Abstract
This report through the use of the 2012 Ottawa University Environmental journal database will examine current trends in water usage and consumption among members of the University of Ottawa community in order to determine whether their current level of water usage reflects trends seen in the greater whole of Canada’s population and if the growing advocacy for water resource conservation actually affects the method in which they consume this particular resource.
By doing so the researcher was able to determine a common behavior between the two population sets where water is used the most with the resulting common denominator showing the current attitudes of students regarding water usage and how this translates into their future behavior as the primary water resource consumers of Canada.
This report then delves into the implementation of appropriate “green” technologies and ideologies in order to resolve the problem however based on the problems in implementation it is expected that sufficient implementation of appropriate mitigating technologies and ideologies won’t happen with the current population but rather with the next.
This based off the ideas that the adoption of particular technologies and concepts (i.e. water conservation) can only occur over time and that their implementation in society cannot fully occur till the technology or concept i removes uncertainties attached to it.
Introduction
Within the past few years Canada has been undergoing a subsequent shift in perception wherein the concept of environmental conservatism has not been limited to a select group of scientists, activists and members of the academe but in fact has developed a considerable following among members of local communities within the country resulting in the creation of the Canadian “Green Movement” (Berezan, 2011).
The concept of going green is based off the process of altering approaches towards the consumption and utilization of resources so as to ensure a more environmentally friendly method of usage and consumption (Strife, 2010).
The basis behind this is the assumption that since the Earth is a closed off ecosystem with a finite amount of resources if nothing is done to conserve and ensure these resources stay replenishable in the long run there may come a time when the Earth will no longer be able to support human civilization (Sustaining momentum, 2012).
Such an assumption is not without merit, as Canada’s population continues to expand so too does localized demand for resources increase (Hanna, 1999). Unfortunately resources that command the highest demand (ex: fresh water) are only replenishable to a certain extent while others have a set amount (oil, gas and certain chemicals) and cannot be replenished at all (Unruh & Ettenson, 2010).
Advocates of environmental conservation such as former U.S. vice president Al Gore continue to reiterate the need to change the current rate and method of consumption so as to better utilize resources to ensure that they will continue to remain there for future generations.
It must be noted though that the concept of going green is not a recent trend rather it has been going since the early 1970’s through the creation of various recycling programs and centers (Qi et al., 2012). Despite this, it has only been within the past decade that the concept of environmental conservation has entered into Canadian popular culture (Qi et al., 2012).
Of particular importance to the topic of resource conservation is the level of water resource consumption within Canada. Based on recent reports which have examined the daily domestic use of water within Canada it has been shown that Canadians use 329 liters through a variety of inconsequential and barely noticeable activities such as flushing a toilet, washing clothes, cleaning plates etc.
(Furlong & Bakker, 2011) Within a month this usage is equivalent to 9,870 liters and within a year this results in a grand total of 118,440 liters of water consumed per person. While it may be true that Canada possesses 20% of the world’s fresh water supply only 7% of it is renewable, the rest is stored in land locked glaciers and ice deposits making it inaccessible for a large portion of the year (Stonehouse, 1995) (Furlong & Bakker, 2011).
Another fact that should be taken into consideration is that despite Canada’s declining birth rates the fact remains that through the government’s immigration policy Canada’s population has actually increased from 33,854,688 in 2011 to an estimated 34,788,000 in 2012 with the population expected to grow several million more by 2020.
With millions of individuals consuming 118,440 liters per year it will eventually come to a point that even the abundant renewable water resource of Canada will be stretched to its limit resulting in several water shortages occurring throughout the country (Canada, 2012).
Studies such as those by Chow et al. (2011) indicate that the main problem really isn’t the growing population of Canada (though it is a contributing factor) but rather it is the way in which water is utilized within the country that worries many environmental conservatives (Chow et al., 2011).
For example, the average Canadian toilet utilizes 20 liters of water per flush when 6 liters is actually all that is needed (Perman, 2000). From the point of view of the researcher it is wasteful habits such as these that will contribute to a future water crisis within Canada.
In this regard, what will be explored in this particular report are current trends in water usage and consumption among members of the University of Ottawa community in order to determine whether their current level of water usage reflects trends seen in the greater whole of Canada’s population and if the growing advocacy for water resource conservation actually affects the method in which they consume this particular resource.
It is expected that through this particular report the researcher will be able to determine the “culture of consumption” that will be prevalent among the next generation of Canada’s resource consumers.
As such what will be explored are common trends in water consumption, where water is wasted the most and what current literature and trends say about the attitudes and processes that lead towards resource wastefulness.
Methods
For this particular report two data sets will be utilized, the first will be a general data set which details that usage of water among Canada’s general population while the second will encompass one of the latest data sets involving student responses from the 2012 Environment journal database (Eaton, 2009).
By examining both data sets the researcher will be able to compare the habits of current students within the University of Ottawa with their counterparts in the Canadian general population data set in order to determine whether there are similarities between the methods in which water is used between the two populations.
Moving on towards the second goal of this particular report, a comparative analysis will be conducted between the rate, method and type of consumption of the population sets involved and this will be set against the data of the Eaton (2009) study which analyzed the impact of water conservation methods on localized populations (Eaton, 2009).
Through this analysis what will be examined are consumption rates related to essential (ex: drinking water) and daily (ex: showering, washing plates, etc.) consumption and the amount of time each action utilizes. Taking this into consideration the researcher for this report has developed the hypothesis that a vast majority of the water usage done by either population set is at home and that it is here where the greatest amount of water wastefulness occurs.
Such an assumption is backed by studies such as those by Dolan (2000) that indicate that the greatest amount of water usage for individuals within most countries occurs indoors (i.e. washing clothes, using the bathroom cleaning plates etc.) (Dolan et al., 2000).
It is based on this that the method of examination utilized in this report will consist of investigating factors related to general population usage of water and student usage of water within the confines of the home/dorm/off campus residence and will try to find a common correlation of water usage within a particular area of a home where the greatest amount of water usage occurs.
The researcher suspects that by determining a common behavior between the two sets where water is used the most the resulting common denominator will be able to show the current attitudes of students regarding water usage and how this translates into their future behavior as the primary water resource consumers of Canada.
Results
An examination of the two data sets revealed the following:
The results show that the behaviors and attitudes of the general population and the Ottawa student population are actually quite close in terms of the amount of time spent using water, where water is used the most and where in their home, residence, dorm etc. do they utilize water more frequently as compared to other areas.
Discussion
Based on the results of the examination it can be seen that both sample populations had almost the same patterns of behavior regarding where they used water the most and how long they took to use it.
It is based on this particular result that it can be predicted that the current behavior of the Ottawa student population regarding their water usage will continue well into the future when they become adults and as such is rather worrisome given the fact that it is the current way in which water as a resource is utilized that endangers it as a sustainable resource in the future (Canada, 2011).
As such the best way in which to mitigate this particular outcome is to specifically target the location in which water is wasted the most which the results of the study show is the bathroom.
Methods of Resolving the Issue
The term “green” means that utilization of technologies, ideals or concepts that put environmental stewardship at the forefront of one’s actions. In other words it is an attempt at modifying one’s behavior towards a more environmentally “friendly” course of action.
The means pursuing strategies involving the utilization of recyclable material, conserving resources rather than wasting them through negligent use, and finally advocating the pursuit of methods of environmental stewardship both in technologies used and in social action.
In a way going “green” can be described as a form of ethos, the concept of ethos can be described as a form of guiding beliefs that are an inherent part of a community or nation’s character. It is used as guide that influences a person’s behavior to such an extent that by examining the ethos behind a culture you can determine how they will react based on a given situation.
It is based on this that it can be assumed that going “green” is an ideology that one attempts to follow due to it possessing characteristics that are appealing to a person’s inherent character and set of ideals.
Taking this into consideration it can be stated that what is needed in the case of wasteful water usage in the case of the Ottawa University study population and the general population of Canada is the implementation of sufficient levels of “green” technologies and ideologies that focus on the issue of water conservation (Schindler, 2002).
This can come in the form of toilets that require less water to flush, showers that are more efficient in using water or by encouraging people to use short showers instead of long baths with a bathtub filled with water in order to conserve water (Schindler, 2002).
Problems with Implementation
The concept of diffusion, as defined by Everrett Rogers, states that “diffusion is defined as a process in which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among members of a social system”.
When combined with the ideas of Nicholas Carr a new concept emerges where it can be seen that the adoption of certain ideas regarding particular technologies and concepts (i.e. water conservation) can only occur over time and that their implementation in society cannot fully occur till the technology or concept itself reaches its build out completion and removes uncertainties attached to it.
Taking this line of thought even further it can be surmised that with the nature of communication being a process of convergence and divergence the possibility of convergent or divergent thoughts regarding a particular technology or concept can and will occur.
Thus this explains the current situation wherein despite the fact that water conservation is has been proven as a necessity only a small percentage of the population has attempted to do so.
This is evidenced by fact the population of Canada still continues to consume 329 liters of water per person every day, people still spend an inordinate time using water in the bathroom which translates into several gallons lost every minute and finally the attitudes and water usage habits of students within Ottawa University reflect that of the general population which is indicative of the fact that there will probably be no change in water consumption behavior by the generation that takes over.
Conclusion
It is based on the various factors presented in this report that it can be stated that with the similar behaviors and water usage of the present Ottawa University student population with that of the general Canadian population it is likely that attitudes regarding wasteful water consumption will continue well into the future.
While it may be true that this can be mitigated through the use of “green” technologies and ideologies based on the ideas of Nicholas Carr and Everrett Rogers such an occurrence will not occur for quite some time.
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