http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2013/12/131213-washing-hands-hot-water-wastes-energy-health/
By Brian Clark Howard
This article is very applicable to our area of study at the moment. Through our water unit we looked at a lot of simple things that people do everyday that can be very wasteful. Leaving the tap on while you shave, owning a wasteful toilet, showering for more than 10 minutes. All of these things seem like harmless activities when they can have an enormously detrimental effect on the environment. This article is about another one of those little things we see as harmless than can be fixed very easily. That little thing is washing our hands. This article isn't suggesting we stop washing our hands all together, it explains what can happen if people wash their hands in abnormally hot water. Its a fact that hot water kills bacteria but when people assume that turning up the heat in their sink will actually make a difference in their health they're not only wrong but they are also harming the environment. There is little difference between washing our hands in the hottest water possible, without scolding our skin, and washing it in luke warm/cold water. The amount of bacteria that can be killed is the same. This may not seem like such a big deal but when we look at how many times on average Americans wash their hands we see a huge waste of energy. "That's roughly equal to the emissions of two coal-fired power plants, or 1,250,000 passenger vehicles, over the course of a year. It's higher than the greenhouse gas emissions of small countries like El Salvador or Armenia, and is about equivalent to the emissions of Barbados. If all U.S. citizens washed their hands in cooler water, it would be like eliminating the energy-related carbon emissions of 299,700 U.S. homes, or the total annual emissions from the U.S. zinc or lead industries." The fact that this can add up to the same greenhouse gas emissions as a small country is ridiculous. It is something that can be fixed quite easily and should be fixed. This is just another example of how small changes in our everyday lifestyles could help the environment a lot.
By Brian Clark Howard
This article is very applicable to our area of study at the moment. Through our water unit we looked at a lot of simple things that people do everyday that can be very wasteful. Leaving the tap on while you shave, owning a wasteful toilet, showering for more than 10 minutes. All of these things seem like harmless activities when they can have an enormously detrimental effect on the environment. This article is about another one of those little things we see as harmless than can be fixed very easily. That little thing is washing our hands. This article isn't suggesting we stop washing our hands all together, it explains what can happen if people wash their hands in abnormally hot water. Its a fact that hot water kills bacteria but when people assume that turning up the heat in their sink will actually make a difference in their health they're not only wrong but they are also harming the environment. There is little difference between washing our hands in the hottest water possible, without scolding our skin, and washing it in luke warm/cold water. The amount of bacteria that can be killed is the same. This may not seem like such a big deal but when we look at how many times on average Americans wash their hands we see a huge waste of energy. "That's roughly equal to the emissions of two coal-fired power plants, or 1,250,000 passenger vehicles, over the course of a year. It's higher than the greenhouse gas emissions of small countries like El Salvador or Armenia, and is about equivalent to the emissions of Barbados. If all U.S. citizens washed their hands in cooler water, it would be like eliminating the energy-related carbon emissions of 299,700 U.S. homes, or the total annual emissions from the U.S. zinc or lead industries." The fact that this can add up to the same greenhouse gas emissions as a small country is ridiculous. It is something that can be fixed quite easily and should be fixed. This is just another example of how small changes in our everyday lifestyles could help the environment a lot.
That's incredible! You should check out my current event, its sort of similar. Its insane how small changes in our everyday lives can impact the environment and future generations so much. I think all of these routines should somehow be embedded into the law, because I feel like people are too lazy and selfish to care about these things except when they are in need of something themselves...
ReplyDeleteThat is incredible information, but how will one country solve this problem, probably 80% of people who wash their hands will warmer water than needed will still do that? They will not change their water temperature while washing their hands, because in either way they are paying more less the same price for used water
ReplyDelete