Actions Around the Home
The Frog will explore The Climate Action Handbook: A Visual Guide to 100 Climate Solutions by Heidi Roop in the first 100 days of 2024
In the first `100 days of 2024 we will explore 100 climate solutions that may “empower you to evaluate, engage, and act” to address on-going climate change as an individual on your terms.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recognizes the critical importance of the changes underway in how humans interact with water in a changing climate. In the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, the observe that in a changing climate, roughly half of worlds population will experience severe water scarcity for at least some part of the year due; that “since the 1970s, 44% of all disaster events have been flood-related”, and water-related hazards represents 60% of all adaptation interventions.
Floods, drought, and scarcity of drinking water – these are the existential impacts we are experiencing. In places on the planet, diminishing supplies of fresh water may cause turmoil, mass migration, and war. Water factors significantly into every future scenario as temperatures rise.
In the US, the agriculture is the largest water user in 50 percent of the counties in the US. To sustain our food production the agricultural sector will have to implement water control strategies including conservation, and utilization efficiency to have an impact.
In the Project Drawdown Solutions Library a widespread transition to low-flow water fixtures will have a surprising impact on climate mitigation. The main focus is on the energy savings related to wasted hot water, as residential hot water is responsible for a quarter of residential energy use.
The simple solution is to promote the adoption of low-flow taps and showerheads by over 80% of the worlds population by 2050. Drawdown estimates that with an investment of no more that $1.25 billion, there will be as high as $700 billion in net operational savings over the lifetime of the fixtures. More importantly, the move promises to avoid anywhere from 1 to 1.6 gigatons in emissions of greenhouse gases (CO2e).
“Cleaning, transporting, and heating water requires energy. More efficient fixtures and appliances can reduce home water use, thereby reducing emissions.”
Project Drawdown
Before you go and buy the fixtures, check with your local government to see if there are subsidized options. Your local utility may have a program. This may be an action that you can promote creatively in your communities and local organizations: imagine give-away campaigns at farmer’s markets and local charities. Seems like a simple solution that most can get behind!
Next Up: Climate Action in 2024 – Day 60: Clean Your Clothes Efficiently
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