Michael Grosvenor - Water-Saving Tips for Dummies

Water-Saving Tips For Dummies

Published by Wiley Publishing Australia Pty Ltd 42 McDougall Street Milton, Qld 4064 www.dummies.com

Copyright 2008 Wiley Publishing Australia Pty Ltd

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data

Grosvenor, Michael, 1966. Water-saving tips for dummies.

Includes index. ISBN 978 0 731 40775 0 (pbk.).

1. Water efficiency. 2. Water conservation. 3. Household ecology. 4. Water reuse. I. Title. II. Title: Water-saving tips for dummies. (Series: For dummies).

333.9116

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About the Author

Michael Grosvenor is a leading urban planning professional and freelance writer on sustainability. Through his work and writing, Michael promotes the benefits of making sustainable lifestyle choices. Michael has particular expertise in transport and advises the private sector and government on policies that promote increased public transport, walking and cycling facilities. Michael is a strong advocate for the important role that public transport plays in our cities and towns. He is the author of Sustainable Living For Dummies and Energy-Saving Tips For Dummies .

Michael is the director of his own consultancy and holds Masters degrees in Urban Affairs and Applied Social Research and a Degree in Town Planning. He is also a member of the Planning Institute of Australia and provides advice to the Institute on integrated land use and transport planning issues.

Michael has lived and studied in New York City, and he currently enjoys an inner-city lifestyle in Sydney, Australia.

Dedication

To my best friend and partner, Justine thank you for your encouragement and support.

Authors Acknowledgments

My desire to talk to the general public about sustainable living motivated me to write this book. Im often preaching to the converted in my consulting work. The environmentalists, planners, architects, social scientists, engineers and geographers I work with find ourselves saying the same things to each other, and were often scribbling messages and ideas on whiteboards that no-one else gets to see.

Writing a book for an audience interested in adopting water-saving tips in the home has been very rewarding. This book covers a lot of useful information about water-wise ways perhaps too much ground for one person to have the required expertise on every topic. I have been able to carry out the necessary research for this book thanks to the thousands of committed professionals out there who have tested, researched and published their findings about the problems facing the planet. This book could not be written without their passion.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with editors Robi van Nooten and Maryanne Phillips and thank them both for excellent editorial contributions and ideas.

Publishers Acknowledgments

Were proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial and Media Development

Project Editors: Robi van Nooten, On-Track Editorial Services; Maryanne Phillips

Acquisitions Editor: Charlotte Duff

Editorial Manager: Gabrielle Packman

Image credits:

BlueScope Steel Limited: page 16, BlueScope Water

Commonwealth Copyright Administration: page 28, Department of Environment & Heritage Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) Scheme. Commonwealth of Australia, reproduced by permission

Solahart Industries Pty Ltd: page 31

Production

Layout and Graphics: Wiley Composition Services, Wiley Art Studio

Cartoons: Glenn Lumsden

Proofreader: Marguerite Thomas

Indexer: Max McMaster, Master Indexing

Introduction

M ost people agree that humans are using natural resources faster than the environment is able to regenerate them. Water is one of the most precious natural resources, but by adopting some simple lifestyle choices and habits that include making better use of water, you can help to get the planets balance back on an even keel.

More than likely you picked up this book because you know the limitations of such a valuable natural resource as water. Water-Saving Tips For Dummies provides you with practical tips that you need to conserve, reuse and recycle what goes down your drain. This book deals with water issues on the grand scale of living in a drier country as well as on the home scale of the bathroom, kitchen, laundry and garden. This book isnt about changing your whole life by denying a certain lifestyle; instead, it offers practical advice about how to live in a more water-wise fashion.

Im not expecting you to adopt every single one of the actions contained in this book. Far from it. I know from personal experience that doing so is a life-long task. Starting small by adopting any one of the tips in this book is a positive beginning.

Significantly, this book isnt just about the actions you take in the bathroom, kitchen, garden and laundry. This book may be the beginning of a journey that leads you to make other choices as a consumer about embracing sustainability in general. Im confident that this book can give you a better understanding of the choices available to you and how making these choices can make a real difference.