Water scarcity affects 2.7 billion people worldwide for at least a month each year and in the same way that each of us has a carbon footprint, Professor Arjen Hoekstra of the University of Twente in the Netherlands posits that every person also has a “water footprint”. Our water footprint is calculated by counting the amount of fresh water that we each use daily and the amount of water required to produce the goods and services that we
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water footprint
About 2.4 billion people live in water-stressed countries, according to a report by the Pacific Institute. Water demand in the next two decades will double in India to 1.5 trillion cubic meters and rise 32% in China to 818 billion cubic meters, according to the 2030 Water Resources Group. China is home to
A new study calculates that about one-fifth of all water goes toward the production of crops and commodities for export, part of a global phenomenon known as “virtual water” that researchers say could place pressure on finite water supplies in some nations.
Using worldwide trade indicators, demographic data,
To produce $1 of sugar, manufacturers use 270 gallons of water. A dollar of pet food takes 200 gallons of water. These figures include the sourcing of raw materials, processing, packaging, and shipping, according to Carnegie Mellon University scientists. A 2010 study published in Environmental Science and Technology, leveraged computer models to estimate
Water is one of our planet’s most precious resources. It is ubiquitous: we drink it, wash with it, swim in it, and sail on it. We also use it to produce things like food, paper, and cotton clothing, among others.
But what is “virtual water?” Is it invisible? Sort of. But it is equally – if not more – omnipresent.
Water is one of our planet’s most precious resources. It is ubiquitous: we drink it, wash with it, swim in it, and sail on it. We also use it to produce things like food, paper, and cotton clothing, among others.
But what is “virtual water?” Is it invisible? Sort of. But it is equally – if not more – omnipresent.