quick a shower as me, if not faster, and in so doing conserve millions of gallons of precious fresh water per year. And do so without razzing me about it (or my fading hockey skills) at the same time.

Until we invent a small device for the kitchen or bathroom that will clearly show how many liters or gallons of water we use (and often waste each day) parents need to tell their children the importance of water conservation as well as practice it themselves.


"Stop playing around in there. I have to go to the bathroom!"

According to National Geographic magazine “turning off the tap while brushing teeth can save 50 gallons a week. A low-flow showerhead can reduce the annual shower budget by 2,600 gallons or more.” (Feb. 2008)

And if parents with-held a child’s (or their own) cellphone use for one year the household could afford a dual-flush toilet (users opt for full- or half-flush: touch a button to choose) and save up to 10,000 gallons of water per year.

Parents, you’d likely have money left over for a jumbo-pak of toilet paper!

[Tomorrow, visit Four Mugs for other water conservation ideas from National Geographic]