Since coming to Botswana, I've become much more conscious about how much water I am using. Being dry and landlocked, Botswana has severe drought issues.
A drought here may mean several years without any rain at all, so people do their best to conserve water.
I've gotten in the habit of getting just enough water on my hands to lather the soap before washing and then turning the tap on again to rinse. Also, I've tried to take shorter showers. The hot water lasts for a while here, and I've been known to take some pretty epic showers, but I've tried to cut back on showering time to save the precious water.
Knowing that how much water I use directly affects the quality of life for Batswana, it has been easier to think in eco-friendly terms. I think this is the mindset that everyone needs to have when it comes to our consumption of natural resources, and travel can play a major role in reframing those understandings.
People may not be able to understand the need to protect something as abstract as our "environment," but having a better understanding of the peoples who are impacted by careless actions may change minds.
Days 14-17: Reflections on Week 2 of Work (Part 1)
14 years ago
You do like to take long showers sometimes, but then again we all are guilty of that from time to time. It's unfortunate that people in general are only conscious of conserving things when it is absolutely essential that they do so.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason this reminds me of my Ohio History class when my professor was talking about Native Americans in Ohio. He dismissed the claims of some people about how Native Americans rejected technology and were always concerned about saving the environment. He asserted that they really took advantage of things when they were able to--like how they took blankets, clothes, guns, and iron tools from white people. I guess the water situation in Botswana reminds of that because I simply wonder how much people are concerned about things like that unless they have a direct stake in it.