Hy*po*na*tre*mia. As I understand it, the condition arises when too much water inside the body causes tissue to swell. Because our cells maintain a certain sodium content, excess water outside of our cells begins to draw sodium from within the cells in an attempt to re-establish the specific concentration. As more water gathers, the sodium concentration decreases and creates this condition. It occurs from drinking too much water. Actually, that’s not an accurate diagnosis and we are not drinking too much water but in a world where 38,000 children die weekly from unsafe water, we are wasting too much.
flickr.com/creativecommons/darkpatator
Today is Blog Action Day 2010 where thousands of bloggers from 125 countries are writing about water and water issues. Rather than take on the big issue of polluted oceans or that African women are walking over 4o billion hours a year to wells where they collect water for their families, I’ve attempted to focus on the immediate and the practical. Here are ten steps that we can do this week in order to change our consumption pattern.
1. Take showers instead of baths.
2. When you dine out, ask the restaurant manager to consider the practice of putting out water glasses only when requested.
3. Chill your water in the fridge instead of running the tap until it gets cold. And that fuller fridge saves energy too.
4. Know the water footprint of your daily choices.
5. Plant indigenous plants appropriate for the zone in which you live in.
6. If someone doesn’t finish a glass of water at dinner, use it to water houseplants instead of dumping it.
7. Consider secondary uses for water that has boiled pasta and water that clothes were soaking in.
8. Wait until the dishwasher is full or until there is a full load of laundry to run the machines.
9. Compost fruit and vegetable waste instead of using your garbage disposal.
10. Tell your neighbors and your kids why you’re taking these actions. Chances are, they haven’t heard it before and you can help them build a habit.
Agrigirl's Blog 
cybergreenrealty
/ October 15, 2010Thanks for sharing these awesome tips, Tammy! Now I’m thirsty too.
Tammy McLeod
/ October 15, 2010Thanks Tim. Feel free to repost.
John
/ October 15, 2010Anyone who doesn’t live in the desert is going to be scratching their head when they read #3 – I think that’s a phenomena that is unique to us. No recipe that we’re going to try at home? I’m so bummed…
Tammy McLeod
/ October 15, 2010With this being the hottest summer of the hottest year on record for the planet, they’ll all catch on. You missed an amazing okra curry.
Todd Pack
/ October 15, 2010Smart suggestions, and easy, too, as always.
Tammy McLeod
/ October 15, 2010Thanks Todd. Just need to turn them into habits.
Naomi
/ October 15, 2010Great post and tips, thanks Tammy. Also for including the video, which I missed 🙂
Tammy McLeod
/ October 15, 2010Just heading to your site now! Thanks for letting me know about this.
nrhatch
/ October 15, 2010Great tips. Thanks, Tammy.
Water is worth savoring . . . and saving.
Tammy McLeod
/ October 15, 2010Yes and we don’t think about it often enough.
Ravi
/ October 15, 2010Great tips, Tammy. Being wasteful is a habit worth changing… nobody would argue. Its amazing how many of us don’t think or realize it. Thanks.
Tammy McLeod
/ October 15, 2010Thanks for reading Ravi. It is something that we need to be more aware of and we need to make others more aware.
kateshrewsday
/ October 15, 2010Brilliant and so practical, Tammy. I loved it and even in Britain, we run that tap to get it nice and cold. I shall buy a fridge jug tomorrow.
Thanks!
Tammy McLeod
/ October 15, 2010Good for you Kate. Although I didn’t list it as a tip, we need some work around the concept of plastic bottled water here at my office. That’s going to be a focus for me.
Hannah
/ October 15, 2010What a great list! I actually already do a lot of these (that comes with living here in Australia, where we’ve been in drought conditions for at least the past five years), but there are some new ideas I’ll try to start implementing. I’ll never forget how horrified I was when I went to America on my exchange year and two of my suitemates would each take two 1-hours showers every day. I couldn’t believe it!
Tammy McLeod
/ October 15, 2010Yes, we really have no idea how precious it is. I’ve been reading some of the other water blogs and there are some people with really amazing stories.
souldipper
/ October 16, 2010Well done, Tammy – so glad you also honoured Blog Day and posted today about water. My theme is so close to yours that I feel a kindred spirit. We need to change our attitude about water and help others think about usage.
May we cause even a tiny shift of consciousness today.
Tammy McLeod
/ October 16, 2010Amen Amy.
Lisa H
/ October 16, 2010Great post! Here at home, we run water from the tap into a pitcher when waiting for the hot water to heat. We use the water for plants, both indoor and out, and to fill the dog’s water dish.
Tammy McLeod
/ October 16, 2010Dog’s dish is a great idea.
Estrella Azul
/ October 16, 2010Great post Tammy, I so wanted to also participate as I did last year, but life got in the way of my plans… but I’m so glad I got to read your post though!
All the tips are great, and I’ll add one more that I find works for me (well… us): showering with the finacé/hubby 🙂
Tammy McLeod
/ October 16, 2010Fun way to save more water.
Ollin
/ October 16, 2010Thanks again Tammy for brining important environmental issues to our attention! 🙂
Tammy McLeod
/ October 16, 2010Thanks for reading Ollin!
LL Cool Joe
/ October 16, 2010I feel fairly smug that we do actually do many of the things on your list of 10. I was surprised that flushing the toilet less wasn’t on it!
Tammy McLeod
/ October 16, 2010I know it’s a good idea but I have three boys – four if you count my DH.
Nourishing Words
/ October 16, 2010Thanks for highlighting this important issue. I don’t live in the desert, but conserving water is so important, even here in the northeast. Many people’s wells went dry in this summer’s drought. My city gets its water from a local lake, but we’re projected to deplete that supply (start drawing it down faster than it can replenish) in 15 years or so. I would add to the list to not let the water run while brushing your teeth. A lot of water goes down the drain in that 3 or 4 minutes for so many people.
Tammy McLeod
/ October 16, 2010Another good and practical tip that definitely adds up. Thanks.
dianescholten
/ October 16, 2010Great post and while I know I ****should**** shower instead of bathe, given that’s one of my major indulgences (nightly bubble bath) I think i’ll pass on that one and redouble my efforts on some others 🙂
theonlycin
/ October 16, 2010I am also guilty of this …
Tammy McLeod
/ October 16, 2010The major issue is raising awareness – that’s where we need to start.
Tammy McLeod
/ October 16, 2010Hmm, I have a lovely bath tub and I think I’ve been in it once. Not my indulgence but I won’t go without flushing the toilet.
theamerarabwife
/ October 17, 2010Great tips. I had not heard of Blog Action Day but I like the idea. We live in a city where we do not get piped water every day; instead, we have a tank on the roof that fills once a week from the city’s source, and if we use all that water before refill day, we are pretty much out of luck. This has really made me conscious of my water usage, even when we are back in America.
Tammy McLeod
/ October 17, 2010I think that experience will serve you well. I wish we’d all had something like that to make us more aware.
nancy at good food matters
/ October 17, 2010Such an important post. When Nashville was flooded last May, and 2 of our 3 water treatment plants were shut down, it really drove home the importance of water conservation, and being mindful of how you use water—you don’t need to wash your car, water the lawn, shower daily, run the water while brushing your teeth…
rain barrels can really help, too.
Tammy McLeod
/ October 17, 2010You’re the second person to talk about rainwater conservation. It’s something that I don’t know about and although we don’t get a lot of rain, during certain times there is an opportunity to conserve.
Heart
/ October 17, 2010Tammy,
I think your number 2 is kinda cute.. 😀 And thanks for the tips and your ‘action’! Thanks for your visit to my site, I am glad that way I found yours!!
Hope to keep the conversation going with you and with water!
🙂
Rachana.
Tammy McLeod
/ October 17, 2010Thanks for visiting Rachana. I agree that this is a very important issue – if not THE most important issue. Look forward to getting to know you.
Sophie
/ October 17, 2010Thanks for the updated tips, Tammy!
I already do a lot of things but sometimes, we women, just need our bath’s,..to totally relax with a good glass of wine,…
Tammy McLeod
/ October 17, 2010It seems that several people agree with you Sophie.
bermudaonion
/ October 18, 2010Wonderful post. My mother grew up during the depression, so she and her late siblings have always been conservative with everything. One time when my sister and I were hanging out with some cousins, one of our cousins remarked that she was embarrassed by all of the things their mother did to conserve water. I pointed out to her that if we all did that, the world would be in much better shape now.
Tammy McLeod
/ October 18, 2010Yes, it’s really interesting to read some of the water posts from places where they get their water once per week.
Kathy
/ October 18, 2010Tammy, a really good post for Blog Action Day. Water is such an important issue and we need to remember to be conscious of its gifts. (I do good on lots of your tips…except the bath one. I love baths…)
Tammy McLeod
/ October 18, 2010I like the idea of Blog Action Day. It was useful from a writing perspective but also very intriguing to have the world speaking on one topic.
eatandtalk
/ October 18, 2010Great post – I try to be aware of my water usage, but I hadn’t really thought about the garbage disposal as a water waster! I also put out my water can and a bucket when it rains and keep that to water my plants with a few days later. I haven’t quite gotten around to building that rain barrel yet…
Tammy McLeod
/ October 19, 2010Love that rainwater idea. I’m also going to explore that.
sartenada
/ October 20, 2010Thank You for Your all tips concerning the use of water. In my family we are very aware about this problem, because although in my country we have plenty of water, but water is very expensive. Number of our lakes is 90000 lakes which sizes are 2.5 acres and 56000 lakes which sizes are more than 2.5 acres.
We have many of Your tips in use, but in addition of this, I am making every month a statistics in Excel worksheet and comparing monthly use and yearly use of water. Doing this way, we can think what more we can do.
Happy blogging.
Tammy McLeod
/ October 20, 2010Great that you are keeping track of it. I like to do that also.
Jay
/ October 22, 2010Great tips and great post. I’ve been mostly cognizant of not wasting water because my father was really on us about wasting a resource that so many don’t have access to but my guilty secret is that I always flush toilets before and after I use them.
I think there may be a lot of misconceptions when it comes to common knowledge about water issues. Last week I had a conversation with someone who couldn’t understand how water would be an issue because it is a resource that easily and naturally replenishes and renews itself unlike oil. I had less than 3 minutes to be somewhere else so I couldn’t quite finish that conversation. Fodder for another post maybe?
Tammy McLeod
/ October 22, 2010Sounds like a great idea.
Rosa
/ October 22, 2010Great tips!
Cheers,
Rosa
Tammy McLeod
/ October 22, 2010Thanks Rosa.