You may think that the choices that you make for your home only have an impact on you and your close neighbors who look at your house. While the actual enjoyment of the living space itself is probably only going to have an impact on your family, friends and neighbors, you may be surprised to know that your choices actually have a greater impact on the city and community that you live in as well. We are all part of the same community with the same access to natural resources, and the choices of every individual have an impact on the community as a whole. When there is a necessity for us to act as a single unit in the pursuit of a goal, we all must contribute to the effort of we fail as a group. In Las Vegas, the biggest concern that we currently have is water conservation due to the ongoing drought conditions that exist across most of the western United States. Because we are in the desert even more than other areas, the drought impact on our community is even more critical to address than in other areas. In the desert, humans and animals simply cannot survive very long without water, and as our population swells we need even more of it. The fact that our needs for water are increasing and the supply is decreasing at the same time puts us into a place where we must act as a community to protect ourselves. If we do not conserve water we may run out, and that is not going to be good for anyone.
Las Vegas encourages water conservation through attempts to manipulate the actions of it’s citizens. Las Vegas encourages you to personally save water by keeping in mind the ways that water is wasted. One of the biggest culprits with regards to water waste in the valley is the installation of grass yards, which is not only un-natural for our area, they are completely un-necessary. Installed merely as decoration or as a soft surface for children and pets to play on, grass and the traditional lawn is an attempt to prove that humans can control even the most harsh climates and remake them to their liking. The problem is that even though we might be able to afford to do it, the waste of resources that this attitude spreads is dangerous to all people. A grass lawn will use up to 50 gallons f water per square foot every year. When you think about that multiplied across the thousands of square feet of grass, you can see just how much of our dwindling resources is being wasted on decorative items. Las Vegas encourages residents to install artificial grass if they simply need to see that patch of green outside. Synthetic grass uses no water, yet looks and feels exactly like real grass. Only through these kinds of encouragements of individual citizens can we conserve water as a community. Do your part and get rid of the lawn.