31 Days, 31 Ways to an eco-friendly New Year Day 18 - Switch to LED Light Bulbs Back when I was a Psychology...
So, 7 billion times a year, we chuck a load of dirty washing in the drum, pour in a measure of laundry powder or liquid, switch on our machine, wait for a bit, and ta-da, lovely soft, clean clothes. But wait, that isn’t the end of the story. That detergent doesn’t just disappear - it’s being washed away into the depths of the water system where it’s just starting its adventure.
Humans depend on the tiny percentage of water on earth that isn’t contained in the oceans (97.5% and too salty for us to use) and in the ice caps (most of the remaining 2.5%). We use this water for drinking, washing, cleaning and in farming and production. This all puts a great strain on our water resources. One of the biggest contributors to water shortage is climate change. And this will only get worse. According to the UK Environment Agency, we, in England, are facing shortages by 2050 unless we save water fast.