{"id":53925,"date":"2014-07-23T13:41:22","date_gmt":"2014-07-23T20:41:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theavtimes.com\/?p=53925"},"modified":"2015-02-14T23:03:47","modified_gmt":"2015-02-15T07:03:47","slug":"its-going-to-be-a-long-hot-summer-save-water-and-save-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2014\/07\/23\/its-going-to-be-a-long-hot-summer-save-water-and-save-energy\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s going to be a long hot summer: Save Water and Save Energy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Water-conservation.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-53694\" src=\"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Water-conservation.jpg\" alt=\"Water conservation\" width=\"672\" height=\"448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Water-conservation.jpg 672w, https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Water-conservation-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>By Catherine J.K. Sandoval, Commissioner, California Public Utilities Commission<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The imperative of saving water and energy is highlighted by this year\u2019s wildfires that scorched parts of Northern, Central, and Southern California; low water levels in reservoirs; the light snowpack\u2019s early thaw that melted water that\u2019s usually available in late summer; uncertainty over how long water held in underground storage has to last; heat spells; and signs of climate change.<\/p>\n<p>A drought threatens California\u2019s economy and the safety of its residents.\u00a0Due to the drought emergency, Governor Brown has called on all Californians to prevent water waste and reduce water use by 20 percent.<\/p>\n<p>Energy Upgrade California\u2122 provides resources, tips, and information to help Californians conserve water and reduce energy usage. Water and its treatment, movement, extraction, and heating in homes and businesses use nearly one-fifth of the energy consumed in California.\u00a0 Some steps to save water and energy include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"letter-spacing: 0.05em;\">Installing low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators;<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Taking shorter showers (five minutes or less);<\/li>\n<li>Running washing machines and dishwashers with full loads using only cold water;<\/li>\n<li>Identifying and promptly repairing leaks (60 drips per minute from a leaky faucet wastes more than 3,153 gallons per year);<\/li>\n<li>Taking a class on drought tolerant landscaping offered free by many water agencies.\u00a0 Outdoor watering accounts for most of the water California households consume.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The energy sector is one of the largest users of water, as water is used for cooling and energy production. As such, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is examining the water-energy nexus. The CPUC is working to identify best practices for water use and management, including using communications-connected sensors to measure and manage water and energy use, and facilitate cost-effective measures that save water and energy. Actions that households can take to save energy and also save water include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"letter-spacing: 0.05em;\">Closing the curtains to shield your home from the sun\u2019s heat;<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Unplugging cell phone chargers when phones are charged;<\/li>\n<li>Using smart power strips for products that go into standby mode such as printers, DVD players, computers, and plasma TVs to avoid drawing power even when you\u2019re not using the product;<\/li>\n<li>Turning off your computer at night to use 50 percent less energy than the computer\u2019s \u201csleep mode,\u201d which is activated when the computer is not in use but remains ready, all day and night;<\/li>\n<li>Installing energy efficient lights and appliances to embed energy savings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Californians can visit <a href=\"http:\/\/energyupgradeca.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">EnergyUpgradeCA.org<\/a> or follow Energy Upgrade California\u2122 on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EnergyUpgradeCalifornia?fref=ts\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EnergyUpgradeCA\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a> to learn about energy and water management, find rebates on energy efficient appliances, and more.<\/p>\n<p>Your local water agency or utilities may provide discounted or free low-flow showerheads, aerators, or other water-saving devices. Visit <a href=\"http:\/\/saveourh2o.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">SaveOurH2O.org<\/a> for more ideas on how to save water, and <a href=\"http:\/\/drought.ca.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\">drought.ca.gov<\/a> to learn more about steps California is taking to manage water resources and mitigate the drought\u2019s consequences for our economy and public safety.<\/p>\n<p>By taking steps to reduce water and energy consumption, together we can weather the drought, forestall climate change, protect our people and economy, and keep California golden.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<\/p>\n<h4><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Disclaimer<\/span>: The views expressed in this article are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of The AV Times.<\/em><\/h4>\n<p><em>Email <a href=\"mailto:letters@theavtimes.com\">letters@theavtimes.com<\/a> to submit a story to <em>Your Issues | Your News<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Catherine J.K. Sandoval, Commissioner, California Public Utilities Commission The imperative of saving water and energy is highlighted by this year\u2019s wildfires that scorched parts of Northern, Central, and Southern California; low water levels in reservoirs; the light snowpack\u2019s early thaw that melted water that\u2019s usually available in late summer; uncertainty over how long water [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":53694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1480],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53925"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}