I figured out how to use two-thirds less water — and it only took a week to set up

Eric Haas in his backyard in Oakland, California. Photograph: Jenna Garrett/The Guardian

While droughts are a natural feature of California’s climate, human-induced warming has made them even drier. After Eric Haas, 62, moved to Oakland in 2007, California was in a drought so severe a statewide emergency was declared. After experiencing drought conditions for several years, the California professor had a rainwater and greywater capture system installed at his highly efficient urban home to do his part to conserve water.

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