Natural resources are often viewed by people in the United States as a product that is readily available, when in reality that is far from the case. Natural resources are valuable in more ways than I can describe, and being a resident in a dry, drought suffering city like Phoenix has helped me understand this idea. I grew up with the mindset that many people still have today, thinking that everything was right at my fingertips, water, food, and anything else my young and immature mind wanted. However, this has changed because of the struggle that Arizona has been going through, and the worsening effects continue to give me more and more appreciation for nature. Arizona continues to rely on canal systems for water as the rain does just not come as often as it does in the majority of states. Being a firm believer in the idea that everyone in the community is responsible for helping the city, I began doing little things to preserve water before I left for school in San Antonio. .
Every day, I would drink my water from fountains or other sources like that, as opposed to bottled water. Bottled water not only is a waste of resources as the majority of people fail to recycle, but it also requires a lot of other things to make that people don't understand. Water bottling plants, ironically enough, use a lot of water to produce actual bottles of water and the plastic bottles that holds the purified water. The amount of water that goes to waste in the water purification process is incredible and avoiding water bottles is a good way to stay away from supporting the unnecessary use of water. Similarly, our family took some rather drastic steps to keep our water usage amounts to a minimum. This past summer, my family installed artificial grass throughout our entire front and back yard, and we have already begun to see the benefits of doing this. The grass cost a fair amount of money and the installment was not cheap either, but the long term benefits are already showing up.
