The National Geographic site has published a new green calculation tool that is also very useful: a water footprint calculator.
The application takes you through a mini-interview to assess your home, garden, diet, energy use, and other details of your typical day and routine, and then uses all this information to estimate your water footprint. I expect that most people will be surprised at how much fresh water their lifestyles require. The ultimate goal of this exercise is to get people to commit to reducing their water footprint by 20% or more, and then, of course, sticking to the commitment.
Most people are familiar with various ways to calculate their carbon footprint, which looks at the impact their daily routine has on greenhouse gas emissions. This little application from National Geographic is the first water footprint calculator that I have seen, and it is much needed. The typical American uses about 2000 gallons of water every day–an amount that is twice the global average. That Americans consume more fresh water on a daily basis than any other group of people on the planet is not surprising in the least. What is not at all obvious is that a person’s overall water footprint includes water that is hidden in various ways–water that is “used” indirectly. The amount of indirectly used water is affected by the food you eat, the things you buy, the energy you use, the services you rely on, and other aspects of your daily life and routine.
For example, the water it takes to produce the average American diet alone is approximately 1,000 gallons per person per day. A quarter pounder is worth more than 30 average American showers. A cup of coffee takes 55 gallons of water to make, with most of that H2O used to grow the coffee beans. About 22% of indoor home water use for the average American family comes from doing laundry. Save water by making sure to adjust the settings on your machine to the proper load size, and run full loads whenever possible. Another surprising fact is that Americans lose 10 gallons of fresh water per day (or 14% of average indoor use) to leaks, on average. One of the easiest, most effective ways to cut your water footprint is to make sure that all leaking faucets and toilets are repaired or replaced with more water-efficient fixtures. Another factoid: it takes about 70 gallons of water to fill a typical bathtub, so showers are more water-efficient. Furthermore, shortening your shower by about five minutes will save seven to ten gallons of water daily–equivalent to 2500 to 3500 gallons every year.
Go to this link and calculate your water footprint and then make the pledge to reduce your water consumption by at least 20%.
