By: Kyle Ragan
As we discussed in class earlier this year the United States has one of the highest water consumption rates in the world. Access to clean drinking water is already an issue to nearly one billion people around the world today. This number is only expected to grow as water may become one of the most fought over resources on earth. The issues around water use are both environmental and social. In class we mentioned the concept of virtual water. Virtual water takes into account your total water footprint for your daily life. While water usage may only take into account water that is consumed or used in your daily life. Virtual water also takes into account the water used to produce the food you eat and to transport this food to where you live. The first step to addressing the water problem facing the world is to better understand our own personal impact on global water.
The website H2o conserve provides tools for better understanding your own individual water usage. There is no perfect way to calculate an individual’s personal water footprint but H20 conserve provides a calculator that can estimate your individual water footprint. Use the calculator to calculate your water footprint. We can all look for ways that we can decrease our water consumption. The website also provides tips for ways that you can decrease your water usage.
We all have a role in helping the water crisis, take the first step and calculate your water usage and look up some tips about how to decrease your water footprint. Comment with your scores so that you can see how you compare with everyone else in the class.
I used the water footprint calculator and found out that my family has a footprint of 3,912 gallons per day or 978 per day per person, which is slightly below the 1,190 gallons per day per person of the average American. It’s nice to know that we’re slightly below for that, although we could certainly take more steps to decrease this.
It’d also be interesting to calculate the usage at school, as the tips they listed for decreasing the water footprint of the university seemed like they could help a lot. Especially with things like decreasing the amount of printing necessary, which is very realistic.
My individual water use was 1127 gallons per day, which compares with the national average of 1190. Though this is slightly less than the national average, when I buy my own home, I’d like to invest in more water efficient and sustainable devices, and potentially implement a rainwater catch system which they mentioned in the calculator.
I thought this calculator was great for two reasons- one, it gave me a reasonable estimate on how much water I use per day (1,114 gallons) which is nearly identical to the national per person average. Two, it asked questions about my family’s daily habits that forced me to rethink my routines around the house. Specifically, I am going to make a conscious effort to decrease my water usage in the bathroom.
A calculator such as this one puts water usage into perspective- given the exorbitant amount of water the average American uses it is hard to grasp the severity of situations in countries such as India, where millions of people struggle to even drink a glass of clean water each day.
My water use was calculated to be 1,086 gallons per day. At first glance that amount seemed unbelievable. However, after realizing the amount of water that goes into producing such items as the jeans I wear, the coffee I drink, and the hamburgers I eat, that amount seems realistic. It would be interesting to see how low a person, living in a collegiate setting such as ourselves, could make that amount for a day, a week, or even a month.
My individual water use was 1,186 gallons per day. This calculator made me realize how much I could be doing in order to conserve water. There are simple steps to change our everyday routines and habits that would save a lot of water. I was shocked at the amount of water I use per day (and the amount my family uses). Even though I know how much more water we use in comparison to other countries and we are constantly being reminded about not wasting water by running the sink or running a small load of laundry, I never really thought about exactly how much water was being used just to support our lifestyle. This really made me step back and think and I know that I will definitely start being more conscious about the amount of water I use each day and the things I do (like washing the dishes or watering the lawn) that use a lot of water.
This calculator said that I use 1128 gallons of water per day. To me that number seems a little bit high. It is less than the average for Americans but it really made me realize just how much water we use without even thinking about it. I could not believe that my family uses over 5000 gallons of water per day. I think that a few ways i could cut down on this number is to run the laundry and the dishwashing machines less often as well as purchase water saving shower heads and faucets. I liked this calculator a lot and I think that it gave me good suggestions on how to cut down on my water usage.
This tool is really eye-opening. It’s hard to believe how much water each person uses per day, because most of the time you don’t think about it. In most cases, water is very accessible for me so I often don’t even take note when I turn on the faucet or throw a load of clothes in the wash. I think if more people realized how much water they were using, and how little water people have in other places, it would make them think twice about some of their behaviors.
My water footprint was 1,136 gallons of water per day. I expected to have a much lower number. Although, the high number could be explained by the concept of virtual water , say we not inly consume the water that we drink from the bottle of water, we also consume the water that has been used to produce the bottle of water. Although, the calculations might be overrated because for example it is not very specific; for example i believe the type of meet we eat and where it is coming from (locally vs. imported) matters in calculating the water footprint of the meet. But in general it is a great idea to have some tool like this calculator to grab the public’s attention and possibly decrease their water consumption, because water will probably create even greater conflicts especially in the Middle East.