University of Florida has the key to saving more water, says Fast Company writer Charlie Sorrel. The University categorized different kinds of water consumers in a new study in the hopes of designing more effective campaigns to promote water conservation. Irrigation, like watering lawns, is one of the biggest residential water wasters.
But getting people to use less water is tricky, especially when campaigns don’t have a specific target audience based on current behaviors. Some people just don’t think they need to save water, and don’t realize how much their landscaping impacts the environment. The study found that more effort should instead be put towards convincing already water-conscious users to save even more water, says Laura Warne, who lead the study.
Water-savvy conservationists are already almost perfect when it comes to saving water, and the unconcerned are a lost cause. While they “show fairly positive attitudes about conserving water,” they have “room for improvement in their irrigation,” Warne said. The key, then, is to work on these folks, moving them up the water conversation ladder. Future education campaigns can target this group. It might not be entirely fair—after all, the unconcerned are also likely to be the biggest wasters, and could make a big difference if reigned in—but it’s certainly the most practical and efficient approach.
Read more about the study from Fast Company‘s Charlie Sorrel here >>