Water wasting

This morning I took a really long shower, and now I feel quite guilty. I tend to do this more often during the winter, especially in the morning. I am finding more and more that going green is a double-edged sword. In the case of the shower situation, my roommates and I keep the apartment fairly cool during the winter, around 60 degrees or so, in order to save on the electric bill; however, the cool temperatures tempt me to enjoy the comforts of the hot water for longer. I suppose the best answer to this problem is to time my showers to prevent myself from letting too much water go down the drain. I do not like the idea of rushing through an activity that I find so relaxing, but I want to do the right thing.

When I was around ten or eleven years old, I had a friend whose younger brother told me that I should not let the water run while I am brushing my teeth because I would kill all the whales. At the time I knew that the water coming out of the faucet did not come from the ocean, but thinking about the source of the water is an interesting idea. The professor of my ecology class a year ago told us that it was projected, based on the speed at which the city's population was growing, that the water supply of Las Vegas would be depleted in ten years. What would happen to all the residents? Would they enact so form of water rationing in this desert oasis? Would the government force them to leave? It is a scary thought...