The green way to keep warm this winter

Earth Day on 22 April is an important day where residents should be mindful of mother nature.

With winter around the corner, we are bound to start boiling the water more and using more electricity. However, this is not always a good thing for our earth.

Geologist, Michelle Morrow said, “Geologically, try to keep away from fossil fuels as a heating supply as they are limited in terms of their reserves and resources and take millions of years to form as well as produce pollution which, environmentally, we should be trying to minimise.”

Long, hot baths go hand-in-hand with winter, however, Morrow explained, “Residents should try and use less hot water as it is discarded down the drain after it cools down and this is a waste of water. If everyone does this they will increase the electricity demand as they will likely use electricity to heat the water. The best solution is to have a shallow bath or a quick shower.”

Furthermore, Morrow explained the effect that excessive use of hot water will have on the already looming drought.

“Drawing unnecessary water from the reservoirs which may be supplied by the water table can cause a problem for the environment. The water table will already be low in winter due to our low winter rainfall so it could contribute to depleting it even more.”

Morrow offered some green solutions to this issue and said that residents should try to keep warm using the typical methods of dressing properly as well as using blankets.

“Unlike hot water bottles and heaters, these fabrics can be used repeatedly for many winters. Also, heaters are commonly used to heat up rooms before bedtime and this increases the amount of electricity used by these devices,” explained Morrow.

Therefore, the best way to keep warm while still respecting nature is to conserve water and electricity and dress warmly, rather than use mother earth’s limited resources.