Chesna Goel from Nanjing International School reminds us on the importance of reducing our water footprint.
南京国际学校的Chesna Goel提醒我们减少水足迹的重要性。
“Don’t! We don’t want your money; just get us some food and water, please!”
“不要！ 我们不想要你的钱；请给我们拿点食物和水！”
Last year during the holidays, my family and I went to India, where a man, instead of accepting money, asked my uncle to buy him and the people around him food and water because that would do them more good.
去年假期，我和我的家人去了印度，那里有一个人不接受钱，而是要求我叔叔给他和他周围的人买食物和水，因为这对他们更有好處。
Here in China, there are still around 63 million people who do not have access to clean water. Globally, some 29 percent of the world population are not able to find clean drinking services. According to the World Health Organisation, by 2025, half of the people in our world will be living in water-stressed areas.
在中国，仍有约6300万人无法获得清洁水。 在全球范围内，大约29%的世界人口无法找到清洁饮酒服务。 据世界卫生组织称，到2025年，我们世界上一半的人将生活在水灾地区。
The UN says that 5 billion people will lack safe, clean water by 2050.
联合国表示，到2050年，50亿人将缺乏安全、清洁的水。
Water is literally a matter of life and death, yet so much of it is wasted. There are so many ways that we can save water, and in the process we can save ourselves a lot of money on our water bill. Tempting, right? Herein but three examples of how we can reduce our water footprints.
水简直就是生死攸关的问题，但其中很多都是浪费的。 有很多方法可以节省水，在这个过程中，我们可以为自己节省很多水费。 诱人，对吧？ 这里只有三个例子，说明我们如何减少我们的水足迹。
Start by taking shorter showers. Some showers use over 20 litres of water every minute. By reducing your shower time by 5 minutes every day you could save around 3,000 litres a month. What’s even better is that you could take a bath. Partially filling up a tub uses less water than showers in most scenarios, unless you’re the type of person who’s in the shower for a few seconds and then right out. Definitely not me! Plus taking a bath sounds so much more relaxing.
首先洗个更短的澡。 有些淋浴每分钟消耗超过20升的水。 通过每天减少5分钟的淋浴时间，你每月可以节省大约3000升。 更好的是，你可以洗个澡。 在大多数情况下，部分装满浴缸的水比淋浴更少，除非你是那种在淋浴中泡几秒钟然后马上出来的人。 绝对不是我！ 此外，洗澡听起来更放松。
Do you have any dehumidifiers in your homes? I know that we have one in our basement and after a day or two, it is filled with water. Don’t throw it down the drain; use it to water the plants. Wherever in Nanjing I go there is a lot of greenery. Maybe water some of the trees or bushes outside your home.
你家里有除湿机吗？ 我知道我们的地下室有一个，一两天后，它就装满了水。 不要把它扔进下水道；用它来给植物浇水。 在南京，无论我走到哪里，都有很多绿色植物。 也许给你家外的一些树木或灌木丛浇水。
Finally, and still in a green vein, let’s look at plants and gardening. Plants, like all organisms, need water to survive, but instead of watering them during the hottest times of the day or when the sun is directly above, water them in the early morning or at the end of the day. This way, all of the water won’t start to evaporate immediately or soon after because of the heat, and the plants will get the most water. Plus, if you do that by hand, you can save up to 33 percent of water, instead of using sprinklers.
最后，仍然在绿色的脉络中，让我们看看植物和园艺。 植物和所有生物一样，需要水才能生存，但不要在一天中最热的时候或太阳正上方浇水，而是在清晨或一天结束时浇水。 这样，所有的水都不会因为热量而立即或很快开始蒸发，植物将获得最多的水。 此外，如果您用手这样做，您可以节省高达33%的水，而不是使用洒水器。
Change starts here. Make a difference. Because as W.H. Auden once said, “Thousands have lived without love, not one without water”.
改变从这里开始。 有所作为。 因为作为W.H. 奥登曾经说过：“千上千上千的人没有爱，没有一个没有水”。
