HYPE without substance - how I hate it!

OK, time for a bit of a rant and a lesson for all of us... As many of you know - my hubby has been managing a campground this summer, while I play catch up with Roaring Women. I have been blessed with gorgeous mountains and fresh air. But I got a bit cranked earlier in the week. We have always prided ourselves in being 'green' - or as green as we can. We are careful of our water, electricity and gas use. And we have been told over and over again by the media and government that the planet benefits and that we also benefit financially. But I am wondering is all this a bunch of hype? I digress... back on point Mandie.... So because we have been away from home - we have not used any water except for the odd toilet flush when we return home to get the mail. We thought - wow - because we are using the shower in the RV which uses very little water, we are really adding to the green planet conservation efforts - and saving money. (we also have used less than $25 in propane for the entire summer - cooking water heat included) Well, we may be helping the planet - but the money saving thing is all a bunch of hype. After reviewing the bill last month and this month- I noted we saved $2.03 in July and $2.30 in August. Yes we saved less than $5.00 in two months for using little or no water at home. So I called the utilities department at the city. The clerk was amazed at how little water we use normally and looked at the graph that showed we used 1/10th of what we normally used in July last year. Add yes the savings was $2.03. (Over $40.00 of the bill is service charges) I thought back to all the times I take a short shower to save water and cash. Then I thought of all the times I berated the teens over the years about their water usage. Then I did a few calculations. It seems that if I run the shower for 1 minute it costs less than 1 penny in water usage. So for an extra 10 minutes in the shower every day for a month, (oh how luxurious) my bill would go up a measley $3.00. So what is my beef? Advertisers and marketers know that when you talk money, people sit up and listen. But I really am tired of being roped into a pile of hype about a benefit that does not even exist. If you promise me big savings on a water bill because I conserve - I want to see big savings. But if I do not save much - appeal to my sense of responsibility - don't try to sell me a bill of goods that do not exist. Do I want to help the planet - yes I do. I want my grandchildren to be able to shower. And I want under privileged countries to have better access to water. And so I will continue to conserve water. But come on Calgary, if you want to play on the savings because I conserve - you had better change your billing structure so that your promises can be realized! Let's put some honesty back into marketing - PLEASE!