The Wasteland of Water

Here in North America, water crisis goes by another name: Wastefulness.

A toilet uses 2-3 gallons of water every time it's flushed. Most people here flush even when they urinate.

Showers use 3.5 gallons of water per minute. Most people shower every day.

A front-load washing machine uses about 15 gallons of water per load. A top-load machine uses 40.

You add in the water people use to wash their cars, water their lawns, clean their dishes, etc; and things become very serious indeed.

It's hard to say how much water your average North American uses in a day, but it's safe to say that 50 gallons is a low estimate. 50 gallons per person, per day, every day.

You know how much water a healthy person should drink in 24 hours?

Half a gallon. Two liters. One percent of what's actually used by every person!

They say 1 in 6 people in the world can't access clean drinkable water. While here, each person uses enough water to support a hundred others like them. Pardon my bleeping, but that is seriously F%$#ed!

This needs to change. A toilet does not need to be flushed every time. A shower does not need to be taken every day. Clothes can be worn more than once before they need washing, and even then, a lot can be done by hand. Dishes can be washed in a sink, cars can be washed with a rag and rainwater can nourish the lawn. There's so many options that can conserve such an astronomical amount.
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Machines are always being developed that use less water, like low-flush toilets, but even then better alternatives are being thought up. Consider a composting toilet. It uses no water at all, and compost can be used to feed a garden. These negate the need for sewer systems or septic tanks from being built, and composts the waste in less time.

There are many options out there to avert this god-awful wastefulness incorporated into North American lifestyle. People just need to give it a try.