A simple thought like recycling water before sending it down the drain helped save Metalworks, a manufacturer of office furniture, 20 million gallons of water in the last two years. (1)This saved them about $30,000, which more than paid for the $10,000 cost to upgrade their system; and they still plan to decrease their usage by another 6 million gallons this year! (1) It’s nice to see the bottom-line and nature on the same side for a change. The environmental, health and safety director at Metalworks, Sidney Shaw, was quoted by the Associated Press as saying “Not only do we save money, but the environment wins, too.” (1) But Metalworks is not the only company eyeing conservation as a way to save some money.

General Motors recently slashed its water usage in the Great Lakes region by a combined 14.7 percent from 2002-2004 saving about 1 billion gallons a year, roughly equivalent to what is used in about 17,000 homes. (1) “We’re seeing double-digit increases in water and sewer rates,” said Reg Sobzynski manager of wastewater operations for GM’s Energy and Utility Services Group. “It makes economic sense for us to reduce water use.” (1)

Water conservation does not only make economic sense, it makes common sense, especially when you consider that the population in this country, and the world which reached 6 billion in 1999, has been booming and that water is not some inexhaustible resource. (2) David Dempsey, a policy adviser for the environmental group Clean Water Action told AP “With levels lower than a decade ago and scientists warning they could recede further because of global warming, people must accept that water is a limited resource _ even around the Great Lakes...” “…We think it’s inexhaustible, when clearly it’s not.” (1)

(1) Flesher, J. (2006). Conservation catching on in great lakes. HappyNews.com, . Retrieved Jan 23, 2006, from http://www.happynews.com/news/1222006/conservation-catching-on.htm

(2) Education, income tied to world population growth. (1999). CNN.com, . Retrieved Jan 23, 2006, from http://www.cnn.com/US/9910/13/population.youth.surge/