End Of Our Study.. We Have Reached Our Goal!

We would like to begin by simply saying thank you to all of our viewers. Our initial goal was to receive at least 1000 page views on our blog and we have surpassed that minimum. As of now, we have 1040 page views. In essence, this means that our website has been accessed 1000 times! We can assume that by knowing this, we have educated close to 1000 people on how our habits are destructive. However, we hope that we have also succeeded on educating the public about how to CHANGE these habits.

It feels absolutely wonderful to know that we have made some sort of difference in the world... However, we definitely could not have done it without our teachers Jessica Burpee and David Hill. Hats off to you two, as we would not know half the issues about water consumption had we not taken your class. Conducting this study has even caused us to use less water in our daily activities... It truly has had an effective impact on our society. Hopefully this blog will still be updated by us over time.. Just because the due date for the project is tomorrow, doesn't mean that we can't still educate all of you!

This little fishy thanks you for helping him conserve the very beautiful waters in which he and his family lives.

FINAL Survey Results!

Today, our post will be discussing, interpreting and analyzing the results of our largest sample yet- 250 people! Basically, we asked the same questions as last time on our survey:

1. How many showers do you take per day?
2. On average, how long are your showers?
3. How many baths do you take per day?
4. How many times do you do the laundry per week?
5. How long do you leave the washing machine running for?
6. Do you leave the water running when you brush your teeth or shave?
7. How many times do you run the dishwasher per week?
8. Do you hose your driveway down when it is dirty?
9. How many times per week do you hand wash the dishes?
10. Would you be willing to change your habits in order to reduce the amount of water you consume?

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Essentially, many of the answers we received were expected. However, since there wasn't really a large   differentiation between good or bad habits for some answers, we will not be focusing on them. For example, 46% of the survey respondents hose their driveway down when it is dirty and 54% uses other means to clean it. These responses were rather close. That being said, we will only be discussing the significant results with regards to bad habits (where the majority of respondents have bad or good habits with regards to their water consumption). This is because we are focusing on how to use water wisely- So we will be focusing on bad cases of habits as we want to help change whatever bad habits people may have (And we also do not want to bore you with 10 graphs!).

Bad Habits

With regards to bad habits, we could definitely conclude that most respondents have very bad habits in relation with their water consumption! Here are a couple of the significant differences that we noticed from the results of the survey:

How long are your showers?

Oh no! We must say, 11-20 minutes is WAY too long for a shower! Considering that normal fixtures are used, we consume 7 gallons of water for every minute we spend in the shower. If we spend 15 minutes in the shower, that means that we consume approximately 105 gallons of water! By doing this we are wasting our precious resources. Shorten your showers by at a minute or two, and you will be saving about 150 gallons a month. 

Do You Leave the Water Running While You Brush your Teeth or Shave?

No, no, no and NO! This is a giant "no no" when it comes to consuming water. By leaving the water running, you are not only wasting water, but also simply sending it down the drain without even putting it to some sort of use. A tap running at full power uses  a gallon of water in a minute! Imagine how much water you are wasting by leaving it running while you shave.

How Long Do You Leave the Washing Machine On For?

This is a huge factor that contributes to wasting water. Your clothes do not actually need to be soaked in water for more than ten minutes in order to be cleaned. Unless you have dirt and tons of stains on your clothes, you do not need more than ten minutes when it comes to running the washing machine. More than ten minutes is simply put to no good use, except wasting your water.

How Often Do You Hand Wash The Dishes Per Week?

The fact that most people do not even hand wash the dishes once per week is incredibly awful because this means that the dishwasher is being run way too many times per week (77% of our respondents ran their dishwasher more than 3 times a week!). By hand washing dishes you are saving so much water as you are replacing the amount of water that a dishwasher would use with the little amount that will be used when washing by hand. Washing dishes by hand saves so much water and does not even take very long to do. Try assigning roles to each person in your house hold.. One person soaks, the other rinses, and the other one dries the dishes!

Discussion of Results

In all, our results were similar to the first small sample survey on 45 respondents. The average length of someone's shower is 11-20 minutes and most people leave the water on while they are brushing their teeth or shaving. In addition, most people leave the washing machine on for more than 20 minutes. Lastly, most people do not ever hand wash the dishes- Essentially, the small sample was very much similar to the larger sample that we collected, with regards to the questions we decided to post (the rest did not have a very strong relationship between extremely bad habits or good habits, so we left them out). 

Don't Worry, There's Still Hope! 

This study was not done in order to let everyone know that our bad habits are going to lead to our inevitable destruction- that was not our intention at all. We wanted to essentially prove that our habits as life forms on this planet are incredibly destructive-however, there is still time to change them in order to make a difference and lead to a more "green" future.... And it is indeed possible! 94% of our survey respondents said that they would definitely change their habits in order to conserve water in the future... And this, my friends, means that there is still plenty of hope and room for change! 

Thank you to everyone who supported our blog and participated in our survey. Changing your actions now can lead to a better future. Remember, you are not just a drop in the ocean!

For our list on how to save water, click here.

Progress, Progress... and More Progress!

We would like to personally thank everyone for visiting our blog and for leaving us such wonderful comments. It is our job to educate our audience so that they can one day make a difference in our world for the better.

We have received 100% positive feedback from our audience. We would once again like to thank everyone for leaving us this feedback. It is important that we present this crucial information to the world, and we are glad that we are doing it in such a way where reading the blog is enjoyable to every one of you.

In addition, we have been notified by many of our viewers that they have absorbed the information on our blog and that they will do their best to make changements to their everyday habits in order to save more water daily.

It is so incredible to know that we are helping people save our most prized resource on our planet, and that they are actually taking our advice into consideration. This blog started out as a simple school project, however we are definitely going to continue to update it after the school year ends because the experience has been so enjoyable.

Once again- A big thank you to all our viewers for giving us daily support and motivation! Help our site hit 1000 page views.. Once that happens, we know for sure that we will have educated 1000 of you! So spread the link of this website all around.. So that we can make a difference for your future!

How Can We Conserve Our Water?

Most water is used by fulfilling our daily domestic tasks. By changing our habits at home, we can make a great difference in the amount of water that we use. Remember, you are not just a drop in the ocean. Every change in your habit counts- so start using your water wisely!

12 Ways To Conserve Water

-When washing the dishes, do not leave the water running. Fill up the sink with water and use that water to wash and rinse the dishes instead.

-By running your washing machine/dishwasher only when they are full, you can save up to 1000 gallons of water a month!

-Shorten your showers by a mere minute or two. By doing this, you will save approximately 150 gallons of water a month.

-Wash your face or brush your teeth while you are in the shower.

-Always keep the plug in during a bath and adjust the temperature as it fills up.

-Try to take short showers instead of baths. Showers use about half the amount of water than a bath does.

-When gardening, use a watering can instead of a hose. Hoses use much more extra water that is not even needed.

-Occasionally check for leaks in the house so that no water is being wasted from leaking pipes.

-Don't wash your towels after each time you use them. Wash them once a week.

-Add less water to food when you are cooking. By doing this, you are not only saving water, but keeping more of the nutrients in your food.

-Sweep your driveway instead of hosing it down.

-Follow at least one of these guidelines every day. By doing so, you will make a great difference in the world!

Eating Differently In Order to Save More Water

Believe it or not, your diet has a great impact on how much water you consume. Some foods require more water to be made. Take a look at this video in order to find out how your diet can change how much water you consume daily.

Results of Survey Nov. 2

A survey was conducted to find out the habits of college students in relation to their water consumption.  The survey consisted of 10 questions:

1. How many showers do you take per day?
2. On average, how long are your showers?
3. How many baths do you take per day?
4. How many times do you do the laundry per week?
5. How long do you leave the washing machine running for?
6. Do you leave the water running when you brush your teeth or shave?
7. How many times do you run the dishwasher per week?
8. Do you hose your driveway down when it is dirty?
9. How many times per week do you hand wash the dishes?
10. Would you be willing to change your habits in order to reduce the amount of water you consume?

Results and Analysis

The survey was conducted on 45 college students. The results are as follows:

As expected, most college students do not have environmentally friendly living habits. However, there were a few that were surprisingly eco-friendly with regards to water. Firstly, most people take one shower a day, which is ideal as two showers per day is an excessive amount. In addition, most college students do not take a bath every day. This is eco-friendly as a lot of water is wasted while taking a bath. Lastly, most people do not hose their driveway down when it is dirty. This is very eco-friendly as lots of water is wasted with a hose due to leaks. 

As for the rest of the survey results, most of the college student's lifestyles are not eco-friendly with regards to water. To learn how these habits should be changed, click here.

Why Should We Conserve Water?

Water is our most prized resource on the entire planet. Many animals need large bodies of water to live. We use water in order to fulfill almost all of our daily needs, such as quenching our thirst, keeping ourselves clean or washing the dishes. Without water, there would not be any living organisms on our planet. That being said, the conservation of this resource is extremely important as we need it for the survival of all existing life forms.

It is very important to conserve water for numerous reasons. Firstly, though Canada possesses a great amount of the world's freshwater, only 7% of this freshwater is renewable. The more water we save, the more that is available for us to drink. In addition, the less water we send into our waste systems, the less this water has to be chemically purified by man-made institutions. Lastly, the less water you use, the less money you pay for the use of this water.

Canada consumes twice as much water than the average country. Each person in Canada uses at least 70 gallons of water per day. Out of the 70 gallons used daily, 20 gallons is consumed for using the toilet daily. 15 gallons is used when the washing machine is run. 14 gallons is used for baths and showers. 1 gallon is used by the dishwasher. 10 gallons is consumed from faucets. Shockingly, 10 gallons is not even put to use by us. The 10 gallons we use daily is a result of leaks, or extra water that has gone down the drain.

Sources:

http://www.ec.gc.ca/eau-water/default.asp?lang=En&n=F25C70EC-1

http://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/details/environment/water-consumption.aspx

http://www.gasolinecreditcards.com/ecotrekker/2008/06/10/53-easy-tips-to-use-less-water/

http://wateruseitwisely.com/100-ways-to-conserve/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/5099159/How-to-use-less-water.html

http://www.fi.edu/guide/schutte/howmuch.html