Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.
Today, we’re answering a question from Ada, a student from Bristol, Rhode Island.
Ada: My question is, what’s the best thing we can do at home, like small thing, to help stop climate change?
Megan Hall: Great question, Ada! We had Maya Glicksman and Fatima Husain from our Possibly Team look into this. Welcome, Maya and Fatima!
Maya Glicksman: Hi, Megan!
Fatima Husain: Hello!
Megan Hall: So, if you could narrow it down to one thing, what should Ada do to fight climate change?
Fatima Husain: Well, if Ada was older, we’d probably tell her to buy an electric car, insulate her house better, fly less, or eat less meat. These would make the greatest impact on her greenhouse gas emissions.
Maya Glicksman: But, kids usually don’t have control over those kinds of big ticket items.
Fatima Husain: So we decided to focus on something that Ada can change.
Maya Glicksman: To help us answer this question, I spoke with Kurt Teichert, a senior lecturer in environmental studies at Brown University. His advice? Focus on wasting less water.
Kurt Teichert: Pretty much all the water that comes through the tap has had a lot of energy and a lot of treatment done to get it to the point that it’s drinkable.
Fatima Husain: It may not seem like wasting water is related to climate change, but it is.
The process of getting that energy Kurt’s talking about produces greenhouse gases.
Maya Glicksman: Kurt says all of our water is processed that way, even the stuff that fills the toilet!
Kurt Teichert: We just want to honor the intensity of what’s gone into getting that water to us, and we want to be responsible with it.
Maya Glicksman: And when we do things like take a shower, for example, that water just ends up going right back down the drain and needs to be cleaned again. And this happens over and over…
Megan Hall: So, how much energy does it take to clean our water?
Maya Glicksman: It’s hard to pin down those numbers, but a report from about 10 years ago estimated that treating and transporting our water uses about three to four percent of our nation’s electricity.
Fatima Husain: Since then, many experts have said that the real numbers are probably even higher.
Maya Glicksman: And to go even further, think about the energy it takes to heat the water you use for things like long, hot showers
Fatima Husain: So really, if Ada wants to cut down on her energy use, she can take shorter showers. She’ll still be clean, I promise!
Megan Hall: How short should these showers be?
Maya Glicksman: Well, Kurt suggested we aim for under 5 minutes. And to do that, you can choose a song you love and bring it with you to the bathroom.
Kurt Teichert: sing along as you’re taking your shower right enjoy it, but then when the song is over, you know, it’s time to get out of there.
Megan Hall: That’s awesome! What song would you pick?
Maya Glicksman: I’d have to go with “Shining Star” by Earth, Wind and Fire!
Fatima Husain: To go with our theme… probably “One Step at a Time” by Jordin Sparks!
Megan Hall: Nice choices! But what about baths? I’m assuming those use WAY more water. Should Ada skip them altogether?
Fatima Husain: It actually depends. In general, baths are big water hogs. But, a shower that’s longer than 15 or 20 minutes can actually use more water than a bath.
Megan Hall: Got it! Thanks, Maya and Fatima!
That’s it for today. For more information, or to ask a question about the way you recycle, use energy, or make any other choice that affects the planet, go to the public’s radio dot org slash possibly. Or subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.
Possibly is a co-production of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society and the Public’s Radio.
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