How does drip irrigation affect global warming?

Con: Plastic parts used in drip irrigation require petroleum and energy to manufacture, and the manufacturing process contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and global warming as you might expect.

Pro: The good news is that the parts are lightweight and use a minimum of materials. Our tubing is made of low density polyethylene (LDPE) which is a type 4 recyclable plastic and listed as safe for water storage. Please recycle all drip tubing.

Drip irrigation parts have a long service life and are designed to last outdoors in severe sunlight. Even better, the use of drip irrigation is the most efficient method of delivering irrigation water to the roots of plants. If you need irrigation to keep your gardens or crops green and thriving, drip irrigation will do the job with 60% of the water needed for overhead sprinklers or ditch irrigation.

Of course, water must be pumped, cleaned and distributed to get to your plants. If drip irrigation requires only 60% of the water used in other forms of irrigation, drip also reduces the cost of pumping , cleaning and distributing water.

That includes electricity for pumping and materials for buildings necessary to house the pumping equipment, all of which contribute in some way to greenhouse emissions and global warming.

Conclusion

If you need to irrigate, drip irrigation is the most efficient method available. It is efficient in use of materials, has a long service life and saves on the cost of pumping and distributing water.

Drip irrigation has been used to create gardens in the desert, and vineyards and orchards in semi-arid regions. In turn, those trees and crops absorb carbon dioxide, a component of greenhouse gases.

It's difficult to imagine another method of irrigation more efficient than drip irrigation. It is relatively low-tech and simple to use. Drip irrigation is a part of the solution to global warming.