Water may very well be the most important resource on the planet. It is also the one which people seem least interested in preserving. It's renewable nature leads many to believe it will never run out, but sources of fresh clean water are dwindling quickly. Take a look at some statistics on water usage worldwide.
2.5 gallons: The amount of water per person much of the world is allocated.
400 gallons: The amount of water per person used by the average American citizen; 30 percent of this is used for outdoor purposes, such as watering the lawn.
70 percent: The amount of worldwide water use that is allocated to farming; most of these farming irrigation systems operate at only 40 percent efficiency.
263: The number of rivers that either cross or demarcate international political boundaries, in addition to countless aquifers. Major conflicts such as Darfur have been connected to water shortages, and lack of access to clean water.
1430: Gallons of water per capita in the United States; only 100 gallons of that is household use per person as most is used for agriculture.
88 percent: Of deaths from diarrhea are caused from unsafe drinking water, inadequate availability of water for hygiene, and lack of access to sanitation; this translates to more than 1.5 million of the 1.9 million children under five who perish from diarrhea each year. This amounts to 18% of all under-five deaths and means that more than 4,000 children are dying every day as a result of diarrheal diseases.
$11.3 billion: The amount of money required to provide basic levels of service for drinking and waste water in Africa and Asia.
$35 billion: the amount of money spent on bottled water in the most developed countries in the world.
1.5 million: Barrels of crude oil used for making PET water bottles, globally. This is enough oil to fuel 100,000 American cars for a year.
2.7 tons: The amount of plastic used to bottle water. 86 percent become garbage or litter.
Those are some staggering numbers comparing how much water we have, how much we need, and how much we actually use. Once we understand how simple but important it is to conserve water and reduce waste, we can start taking steps to do so. Stay tuned for some tips on how we reduce consumption and keep our water clean.
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Water may very well be the most important resource on the planet. It is also the one which people seem least interested in preserving. It's renewable nature leads many to believe it will never run out, but sources of fresh clean water are dwindling quickly. Take a look at some statistics on water usage worldwide.
