Sachi+T’s+2015+OpEd+Article

Drip, drip. That is the sound of the faucet in Mr. Frazier's art room every single day. The sound of water being wasted drop by drop until it becomes gallons of clean water flushed down the drain. Why?

Because some careless high schooler couldn't be bothered to push the faucet handle half an inch more to turn it off.

This is a disgusting yet frighteningly common example of our blatant disregard for water. We take the constant water supply completely for granted as we throw precious water away like there's no tomorrow. Long showers, dripping faucets, untouched water bottles- they're all part of the problem. But the main issue is our attitude towards water. When will we see water as something to be saved rather than exploited, something precious rather than mundane, something for the future rather than the present? California is in a drought, and it's time we started acting like it.

It's our responsibility to ingrain this new mindset of conservation into ourselves, our family, and the community. We've all heard the same phrases over and over again, "Save water, save the earth. Don't waste. Recycle, reuse, reduce." But have we really heard and taken it to heart? Of course not, we have so many more 'important' things to worry about than water. Well guess what- you need water to live. This **is** an issue worth your time and concern, and it cannot be pushed to the side any longer. We can't hide the fact that California never gets rain, that groundwater levels are being depleted to irrigate water-greedy crops, or that much of the general public is willingly ignorant.

Every person is part of the problem but we can choose to be part of the solution. Maybe you can't convince your parents to ditch the impractical grass lawn in favor of a desert-friendly landscape, but you can still reduce your personal water waste. And with less water consumption comes a lower water bill, thereby benefiting both the household and the environment.

In the end, do you want to be the generation that squandered away the world's water supply and has to live with the consequences?