Water Footprint Calculator And Water Use Facts

thegreennw.com:

Recently all the talk has been about carbon footprints. What about water footprints? Water conservation efforts will be big news in 2009. Historically water conservation has been an uphill battle due to the artificially low price of water. With a surging population, global warming and waste, many believe we are approaching "peak water". We have a finite supply of usable fresh water. Of the earths water only 3% is fresh water and only 1% of that water is drinkable.

Water is different than oil in the respect that we can not live without it. Oil can and hopefully soon will be replaced with alternatives. There is no alternative for water. So we must implement conservation efforts in every aspect of daily life and business. Many businesses recognize that water is a commodity and are implementing drastic conservation efforts to reduce need and in turn costs. As individuals we can reduce water usage by 50% by doing simple things like repairing leaky toilets and installing/replacing aerators on sinks.

Read the whole story: thegreennw.com

Comments

[Biofriendlyblog]

01:58 PM on 01/27/2009

Can water usage really be cut by 50% by repairing leaky toilets and installing aerators on sinks?
I think water conservation is something more people need to be aware of and see what ways they can conserve or reduce their water waste.
But another point....aren't people supposed to drink 8+ glasses of water a day? If only 1% of fresh water is drinkable, then more ways to turn fresh water (or even salt water) into drinkable water should be a major concentration above and beyond just cutting water usage.

[LALC]

03:29 PM on 01/27/2009

From a household standpoint old model toilets used 5 gal / flush. Most now use 1.6 gal. That's more than a 50% decrease. "Semi-old" models use 3gal / flush - That's a 50% decrease!
AND, there are even new models that have a 0.8 gal flush for "liquids only" & a 1.6 gal / flush for "solids"! Two buttons - one tank! What will they think of next?

[BlackYowe]

01:51 PM on 01/27/2009

I have a well. I use the water and put it back in the ground through my septic tank. No better way to be green. There is no shortage of water here anyway. We need to stop building up states like California and New Mexico. The population centers need to be where the water is. In this vast nation its insane how we grow cities where there is not nearly the water for the size of the population.

[2wit]

04:52 PM on 01/27/2009

Yes, If that is a well constructed septic tank in working condition. So many older tanks are not to code and out of repair - they can pose more of a problem than they solve.

[2wit]

04:56 PM on 01/27/2009

The Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri is a made lake - once beautiful . . . now has black floaty algae problem from septic tank seepage

[Soule23]

12:43 PM on 01/27/2009

I am a big proponent of conserving our natural resources. That said, however, I think that this article is superficial and substantially misleading.

[CBDunkerson]

11:29 AM on 01/27/2009

Water footprint vs carbon footprint? Not really. The two are very closely related. For instance, it is the (largely carbon driven) warming of the southwest US over the past century which has decreased the supply of available water in the region. Increasing human population is obviously part of the problem, but there we are largely taking water away from the plants and animals we displace. The fact that the supply of available water is actually decreasing in many regions year over year is a bigger problem.

Conservation can make a big difference, but I suspect that ocean water desalination plants will become critical for many people over the next century. In fact, they're about the only hope China has at this point.

[JulieSA]

09:23 AM on 01/27/2009

Finally a useful topic. I couldn't care less about my carbon footprint, but water is the top issue in my region. My city has a very low per capita water use figure because of the water saving incentives and education it's done. It's nice to see a program that actually works.

[Meah]

11:59 AM on 01/27/2009

Foo lish girl! Not caring less about your carbon footprint is downright irresponsible. The rest of us will have to carry you and your enlarged carbon footprint. Thanks for nothing.

[LALC]

02:26 PM on 01/27/2009

JulieSA? I'm surprised at you esp given your "solar panel" posts. Carbon footprint can seriously affect our H2O - drilling, mining, livestock manure, etc. Would really like to elaborate but really gotta get going!
Ahnyhow, Peace-out!