Water, Water, everywhere but how much do we drink?

Water- the most vital and irreplaceable commodity on the planet, its presence is necessary to virtually all life- forms. But how many of us stop and think how much we use, probably you consider the 2 litres you try and drink everyday, the amount you use whilst taking a shower, or used in the washing machine?

However, do you consider how much is used in all other facets of your life? 

To illustrate, let me use the humble breakfast as an example, the following will surprise you I’m sure.

Two slices of toast (90 litres)

Orange juice (180 litres)

Coffee (140 litres)

Don’t forget that t-shirt you are wearing (2800 litres).

410 litres of fresh water for one small meal, this amount means very little until you consider than average sized bath can hold 250 litres… For your breakfast you’ve just consumed almost two baths of water, extrapolate this across your entire life and the numbers become extraordinary.

So what? Production necessary to meet our daily consumptive needs is imposing devastating impacts upon our planet. Even if we don’t consider the impact on taking water away from other species, we are importing extraordinary levels of fertiliser into our water systems, causing vast regions of the Earth to become infertile due to salt and depleting our freshwater aquifers, which on a human scale are a non- renewable resource. The role of water in our lives is a huge issue and we should pay greater attention to it, because once it’s gone it’s difficult to get back.

Still want that second Americano?