Trees and Water and Saving the Planet

It’s still heartbreaking to drive around in Bastrop and see all the dead trees, from the 2011 fire.

Today I read about an effort by Texas A&M students to replant trees in the area.

Fire-ravaged Bastrop State Park and its fabled Lost Pines area got a big boost this weekend on a quest to regain its lost beauty and ecological vitality, thanks to hundreds of Texas A&M University students who came to plant pine seedlings — thousands of them — under the watchful eyes of Texas A&M Forest Service and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department personnel.

This is truly awesome.  I hope planting trees becomes a big thing, across all of fire and drought plagued Texas.

While we’re saving the planet, I also read an interesting article today about how much water can be saved by simply turning the faucet off while you’re brushing you teeth.

What if we turn off the tap while brushing, turning it on only to wet the brush and then to rinse? Say 15 seconds in all?  Under these assumptions, you would only use 230 gallons per year, a savings of 1170 gallons per year or 84%.  Now, what if all 314 million of us – today’s population of the United States – changed our behavior?  Whoa. All of a sudden, we’re talking about saving 370 billion gallons of water a year.

Between my concern for both ends (well and septic tank) I always turn off the water at the farm.  In town, not so much…until now.  I’m in, and I hope you are too.