You've probably calculated your carbon footprint a number of times already. And you probably know what can tip the scale: eating meat, taking long haul flights, turning up the air conditioning or heat and so on. But have you ever calculated your water footprint? And besides leaving the water running while you brush your teeth or taking a bath every night, do you know what can tip the scale?
Dutch hydro engineer Arjen Hoekstra introduced a water footprint calculator at last month's World Water Week. Many individuals probably don't realize how the consumption of goods and services doesn't just have a carbon cost, but has a water cost, too. All water use has an impact, whether direct or indirect, on fresh-water systems, water pollution and water shortages. With Hoekstra's Water Footprint Network, he hopes to "promote the transition towards sustainable, fair and efficient fresh water resources worldwide."
According to Hoekstra's calculations one hamburger requires 2,400 liters of water. If you like starting your day with a cup of coffee, that's another 140 liters of water. Those new jeans you want to get for the fall season? One pair uses 10,000 liters of water! And you can be sure that bottled water, which requires a plastic bottle, transportation, a factory, refrigeration and so on, would have a greater water cost than drinking straight from the tap.
Worldwide, the average person's water footprint is 1,243 cubic meters of water per year. China wins with a low 702 cubic meters per year, Germany is at 1,545 and in the US it's a whopping 2,483 cubic meters per year for each person!
Find out how you measure up. Hoekstra created two calculators, so you can use the short and sweet version, or get a more true-to-life number from his extended water footprint calculator that asks about 30 questions about everything from your diet to you dish washing techniques.
Image by Mag3737 via Flickr under a Creative Commons License.
Dutch hydro engineer Arjen Hoekstra introduced a water footprint calculator at last month's World Water Week. Many individuals probably don't realize how the consumption of goods and services doesn't just have a carbon cost, but has a water cost, too. All water use has an impact, whether direct or indirect, on fresh-water systems, water pollution and water shortages. With Hoekstra's Water Footprint Network, he hopes to "promote the transition towards sustainable, fair and efficient fresh water resources worldwide."
According to Hoekstra's calculations one hamburger requires 2,400 liters of water. If you like starting your day with a cup of coffee, that's another 140 liters of water. Those new jeans you want to get for the fall season? One pair uses 10,000 liters of water! And you can be sure that bottled water, which requires a plastic bottle, transportation, a factory, refrigeration and so on, would have a greater water cost than drinking straight from the tap.
Worldwide, the average person's water footprint is 1,243 cubic meters of water per year. China wins with a low 702 cubic meters per year, Germany is at 1,545 and in the US it's a whopping 2,483 cubic meters per year for each person!
Find out how you measure up. Hoekstra created two calculators, so you can use the short and sweet version, or get a more true-to-life number from his extended water footprint calculator that asks about 30 questions about everything from your diet to you dish washing techniques.
Image by Mag3737 via Flickr under a Creative Commons License.
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