Editor’s note: This week, Celsias editor Craig Mackintosh takes a look at a simple home addition for saving water: the rain barrel. This post was originally published on November 4, 2007.

We’ve done a bunch of posts on water lately (here, here, here, here and here for example). If you’ve been keeping up, you’ll know this is a serious issue. In fact, although climate scientists are quick to put the fear into us over rising sea levels, shortages of precious clean water are predicted to impact upon us sooner and harder. This is known as “the other water problem.” The recent GEO-4 report reconfirms the facts we’ve shared in the posts above — that by 2025 around 1.8 billion people will face critical water shortages. The odds are good you may be among them.

There are many things you can do to conserve water — from moving away from a meat-based diet (did you know that you’d save more water by not eating a pound of California beef than you would by not showering for an entire year?!), to purchasing a composting toilet, installing low-flow showerheads and greywater systems. And, even if you’re a bit cash-strapped, the clip below outlines a very cheap and easy way to get your water-conservation efforts off to a flying start. What if you’re renting? Well, chances are good even your landlord will see the sense in this: Watch the video here.