Do You Conserve Water? You Could Probably Stand to Do Much More

Nearly 15 percent of the contiguous United States is suffering from moderate to severe drought, which makes water conservation critical in certain parts of the country. How do we convince people to save more water, though?

That’s the question that professors at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences put to the test. They polled over 1,000 people in Florida to determine which types of people would respond best to conservation efforts, and the answer is a little counterintuitive: target people who are already saving some water.

From the responses, the researchers identified three groups of people:

1. Water savvy conservationists, who demonstrate a strong commitment to saving water
2. Water considerate users, who take some small steps to save water without fully committing to conservation efforts
3. Unconcerned water users, who put no thought into saving water

At first glance, it probably seems like we should be pressuring the people who do nothing to save water during times of drought rather than focusing on the middle group that is already chipping in.

The problem is, that’s not how the world works, and you’re always going to encounter people who refuse to do their part. Maybe they ignore science, maybe they feel the rules shouldn’t apply to them, or maybe they’re just jerks. Whatever the reason, if they’ve ignored previous drought pleas, further attempts aren’t likely to be too successful.

Continue reading at ENN affiliate, Care2.

Image credit: Water Sprinkler