a) I believe it is completely unethical for one person to have complete rights to natural water beneath common ground especially when they are making a profit from it. Although this may be the case for oil, water should not be treated the same. I do however believe that if water was free, we would consume too much of it and consequently, we will have a shortage. I think it is best for the government to intervene and control the underground water usage. This plan will also impact local wildlife as underground water travels throughout the land providing nutrients to plants and trees. The plan does however look to use wind turbines to move the water which will not affect out air pollution. The alternative to this plan may be to import large amounts of water from other areas of the world. Conservation and the recycling of water may also be a solution to the water shortages.
b) Instead of using the rough estimate of how much water I use in a day, I was able to find a site that calculates my water usage by how many times I shower, wash dishes, brush my teeth, etc. and how much time it takes me to do it:
BATHROOM
1. How many showers are taken each day in your household?
2. What is the average length (in minutes) of each shower. Enter 6.3 if you are unsure.
3. What is the flow rate (gallons per minute) of your showerhead?
Enter 5 for standard showerhead; 2 for low flow.
4. Total number of baths taken each week by members of your household.
TOILETS
1. Average number of times each person flushes a toilet in your house per day.
Enter 4 if you are unsure.
2. How many gallons does your toilet use per flush?
Enter 5 if you have a standard toilet; 1.6 if you have a low volume toilet.
FAUCETS
1. How many times each day does each household member use faucets to shave,
brush teeth, wash hands and face?
2. How many minutes does the water run during each use?
WASHING DISHES
1. How many times are dishes washed by hand each day?
2. How many minutes does the water run during each wash?
3. If you have a dishwasher, how many times is it used each week?
4. The average dishwasher uses 15 gallons of water per load, change this number
if yours is different.
LAUNDRY
1. How many loads of laundry are done by members of your household each week.
2. The average washing machine uses 55 gallons of water per load, change this
number if yours is different.
- After all of these were considered and calculated, it states that I use 112 total per capita gallons of water in my house. This is 6 gallons more than the average person. I do not make efforts to conserve water but after seeing these results, I am sure to watch my water usage.
Source: www.tampagov.net
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