Set sprinklers to water the lawn or garden only - not the street or sidewalk.
Use the microwave to cook small meals. (It uses less power than an oven.)
Purchase "Green Power" for your home's electricity. (Contact your power supplier to see where and if it is available.)
Scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading into the dishwasher; wash only full loads.
Cut back on air conditioning and heating use if you can.
Turn off appliances and lights when you leave the room.
WASHINGTON -- A new study says global warming and population growth threaten the Southeast's already precarious water supplies by fueling more extreme weather and degrading water quality.
The report's summary says the changes will probably put an end to the region's traditionally inexpensive access to water.
The study was commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund and conducted by scientists at the U.S. Forest Service. It looked at four major river basins that run through Alabama, the Carolinas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee.
The river systems -- the Cumberland, Mobile, Tennessee and Alabama -- are among the most biologically diverse in North America, with hundreds of unique marine species at risk.
Models show that anticipated higher temperatures will generate more volatile weather, with more extreme storms, flooding and erosion. At the same time, hotter conditions could reduce river flows and exacerbate drought conditions.
Contributing to the strain is the region's rapidly growing population. New development is expected to cut into vast woodlands, which have traditionally helped filter and clean the region's water. Development also could create more erosion, with sediment clogging rivers and fouling the water.
"Over the last century, high quality water has been supplied at relatively low cost in this region," said Forest Service scientist Steve McNulty, who conducted the study for WWF. "That is poised to change."
The WWF circulated a summary of the report on Capitol Hill this week.
The full study is not yet completed.
