I thought I had heard it all

clipped from www.washingtonpost.com Divorce Found to Harm The Environment With Higher Energy, Water Use By Juliet Eilperin Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, December 4, 2007; Page A02 Divorce is not just a family matter. It exacts a serious toll on the environment by boosting the energy and water consumption of those who used to live together, according to a study by two Michigan State University researchers. The analysis found that cohabiting couples and families around the globe use resources more efficiently than households that have split up. The researchers calculated that in 2005, divorced American households used between 42 and 61 percent more resources per person than before they separated, spending 46 percent more per person on electricity and 56 percent more on water.

I haven't figured out how divorce harms the environment. The first thing that came to my mind, after reading the headlines, was we don't bathe together. Perhaps we do use more electricity and water if we live by ourselves than we would if we were married. But, what does that have to do with harming the environment? The next thing we will hear is every single person is being forced to get married or live with someone else in order to not cause more 'harm to the environment'.

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