Water Efficiency Makes List of Key Actions to Combat Climate Change

A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences lists more efficient showerheads as one of 17 key actions that people can take to reduce carbon emissions.

According to the study, installing more efficient showerheads has the potential to save 1.1 million metric tons of CO2 emissions. I think this figure would probably be higher, but improving water heater efficiency is also included in the 17 strategies and my sense is that in order to avoid double counting energy savings, the authors minimized the carbon reduction potential of low-flow showerheads by assuming a more efficient water heater.

Regardless, this just goes to show that in addition to helping us adapt to the unreliable water cycles predicted under climate change, saving water is also an effective strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preventing the worst impacts of global warming.

This also shows that everyday citizens really do have the power to help fight climate change. As an article in Grist explains:

The United States could cut greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of France’s total annual emissions by getting Americans to make simple lifestyle changes, like regularly maintaining their cars or insulating their attics, a study showed Monday.

If U.S. households took 17 easy-to-implement actions—like switching to a fuel-efficient vehicle, drying laundry on a clothesline instead of in a dryer, or turning down the thermostat—carbon emissions could be cut by 123 metric tons a year by the 10th year, the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found.

“This amounts to ... 7.4 percent of total national emissions—an amount slightly larger than the total national emissions of France,” showed the study led by Thomas Dietz of Michigan State University’s department of sociology and environmental science and policy.

“It is greater than reducing to zero all emissions in the United States from the petroleum-refining, iron and steel, and aluminum industries, each of which is among the largest emitters in the industrial sector,” the study said.

But the lifestyle changes come with a much smaller price tag and no great change to the way Americans live.

It really is simple and (and cheap!) to reduce your carbon emissions. To learn more about the 17 simple things you can do at your home to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, check out
"Household actions can provide a behavioral wedge to rapidly reduce U.S. carbon emissions." [PDF] Be warned, it's a journal article so the material is pretty dense and number-heavy.

If you'd prefer a general summary of the article, read this article from Dot.Earth. Note how they mention the Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program, which you can use for water-energy efficient dishwashers and clothes washers.

Hat-tip to April Ingle for finding this story.