Energy & Water Conservation is crucial

Will learn how to save water & energy and understand the importance of it.

The Background of Saving Water and Energy

Water energy conservation actions have been occurring from decades ago. For example, Native American groups like the Aztecs, Mayan, and Incas created their own natural ways of conserving water; also they used the water in a proper way by reusing it.

After the Industrial revolution so much technology was improved; such as the first steam engines, telephone and light bulb were created. This unregulated the usage of energy causing air pollution which caused health problems. As well as people overused water in order for their machines to function.

Using so much water and energy have caused people around the world disease, illness, death due to climate change/heat waves. As well as it has caused people to go through poverty and not have good water systems.

Why conserve?

Conserving should be a high-priority in peoples lives because it would prevent climate change from happening, droughts would not be a big deal; GREENHOUSE gasses would be reduced.

Maps of current droughts in USA.r used was "USA Drought Intensity - Current Conditions" by esri_livefeeds2.

This map above helps us see that there have currently been some really bad droughts which are highlighted in a really dark orange color. As well as there have been some droughts not extreme and those are highlighted in a lighter orange color way.

Health Status of the US. Layer used was "Country Health Rankings 2022" by Esri Demographics Team.

The map above help us notice which areas have poor or fair health. For example there are areas that are colored with a brighter purple color which means that in those areas people who live there have poor health and not a good health outcome. The areas that are colored with lighter purple represent the people that live there have great health status and a better health outcome.

If we look at both of the maps above we could see that where there are extreme droughts, people who live there in those areas don't have great health conditions or health outcomes. While People who live in areas were there are no droughts at all have good health and better health outcome. This is a huge problem because people are encountering health problems. Saving water would prevent people from facing this type of problem.

My Own Data of Water Usage and Energy Usage In My Household

Personal Graph made for energy usage in my household.

This is a a graph that represents the amount of energy I used in 2 weeks. For week 1: 165.35 kWh were used and for week 2: 180.94 kWh were used.

Personal energy log.

This is my personal energy log that shows the amount of energy I used in a week. As well as it shows shows what activities I use more energy on.

As we can see in the graph and personal energy log is that there is a different amount of energy (kWh) usage. This is due to different amount of energy being used every week; there are weeks where more energy is used than other weeks.

Household water usage

This graph shows the total amount of water I used in 2 weeks. For week 1: 1,099.5 gallons of water were used and for week 2: 1,025.5 gallons of water were used.

Personal Water Log

This personal water log represents my total weekly water usage. As well as it shows the activities I waste more water on.

In the household water usage graph and personal water log we notice that some weeks I used more gallons of water than other weeks.

In conclusion, these 2 graphs and personal logs help me realize that sometimes I'm not mindful about conserving energy and water because I attempt to overuse them some weeks more than other weeks.

Ways to conserve Energy & Water

  • The conservation of water is really important because it’s an element that we use on a daily basis in order to live. One way to conserve water is by people applying water efficient fixtures in their household. For example the United States Environmental Protection Agency states,”Replacing old, inefficient faucets and aerators with WaterSense labeled models can save the average family 700 gallons of water per year, equal to the amount of water needed to take 45 showers. This helps prove that if people would switch to efficient water fixtures they would help save water because it can save around 700 gallons of water a year per a family household.
  • A second way to conserve water is by having many organizations in the state of California that would pay people for removing their lawns and planting trees that don’t require too much water. The “Water Saving Tips” article by Sherri Osaka States,”My estimate is that you’ll save closer to 75 percent of the water you now use for lawn or almost 12,000 gallons of water per year for a 1,000 square foot lawn. Again you can get rebates”. This helps show how having many organizations in California that pay people to remove their grass and plant trees that don’t need to get water often; would be a great action to make because it would help conserve a huge number of gallons per year depending on the amount of people that contribute to this.
  • A third idea to conserve water: Have the mayor of every city in California install a smart irrigation controller in residential homes. The “Water Saving Tips” article by Sherri Osaka States,”By not overwatering, you’ll save 9 percent of your water or at least 16,000 gallons of water per year, if you are a typical water user as described in #2. This water conservation Idea would be beneficial because a smart irrigation controller would set itself up for when it is cold and warmer. As well as it will help 16,000 gallons of water be safe every year.
  • A fourth way to save water is by motivating people into having rain barrels in their homes. The United States Environmental Protection Agency states,”Rain barrels capture water from a roof and hold it for later use such as on lawns, gardens or indoor plants”. This is a great way to save water because the water that gathers in the rain barrel could be used for any household necessities that require water.
  • A fifth way to conserve water is by having residents check for water leaks in their home monthly. The “Water Saving Tips” article by Sherri Osaka States,”The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that one in ten homes has a leak of 90 gallons per day. That equals almost 33,000 gallons of water per year!”. This shows how it would be beneficial to have this new law made because we would get notified fast if any leaks are happening in any household; this would help us save many gallons of water per a year since there's so many houses in the state of California. Not only is saving water important but also saving energy.
  • Knowing how to save energy is crucial because it helps our environment maintain its nature. Action step 1 is making a law that would provide every house in California with solar panels; this would be perfect because we would use the energy of the sun and not fossil fuels to have electricity. The article “Benefits of Residential Solar Electricity” by Energy Saver states,”Each kilowatt-hour (kWh) of solar that is generated will substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions like CO2, as well as other dangerous pollutants such as sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter”. This proves that providing solar panels to every house in California would save energy because the energy would not be coming from fossil fuels, it would be coming from the sun. Greenhouse gasses would not be created which would help prevent the earth from heating.
  • Action step 2: Make a law that requires residents to change to Energy Efficient LED bulb. The article “Top 10 energy saving tips” by the Victoria State Government states,” This is because LED bulbs use less power and last longer”. This is important because if many residents switched to LED a huge amount of energy would get reduced and less greenhouse gasses would be created. Also residents wouldn’t have to change light bulbs in many years.
  • Action step 3: Require employers to provide financial support to employees who bike or take public transit to work. According to the article “ TRACC Commuter Benefits” by CITY OF BERKELEY,”Berkeley’s Tax Relief Action to Cut Commuter Carbon (TRACC) requires that employers with ten or more employees offer their staff benefits to commute by public transit, vanpool, or bicycle”. This would be a great law because employers would get free public transportation rides since their job would provide it. Instead of driving their vehicle they would ride in public with everyone else and there would be less energy consumption and a much cleaner atmosphere.
  • Action step 4: Require people to air-dry their dishes and clothes. According to “Rethinking the Way We Do Laundry” by Canadian Geographic,”Thick or heavy fabrics take longer to dry in a machine dryer, consuming more energy. Air-drying these items by hanging them saves electricity, reduces wear and tear on fabrics, and is gentler on the environment”. This helps prove that air drying stuff is the best way to lower energy usage because you don’t need electricity at all to do this; all you need is the air/wind to dry your stuff.
  • Action step 5: Create a Law that would require people to turn off lights and electronics when they are not being used. Igis Energy states,”It happens to everyone; you come home and suddenly realize the TV, radio, or kitchen light has been on all day. It’s human nature to forget things from time to time, but by limiting this behavior, you can save a lot of energy, and therefore, money”. Turning off electronics when they aren't being used can help us reduce energy consumption because they are off and not on.

The importance of this idea!

In conclusion, conserving water and energy is important because we don't just store the water and energy; but we also help prevent people from facing health issues, we help prevent climate change and reduce harmful toxins that get release every day into the atmosphere. If everyone would contribute into saving water and energy our environment would be more healthier and our health would get benefited. As well as everyone would save so much money if they contribute to saving energy and water.

Internship reflection & Anecdotes from the trubel.co hosted workshops

I enjoyed having the opportunity to join this internship. I got to develop many skills on ArcGis and got to work with other people my age that live in a different city throughout the workshops. This internship helped me gain more knowledge about how to collect certain data throughout ArcGis. As well as I learned how to manage self-paced tasks or activities that I had to do. I definitely accomplished one of the main things I wanted to accomplish during this journey of being a TEC fellow which was being able to talk/socialize with others without being shy. Throughout the webinars I got to learn more about certain careers there is. I found this cool because I got more of an idea about certain paths/jobs. An anecdote I’m taking with me from the trubel.co hosted workshops was when Alberto taught me about the important key factors toward creating a map on ArcGis and how lighter colors represented something positive like advantages; while a darker color would represent something negative like disadvantages. I got a little confused when Alberto was explaining those topics but I understood them. Another anecdote I’m taking away from the trubel.co hosted workshops was when we were discussing how contamination could also be a positive thing and not just a negative thing and everyone was so confused about it; this anecdote made my day .

Personal Graph made for energy usage in my household.

Personal energy log.

Household water usage

Personal Water Log