This article originally appeared on the blog of Sungevity, a Diamond Certified company.

Guest post by Leslye Penticoff

In April, California’s Governor Jerry Brown imposed mandatory restrictions on the state’s water use for the first time in history. The announcement coincides with the end of another disappointing winter season for local skiers, who looked on enviously as snowfall set records in New England. The evidence is clear: the drought in California is serious, and it’s getting worse. So, why is solar energy making us hopeful? Because solar energy requires little to no water to generate electricity, Read more

For more information on water conservation, visit our drought resource page here.

We’ve been encouraged to cut back on our water use for many months now, yet we’re still not conserving enough. So now the governor is ordering mandatory water use reductions with the specifics yet to be worked out by the individual water agencies.

Why have we been so slow to make changes in our water consumption habits? They say, “Replace your lawn with drought-resistant plants. Take shorter showers. Only do full loads of laundry. Get a rebate for a water-efficient toilet.” At some point, you wonder if we won’t change our behavior until our water bills skyrocket. Read more

Water conservation is always a priority in California, but it’s even more important during times of drought, which is why now is a great time for Bay Area residents to focus on minimizing their usage and waste. Here are some helpful tips from three Diamond Certified Expert Contributors on how to maximize water conservation in your home and on your property.

1. Go low-flow. According to Jamie Rogers, president of Rogers Remodel Inc., one of the simplest ways to conserve water in your home is to replace faucet aerators, shower heads and toilets with low-flow models. Read more

Many people think of trees as entities that operate independent of human involvement, but there are many cases where intervention can foster significant improvements, both in the interest of economics and general health. One such method of intervention is called “thinning.” While on the small scale this term refers to the selective removal of branches to improve a tree’s overall health, on a larger scale it denotes a selective removal of whole trees from certain areas of a landscape.

Thinning is most often applied in areas where overcrowding intensifies competition between neighboring trees. This strenuous competition can be detrimental to particular “underdog” stands of trees, especially where environmental factors such as drought, insect infestations or extreme temperature come into play. Read more