Not as hard as we thought

That is the consensus on the bucket in the shower routine.

For the past week, both Mark and I used a bucket to catch the water from the shower while we got the temperature "just right". We both thought this would be a hassle...and

...we were wrong.

It has been no big deal.

I don't think Nate and Ben are sold on the idea yet ...and Mark and I still need to make it a habit..but for now...the bucket stays.

Oh, we use the water to flush the toilet.

( Ya gotta love our Pepto Bismol pink tiles :)

What about Water?

Our February focus is water conservation. It is challenging because you only get a water bill twice a year...not enough feedback to help you make changes.

Here is what we have done:
1. In December ( when we could still buy new) we bought a low flow shower head. We had been putting this off..and now we can't figure out why..because we love it. This is conservation at it's best...we have cut down on our water use and we like it!
2. We realized that both of our toilets were leaking. Because of the buy nothing new challenge...Mark tried to fix them without a trip to the hardware store. He was successful on the upstairs toilet..still working on the down stairs ( this one may mean a purchase)
3. Still to do...this week we will try catching our extra shower water...
When you turn on the shower it takes a little while to get the temperature you want...all this water goes down the drain. This week we will try catching that water in a bucket and using it to flush the toilet (I know Dave Spitzer...a former Lincoln teacher...routinely catches and uses this water)

We have put off trying this because enthusiasm on the part of my family is at an all time low...but we have agreed to try it for one week...I'll let you know.

Lakeside on Pie Day

Here we are on Pie (3.14) Day having coffee at Washington Hotel Coffee shop..attached to Lakeside Fibers. My favorite coffee shop with a view ( Lake Mendota) plus they serve local foods and Kickapoo coffee!!

One of the things we talked about was atrazine. According to the Pesticide Action Network a coalition of 16 Midwestern cities in six states (I wish WI was one of them) filed a lawsuit to require Syngenta to pay for clean-up costs to filter atrazine out of municipal water supplies. "The most recent research on Atrazine was published last week by the National Academy of Sciences and showed that male frogs exposed to "safe" levels of atrazine became females able to mate and lay eggs." Syngenta maintains that there is no reason to remove the chemical from drinking water. I've already signed a petition to Lisa Jackson at the EPA. For more information or to sign the petition go here

Protecting Wisconsins' Water

I was really pleased to find out that both of "my" legislators have signed on as co-sponsors for the Groundwater Protection bill. This is one of the issues that we lobbied for on Conservation Lobby Day. This is the specific one that I spoke about and told my story of our lake up north getting smaller and smaller each year.

I asked both Risser and Berceau...and they were two of the first to sign up!Yea!

The current call to action is to protect Wisconsin's drinking water. Imagine turning on your tap and having the water come out brown and stinky. This really happens...in Wisconsin. In areas where there are cracks in ground ( called karst) the manure that farmers spread on their fields in spring..seeps directly into drinking water.

All Wisconsin residents have the right to clean, safe drinking water. A first step is to make sure manure stays out of drinking water. We are looking for co-sponsors on a bill that would do just that. Want more information or to ask you legislators to sign on...click here.

The photo is from last summer...my boys and their cousins on our beloved Lake Tippicanoe...that is getting smaller each year.

Most important environmental issue

It will be water...or so says Irena Salina in her documentary FLOW I am inclined to agree. I knew water was a concern...but this film certainly opened my eyes. And we tend to get a little complacent about fresh water...with the Great Lakes in our back yard. But like the frog in the slowly heating water...if we don't pay attention soon...

Action I will do
-Boycott Nestle You will learn more if you watch FLOW but the bottom line is some big companies are doing some unethical things with our water and they are making huge profits at our..and the environments' expense. Here is one example of what's happening in Michigan.
-Read up on the WI River Alliance ...see if I want to join
-Talk to my family about hosting a showing of FLOW at our house
-Continue to work with WI League of Conservation Voters..since two of the priorities this year are about protecting our water.

I want to end by saying although FLOW points out some big problems related to water...it also points to some positive things that are already being done. At the end I felt hopeful...but also with a sense of urgency to take action.

Photo Credit: flickr hypergurl

Protecting Our Water

When I looked back out our photos for our New Year letter to family and friends...there were a lot of picutres of water: Tippicanoe Lake, the WI river, Lake Superior, Lake Wingra... When I am feeling stressed...I walk to one of the springs that feeds into Lake Wingra near our home. We are blessed by having access to clean water: to drink, to play in, to sit by... But we need to act now to protect our water so that our children and their children will have the same access to clean, safe water.

Protecting our ground water is one of the top four issues that League of WI Voters is working on. I wrote my legislators today to tell them I support strong legislation to protect WI ground water. For more information, check out the League's website

By the way, I got an awesome email back from Rep Spencer Black! He rocks!

Photo Source: flickr kittenwants