We Are Wasteful People Of The United States Waste A Lot Of Natural Resources

The United States of America is at the top of the list when it comes to the countries that use the most resources. In The Waste Generation by Bill Bryson, he talks about the amount of natural resources wasted by Americans. Bryson gets much of the information he uses in his essay from his personal experience. He lived in England for 20 years as a journalist and during his stay, he noticed many differences between the lifestyle of people living in England and the people in America. Most of the people that live in the U.S. are very wasteful compared to people living in other countries and even though some of the people realize that they are being wasteful themselves, they don’t change their habits. This is a very big problem in the U.S. because many resources are wasted such as electricity, water, gas, oil, and more. Compared to other countries, each person in the U.S. uses resources several times more than people in other countries depending on which country but some people may argue that the U.S. is covering up for wasting resources by making more resources, which is fine except for the fact that resources are still being wasted.

“Does the U.S. have a chance of reducing the amount of waste in the world today?”

I believe that the United State as a whole is very wasteful and does not see how high the standard of living is compared to other countries across the world. We feel that we run the world and we can do whatever we want with the items we have and if we do not have a need for an object we just toss it in the trash and get a new item. While in other places across the world they will recycle everything and make sure to only waste ideas that truly can not serve a purpose anymore. Now yes the United State does need more energy and resources than most countries as we produce a large number of good and have a large number of people who depend on energy everyday which is why we use more energy. The fact we need more energy is not the problem the problem

Nearly half the states in the U.S. are abnormally dry. This is a situation that will be happening until the world ends. By 2025, an estimated 1.8 billion people will live in areas plagued by water scarcity, with two-thirds of the world's population living in water-stressed regions as a result of use, growth, and climate change (“Clean Water Crisis, Water Crisis Facts, Water Crisis Resources”). This is something very serious to think about. We will be looking this problem directly in the face in less than 10 years unless we all make a conscious effort to significantly cut down on the amount of water we use. For a lot of third world countries, this water shortage problem is something that affects daily life. 319 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa are without access to improved reliable drinking water sources (The Water Project). That's more people living without adequate water conditions, than the total population of the United States in 2014. As an American myself, the

If the consumption continues at the current rate it is being consumed now it could be sooner like ten to fifthteen years. (Non Renewable Resources, 2015)

Water sustainability is an ever-growing problem because of the increase in population, and over consumption used by agriculture, industry, and domestic which are using more water than we are able to supply. According to CBS News, California’s water shortage has been a big issue since 2011. Climate change has a lot to do with the amount of water we have available to us because the amount we need does not cut out to the amount needed to satisfy the population. Therefore, conservation is key; we must take into consideration the amount we use in a daily basis. Both you and I can easily save water we have, directly and indirectly like what we consume with what we eat, buy and use, which would overall improve water sustainability.

First, Gross argues that if we stopped wasting resources, it would contribute significantly to sustainability for the US alone. For Instance, in response to a water crisis, California used 31 percent less water than it did back in July of 2013. He says this “shows that great leaps in conservation are possible with comparatively little upfront investment” (Gross). The fact stands that water is plentiful and extremely cheap, but also a valuable resource. Similarly, Gross urges us to keep the same

From farm to table getting our food and produce to the consumer is a tricky task. Even with all the planning millions of food ends up wasted a year. Many steps are already taken to reduce the amount of food being wasted but are they enough? In America alone 200 to 250 pounds is wasted per person per year! According the world resources institute “32 percent of the world’s food was never consumed in 2009”.

Water is essential to sustain life. It is becoming an ever more valuable resource every year as it becomes scarcer. The general problem is that California is in the midst of a severe drought. The specific problem is that the typical urban consumer has little knowledge of how to reduce their every day consumption of water. Urban usage accounts for approximately 5.7 million acre-feet per year, which equates to approximately 10% of California’s annual water supply in a year with normal precipitation (Burt, 2014). In this previous water year (October 1, 2013 - September 30, 2014) California experienced its driest year in 119 years (Ca.Gov/Water Conditions). Serious action needs to be taken immediately to reduce consumptive usage, especially in the case of urban consumption of water. Shakespeare famously said “I to the world am like a drop of water that in the ocean seeks another drop”. While each individual may believe their actions to be insignificant, in the bigger picture, California needs every drop it can get.

The California drought as of March 2015 has increased severely and has affected not just the residents of California, but also the farmers as well. My claim is to find a reliable way to save water and have the residents of California informed about the situation and the wastefulness of water being replenished. In this paper I want to address the issue of how much water we are constantly wasting even though we are in an exceptionally severe drought. I believe that the water shortage not only affects the residents but also takes a toll in the agricultural areas as well. I want to argue the point that everyone who wastes water is held responsible and what we could do

Today, one can conserve water. Water is an important part of our everyday lives and one should use it as efficiently as possible. There are a few ways to focus on conserving water. One step to take would be to change and update pipes, fixtures used, and operating systems so that the newest and easiest systems are being used. These new systems today tend to save and cut down the amount of water we use by just running water in the shower or by flushing the toilet. The other most practical way to conserve water would be to change one’s habits while using water. Instead of letting the shower run for two minutes before one actually getting in it, one should turn it on as they get in. Another conscious way of conserving water usage would be to do less loads and bigger loads of laundry so that not as much water is used as often. Some things are easier to conserve than others, but when a conscious effort is made there is a way to get it

Americans consume far more water on average than people in other countries. This means there is significant room for making lifestyle changes and reducing our per capita water usage. However,

But the basic problems of California's water supply have been remedied, in large part, by construction of one of the most complex and sophisticated water storage and transport systems in the world. An integrated system of federal, state, and locally owned dams, reservoirs, pumping plants, and aqueducts transport large portions of the state's surface water hundreds of miles. (McClurg, 2016) Also most of these solutions I stated are already being put in place as we speak so California is definitely working on better water resource management. But when it comes to the conservation of our water it is everyone’s responsibility; even from an individual perspective we can make a serious impact if done collectively. I personally have done several things towards conserving water; such as picking up my pet’s waste when walking them, avoiding using my toilet as a wastebasket, taking shorter showers, installing a water saving shower-head and my city installed a low flush toilet at no cost to me. These are of course small scale steps but I believe if more people took the future of our water into consideration we could provoke big changes for future

According to the article "Wasted Food = Wasted Water" by Kyle Rabin, the amount of wasted water, influenced by wasted food, is "by one clever comparison" roughly the same amount of water that is found in Lake Erie (Kyle). While this comparison is indeed clever, allowing the reader to more accurately imagine the water that is wasted, it is saddening to think of the huge amount of water that is literally put down the drain every year. All of this water could be saved if we cut down the amount of food waste we produce each year, in the US alone.

We as society like to think that what we do with our personal interests won't affect our environment. But in this current drought in California many people's current interest and behavior may affect the drought both negatively and positively. Even though farmers aren't able to completely fix the water shortage on their own, they need help to switch the way they consume water just how people who live in the city need to realize how they waste their water.