When you talk to people about their reasons to
visit places, a big one is the weather. The endless summer,
the warm days, the big blue sky and the brightest sunshine one can imagine.
These are the perfect conditions for a summer vacation for tourists who wish to get away from
the grey and miserable weather at home.
Let us say for example Cape Town, a place in a
water-scarce region, and when we visit, we should remind ourselves that
we are vacationing in such one. It is hard for people living in countries
with sayings like “Oh, it is summer, the rain is warmer,” and where people look
like they had just been lying in a river when they get back from grocery
shopping on a rainy day.
A correlation between CO2 emissions and global warming
It is discussed worldwide whether there is a correlation between CO2 emissions and global warming. Climate experts see a link between climate change and extreme droughts. There are also the politicians in our world who label scientists as stupid. They are convinced it is normal that there are periods of drought and they say they want to save money in order to protect families from rising costs of living and stop research programs in order to do that.
The last thing we tourists want to do on vacation is
to think about world issues, but we have to; there is no way
around it, if we love the world and want to look after her.
What is the situation in drought-stricken countries?
Often water dams that are water supplies to cities are
at a record low. Have you ever wondered how this all works? The council puts
water restrictions in place. Let us stick to Cape Town as an example. Right now
every Capetonian is asked to use less than 100 litres of water a day, people
use greywater to watering plants, and they don’t wash their cars or wastewater in any way. The water has to come from somewhere, and there is not a lot
of rain in Cape Town these days, more precisely there is hardly any rain at
all. Locals know they are facing the risk of running out of water, it is
serious. The government still has to put programs in place to make water
consumption sustainable, and it looks like there were plans on the way to build
desalination plants.
How can tourists act water-sensitive on vacation
As a tourist, we are residents for a certain time
and it would be just lovely to act as one. We are welcomed to visit so it
should be no big deal to respect the region, its rules and conditions. Hosts
probably feel uncomfortable telling us that we have to save water, after all,
we are guests, and they want to give us the best time and make us feel at home.
So, make it easy for everyone. Here are a few things we can do.
Seven simple things to save water
# Take short showers instead of a bath. It is a
great idea to take a shower timer with you on vacation. In case the hotel or
bed and breakfast doesn’t provide one asked them to install them in the showers,
they might not have heard of these water savers.
# Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth and/or
cleaning your hands with soap.
# Fill water into a bottle, that way there is no
need to open the tap every single time you want to drink a glass of water.
# As a surfer you don't need to clean your board
with precious drinking water. Your board will survive for years to come without
being cleaned.
# Do not wash fruit under
running water. Better use a bowl (or the sink) in which you wash the fruit and
vegetables. You can use the water afterwards to water the garden.
# “If it is yellow let it mellow …” What? Do not
flush the toilet. Right, hang on, this sounds unusual especially if you are
new to this topic. In drought-stricken areas, there is this rule and it is very self-explanatory.
I promise you get used to it.
# If you are renting an apartment or cottage use
the washing machine only when you have gathered a full load.
Let’s face it, we won’t be able to change the
world, but we can do our bit to support countries in a water crisis. Once more,
the first step as well as every drop count.
Want to read more about sustainable and green travel?