How do you measure your water footprint?
Published on by Jackvan John in Social
Do you know how much water was used to grow your food and to produce your clothes and the things you buy?
Taxonomy
- Water Footprint
- Water Footprint Research
- Water & Energy Conservation
- Consumer
3 Answers
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You pose a mesmerizing question. The more I ponder the more I realize "that's a lot of water". I have researched the manufacturing of plastic, clothes and various petroleum products along with other consumables. Yes, they use a ton of water.
Next I started thinking of my on use. My garden, my showers, my food and etc.. WOW! I just use and use.
As a water professional, I have to monitor consumer use vs supply constantly and plan accordingly. We teach conservation and strategic planning of water resources but at the end of the day do we (water professionals) practice what we preach?
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UNCSD Rio+20 Future We Want salutes GRACE Communication for developing the Water Footprint calculator as an educational tool to get a better sense of water usage in Our Everyday Lives.
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I've been wondering the same thing. As a water professional, it's a bit embarrassing that I do not have an objective measure of my own water footprint. It's a classic example of information asymmetry: there just isn't enough information available to consumers about the conditions under which the goods/services we purchase are produced. Producers have no incentive to voluntarily disclose it, either because there is no regulation mandating full disclosure or there is no economic gain to be had by disclosing information like this. As much as we try to be conscientious consumers, there's not a lot of ways to obtain this information directly from companies we buy from. I dream of developing a toolkit for consumers to help them gain access to information about the life-cycle impacts (including water and carbon footprints) of their purchases, which information will add another criterion to their consumption behavior other than just quality and price.