Download They see water everywhere. But it is a fact that over one billion

TheWorldCounts, 15 April, 2014
Water, water everywhere… but not a drop
to drink
Our planet is 75% covered by water – that’s why we’re called the Blue Planet But
97.5% of that water is salt water. We only have 2.5% of freshwater to drink.
Yet, on a daily basis, we use 10 billion tons of freshwater worldwide.
A lot of organizations and environmentalists are saying that our water supply is
dwindling but very few take it seriously.
Why should they?
They see water everywhere. But it is a fact that over one billion people in
developing countries do not have access to safe drinking water. The USA on the
other hand, uses 3.9 trillion gallons of water per month.
According to the World Health Organization, 80% of all diseases in the
developing world are water related. By 2025, the United Nation estimates that
30% of the world’s population residing in 50 countries will face water shortage.
Water shortage is a bigger problem today than ever before. Not only are we
using up our available supply, our population continues to grow and with it, the
demand. Global warming is compounding the problem. Unless we all take it
seriously, soon we will have a water crisis in our hands. We will live in a blue
planet without a drop of water that’s safe to drink.
What is our average daily water usage?
We use water not just to drink or shower or wash our clothes, we use it through
the products we consume too. The average person will need 5 liters of water to
drink daily, to survive in a moderate climate with little activity. An average
American uses 100 to 175 gallons of water per day. Globally, we consume
around 4 trillion cubic meters of fresh water a year!
Agriculture alone can consume 75 to 90% of a region’s available freshwater. Did
you know that 1 ton of grain requires 1000 tons of water? The steak you eat
requires 1,232 gallons. I bet that never crossed your mind…
You “eat” water everyday…
That might sound funny, but it’s true. Our water consumption is not just computed
by what we use for domestic consumption, but also by the products that we
patronize.
The water used for the production of items we use everyday such as cotton,
paper, our clothes, etc., amounts to 167 liters daily. The water consumed to
produce our food plays an even bigger part in our consumption – it amounts to
3,496 liters a day per person. These invisible water that we consume without
knowing about it, is called Virtual Water.
For us to understand how we can help minimize water consumption, in a way
that would make a significant difference, we need to understand how we use
Virtual Water.
What is Virtual Water?
Very few people know about Virtual Water. We hope to make you aware through
our site. Virtual water is the amount of water you use that is not visible to you. It
is in the products we buy and a larger chunk is in the food we eat. It was
conceptualized by Prof. Tony Allan, to give us an idea how much water is needed
to keep us comfortable and feed us.
To simplify, let’s look at Beef. Did you know that the juicy steak you love to eat
uses up 15,400 liters of water for every 1 kilo? How? Well, the cow needs to eat
1,300 kilograms of grains for 3 years before it can be slaughtered and produce
200 kilos of beef. Those grains require water to grow, the farm and
slaughterhouse needs to be cleaned, the cow needs to drink – all of these adds
up to 3,091,000 liters of water! All of that water just to make an innocent looking
but delicious steak.
1 kilo of chocolate requires 24,000 liters of water.1 piece of paper needs 10 liters.
Unbelievable, right? No one ever thinks about this.
What can you do?
You have the power to reduce the use of virtual water. Conserving the water you
use is one way of helping, but watching your shopping basket will make more
impact to the effort. Farmers and our advancing technology have devised ways
to get more crops with less water. But these efforts are useless if we are not
concerned about the amount of virtual water we use through the products we
buy.
A meat eating person can consume up to 5000 liters per day. It would help if we
cut down on eating meat such as beef and eat more grains, fruits and
vegetables. If you have to buy meat, choose those that are grass grown. It is
interesting to note that the foods recommended by nutritionists such as
vegetables and fruit uses less water to produce than those they are asking to
remove from your diet.
If we can be conscious of the products we buy and eat and choose less water
intensive products we can make a difference. If manufacturers know that the
consumers care, they might make some efforts to reduce their water usage
during production. If the USA for example, reduced their meat intake by half, their
annual water costs will be reduced by 256 cubic kilometers! How much is that?
That’s like filling the empire state building with water 28 times every hour. That’s
a big saving.
Increase your awareness on what products are water intensive and not. This can
go a long way to ensuring that everyone in our planet will have their share. Every
drop you save is precious.
References
1. The Water Information Program: Water Facts
2. The World Water Organization: Water Facts and Water Stories from Across
the Globe
3. Global Change: Human Appropriation of the World’s Water Supply
4. GHD: Thinking About Virtual Water
5. Wikipedia: Water Use
Citation: "Average Daily Water Usage." The World Counts. The World Counts, 15 Apr. 2014. Web.
01 Aug. 2016.