We've talked a lot about saving electricity this week, but what about saving water? If you want to keep an eye on how much you're washing down the plughole, this fun new gadget, the 'eco showerdrop' will be your new best friend. And if you're taking showers to avoid wasting water, the results it gives may just surprise you...
Using Ecover products helps you to reduce your 'chemical splash' and keep things clean without polluting in the process. But what about the amount of water you use to do those chores? Ecover have all sorts of inspirational goodies on offer to make sure we waste as little as possible. Follow the jump to find out how to get your free water-saving kit, complete with stickers and more...
We Brits are used to whinging about the water that never seems to stop falling from the sky, so why not turn the Monsoon-like weather into something positive this summer?
One way to do this is by 'harvesting' rainwater, making use of this ever-abundant resource and freeing your household from reliance on mains water. It used to be difficult to do this if you didn't have a lot of space, but now there are plenty of options for rainwater collection, with harvesting units available from specialist companies like RainWater Harvesting. Specially-installed collection tanks can help you out in your water-saving quest -- whether you live in a city flat or a rural smallholding. Read on after the jump to find out what water-saving solutions are on offer.
If you're concerned that you and your family are sending gallons of potentially useful water (literally) down the pan, help could be at hand from Hippo the Water Saver; a simple and cheap bit of kit that reduces the amount of water wasted by your loo.
The hippo is made from a squishy plastic composite that opens up "origami style" when placed inside the cistern. It absorbs excess water, and When the toilet is flushed, the water confined within the Hippo is the volume saved. The hippo has a lifetime guarantee, and works with most toilets, saving at least 33% of the water we regularly flush away. A pack of 3 Hippos costs just £7.99 from Hippo the Watersaver
Don't be fooled into thinking that you're a saint for having showers instead of baths or for turning off the tap while you brush your teeth. There's a lot more to water saving than meets the eye, and waterfootprint is here to set you straight on the matter.
Anything that we consume, be it food, clothing, gadgets or whatever, requires water in varying amounts for its production. So the point is it's good to have an idea of how much water has been used in getting a given product to you. For example, according to the site, the total water footprint of one cup of coffee is 140 litres -- and I'll bet that's quite a bit more agua than you put in the kettle, even if you weren't using an eco-friendly model...
If that sounds alarming, help is at hand with this water footprint calculator you can use to monitor your own personal water usage based on where you live. It doesn't give much in the way of advice on how to improve your score (other than turning vegetarian -- it takes a shocking 16 thousand litres of water to produce one kilogram of beef -- but it does get you thinking about a subject that even the greenest among us often forget.
In the wake of a summer which saw many parts of Britain a bit too waterlogged for comfort, it is essential that Britain moves faster in its implementation of flood prevention recommendations, the Environment Agency's chief executive, Lady Young, warned yesterday.
After the summer's serious flooding, the Environmental Agency faced a deluge of criticism - to the extent that flood defence chiefs were told they should pay back the huge bonuses they'd received days before the flooding - when it was revealed that it had failed to meet both its key flood defence targets.
Oxygenating (or 'aerating') shower heads are said to reduce the amount of water your shower uses, without hindering its performance. In our video review, Katie Lee puts an Oxygenics aerating shower to the test, direct from her bathroom: this one is available at £59 from Natural Collection.
We've talked a lot about saving electricity this week, but what about saving water? If you want to keep an eye on how much you're washing down the plughole, this fun new gadget, the 'eco showerdrop' will be your new best friend. And if you're taking showers to avoid wasting water, the results it gives may just surprise you...
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In the wake of a summer which saw many parts of Britain a bit too waterlogged for comfort, it is essential that Britain moves faster in its implementation of flood prevention recommendations, the Environment Agency's chief executive, Lady Young, warned yesterday. 
