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Geological Survey (U.S.G.S.) , was
1,600 gallons daily. Thar represenrs all"
uses, including irrigation. Today, rhe
average per capira usage is closer ro
2,000 gallons daily.
Domesric usage of water, says rhe
U.S.G.S. , varies berween 20 and 80
gallons per person per day.
A rub barh requires berween 30
and 40 gallons, a shower rakes 20 ro
30 gallons (or more, if at all pro·
longed), a washing machine or autO·
maric dishwasher uses abour 30
gallons, doing dishes by hand may re–
quire only abour 10, and every 1!ush
of rhe toiler carries away 3 gallons or
more.
We need ro srop and think about
how much of that is really necessary
and how much ís waste.
Por example, do we really need ro
leave rhe rap running when we brush
our reeth , or, in rhe case of rhe men,
shave?
One reason the amount of fresh
water drawn for domestic use remains
on rhe rise is rhar the same qualiry of
water demanded for bathing or drink–
ing is also demanded for flushing
toilers.
If
filrered laundry and bath water
were srored in holding tanks for reuse
in roilers, as one srudy suggesrs, water
consumption in the average borne
could be cut by 39 percenr. Of course,
the cosr of water would be similarly
reduced.
O ther water waste in the home can
be avoided as well. Por insrance, keep–
ing household plumbing in good re–
pair could save thousands of gallons
per year in Jeakage and reduce cosrs.
Just rurning off the shower while
soaping up would save considerable
water from being wasred in rhe sew–
ers. Ir would also conserve soap.
Watering gardens and lawns in the
evening instead of in the heat of the
day would prevenr loss from evapora–
tion. Taking care not to over-water
would both prevenr waste and protect
plants from damage.
Ir is understood that individuals,
whatever their personal impact on
water resources, cannot reasonably be
expected ro build single-unir dísposal
28
sysrems for sewage and garbage. And
governmenrs cannot be expected ro
rip out complete ciry sewage sysrems
overnight and replace them with
composring units.
But everyone
can
exercise more
care in the use of what water is avail–
able ro prevent as much of ir as pos·
sible from
becoming
sewage.
The Throw-away Society
People of rhe developed and devel–
oping nations alike, ro sorne degree,
have learned ro accepr a "disposable"
world withour discovering how much
it
is
costing the environment. We are
not aware of how much we rhrow
away.
America's newest generation is
being condirioned from babyhood ro
accepr disposables. Their first conract
with rhe "throw-away" society, or
rather, irs first conract with them is in
the form of a soft , paper diaper,
which can be rhrown away as soon as
baby "makes a misrake" in
ir.
Babies are fed formulas that come
in throw-away cans, dusred with pow–
der from rhrow-away plastic bordes
and cleaned up wi th throw-away
paper towels. They will grow up rak–
ing disposables for granred, because
they will have been exposed ro norh–
ing else.
This conditioning, even more in–
tensified than our own has been, wi ll
make it difficult for them, in rheir
adulthood, to embrace the "wasre
not, want not" attirude of their great–
grandparents' generation.
Bur rhey, and we, musr adopr rhis
attirude, or be inundated with our
own waste.
Pifty-two years ago, rhe average
American threw away a little less than
three pounds of trash each day. There
were fewer people rhen, and the dis–
posal sysrems of the day seemed acle–
guate ro handle the load and keep ir
comfortably out of sight.
Today there are abour a hundred
million more Americans rhan in
1920, and each one throws away an
average of about six pounds of refuse
per day. By 1980, rhar figure is ex-
pected ro climb ro eighr pounds per
capira.
The 20 million tons of paper dis–
posed of in rhe Unired Srares every
year alone represenrs a net loss ro rhe
environment of 340 million rrees.
The manufacture of rhat much paper
pollures
1.2
trillion gallons ofwater.
All this waste musr be removed
and disposed of at an annual cosr ex–
ceeding $4.5 billion. And che disposal
sysrems are breaking clown.
Says the Nacional Academy of
Sciences, "lt is nor possible anymore
jusr ro rhrow garbage 'away.' As rhe
earrh becomes more crowded there is
no longer an 'away.' One person's
trash basket is anorber's living space."
Mosr counrries have simply run
out of suitable dumping sires. Many
of the open sites now in use are roo
near heavily populared areas where
tbey pose a public bealrh hazard be–
cause they provide a breedi ng ground
for disease.
Even "sanitary" land-fill areas,
where refuse is covered with earth, are
a porential public health menace, be–
cause seepage of rain water through
!ayer upon !ayer of garbage carries un–
told quantities of poison inro rhe
ground water.
" Every Litter Bit Hurts"
Aside from rhe health hazard, accu–
mulared wasres creare immense visual
pollution. Dump sites are not ofren
seen by most of us , but lirrer is per–
vasíve· in our surroundings. We have
become so accusromed ro irs presence
that we do not even see ir unril a par–
ricularly heavy concenrration in one
place shocks us back ro realiry.
Lir rer is one forro of pollurion rhat
really has tbe personal rouch. We can–
nor blame facrories , or even each
other if we are honesr. W e musr
blame ourselves.
Who among us has nor ar one
rime or anorher tbrown a gum wrap–
per or sorne orher kind of lirter omo
the sidewalk or out the window of a
car, thinking, "What difference will
chis one little scrap make?"
Maybe we didn'r stop to think
about ir at all.
PLAIN TRUTH
Jonuory
1973
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