H2Oh No!

I'm concerned about the California drought.  I want to do my part to help with conservation, so I started researching ways to cut back on my water usage.  Apparently, 50% of residential water use occurs outdoors, so I'm already way below average on that front, what with my lack of yard.  Nonetheless, there are some things that urban dwellers can do:

• Taking a 5-minute shower instead of a 10-minute shower saves 12.5 gallons with a low-flow shower head, and 25 gallons with a standard 5 gallon-per-minute shower head.
• Turning the faucet off while brushing teeth or shaving saves about 10 gallons a day.
• Fixing the worn washers in a faucet with a slow steady drip saves 350 gallons per month, and 2,000 gallons a month if the leak is a small stream. 
• Putting a new flapper in a leaking toilet can save 7,000 gallons a month. To test for leaks, put food coloring in the tank. Don't flush. Ten minutes later if you see color in the bowl, you have a leak.
• Replacing a pre-1990 toilet, which can use 5 gallons per flush, with a newer high-efficiency model can save 38 gallons a day per toilet. Most Bay Area water districts offer rebates of between $50 and $250 per toilet.
• Operate your clothes and dishwashers with full loads only, even if the machine has an adjustable load setting.
• Soak pots and pans instead of letting the water run while scraping them clean.

Conservation tip: putting a judgmental cat in your sink will reduce water usage by 100%!

Our property manager did toilet leak tests yesterday, and my toilet is fine.  I don't have any faucet leaks, and we already have low-flow faucets and showerheads.  As a renter, I can't change any of my fixtures, alas.

Seriously, does anyone still brush their teeth with the water running for two minutes?  Maybe it's because I grew up in the midst of another California drought, but I find the very thought of needlessly running water to be abhorrent.  That being said, I could do a better job of not running the water while washing dishes.  I wish I had a dishwasher, which is more efficient, but for now I'll try to soap up all of my dishes with the water off and then rinse them.

I think the biggest difference I can make would be to reduce the amount of water I use in the shower.  Taking shorter showers would be a good start, but I find that my mind wanders and it's really easy to take a 15-minute shower without realizing it.  To make sure I'm paying attention, and further reduce water used, yesterday morning I tried out the "start-stop" shower, which is similar to the idea for washing dishes.  Turn on the water to get wet, then turn it off to lather up, then back on to rinse.  Repeat for each stage of your shower--body, shampoo, conditioner.  It wasn't actually too cumbersome.  I was most concerned about getting cold, but the steam in the shower kept me warm while the water was off, and the water stayed hot in the pipers during the brief shutoffs.  I don't know if I'll be doing this for every shower, but I'll try to do it when I can, and will definitely work harder to keep my conventional showers to 5 minutes.

To my Californian readers, what are you doing to conserve water?  Any creative ideas?

Why I'm Going Pescetarian

Happy New Year!  I wouldn't categorize this as a resolution, per se, but I decided to become a pescetarian beginning in 2014.  I've been flirting with the idea of becoming some sort of vegetarian for many months, and have gradually reduced the amount of meat I was consuming in 2013.  By the end of the year, my meat consumption was rather infrequent; I hadn't purchased meat to cook at home in months, and mostly opted for vegetarian options when eating out.

I could have continued in this "flexitarian" state, but I decided that I wanted to commit to something more specific.  There are a number of reasons why someone might choose to reduce or eliminate their consumption of animal products, but these are the reasons that most motivate me:

• Environmentalism: Factory farming is a major source of pollution, and is not environmentally sustainable. Many of my lifestyle choices are intended to combat environmental waste and pollution, such as not owning a car, taking public transit, supporting local agriculture, and recycling and reusing whenever possible.
• Humane Treatment of Animals: Everything I've learned about how animals are treated in factory farms is very disconcerting.  I don't like the idea of being a part of an industry that treats animals so cruelly, restricting their movement and pumping them full of odd things to maximize profit.
• Health: A vegetarian diet has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.  It's also been linked to maintaining a healthy weight level and longer lifespan.  Yes, please!
• Solidarity: A number of the people in my life whom I most love and respect are vegetarian.  I want to join their ranks.

Pescetarian means that I still eat fish and shellfish, but don't eat other meat.  Also, I'm still eating dairy, eggs, and insect byproducts--sorry, bees, but honey is too delicious!  I'm choosing to continue to eat seafood because it is possible to access sustainable options, and gives me more choices when eating out.  Also, seafood is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, iron, and protein.  I highly recommend the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch pocket guides (and app), which identify which fish are the most sustainable choices.

The most challenging obstacle I've encountered as I've consciously reduced my animal consumption has been how many things have sneaky animal byproducts in them.  Gelatin is hiding in many more foods than just marshmallows and Jell-o.  Cheese is often made from animal rennet.  Refried beans usually have lard.  White sugar is processed using bone char.  I'm not going to completely cut out these byproducts, mostly because it's extremely challenging to do so, but I'm definitely going to seek out alternatives whenever possible.

I definitely have a lot more research to do around this topic, much of which I'm hoping will make its way into future blog posts.  For example, I want to learn more about the confusing array of egg options I see at the grocery store.  If anyone has recommendations of good books, documentaries, or websites about vegetarianism, please share!  I don't intend to be preachy about my decision to become pescetarian, but I do want to share my experiences in making this change, and engage in conversations about our food choices.