Virtual water footprint - a really dumb nanny-state invention

[GreenCardSeeker]

Just now they talked about this on the Swedish state TV, how much water that's consumed to make certain products. Apparently we're supposed to save on water, how on earth that commodity would ever run out. They said a typical vegetarian only consumed 2.5 cubic metres of virtual water per day, while a person with a typical western died consumed twice as much. Naturally they always have to portray Americans as the worst offenders, showing that Americans use the most water per person in the world, and I'm embarassed to say that this is yet another dumb initiative that's spearheaded by Sweden. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_water for some info about it.

So if you've got some leftist pestering you about resource conversation, swear to him that you will do your best to save on virtual water. :-P

I guess you know what the next step in this madness will be? Oxygen footprint, how much you breathe. Soon they'll make you feel ashamed of yourself if you breathe too much I bet.

[acptulsa]

Feel guilty! Feel very guilty! What right do you have to water and air? Corporations need those more than you!

[Danke]

I recycle. If fact, I'm so fanatical, I sometimes get up in the middle of the night to do it!

[libertea]

I recycle. If fact, I'm so fanatical, I sometimes get up in the middle of the night to do it!

Sometimes?

[Kludge]

I thought the Global Warming was supposed to create enough water for us...

[Standing Like A Rock]

I thought the Global Warming was supposed to create enough water for us...

yea... with all those "melting" ice caps...

and since when does water vanish after we use it? last i checked, all the water i use just goes back into the public water, or if it is from the sprinkers, it gets evaporated and rained back down.... water does not vanish and therefore it is impossible to over use it

[slothman]

yea... with all those "melting" ice caps...

and since when does water vanish after we use it? last i checked, all the water i use just goes back into the public water, or if it is from the sprinkers, it gets evaporated and rained back down.... water does not vanish and therefore it is impossible to over use it

It doesn't dissappear but it does get dirty.
I doubt you want water that you showered with to use on your toothbrush.

[Zippyjuan]

yea... with all those "melting" ice caps...

and since when does water vanish after we use it? last i checked, all the water i use just goes back into the public water, or if it is from the sprinkers, it gets evaporated and rained back down.... water does not vanish and therefore it is impossible to over use it
"Melting icecaps" go into the ocean which is salt water and not drinkable or usable for watering plants- unless you build a desalinization plant.

Water is a limited resource. You have more people to drink it, wash things with, water plants to grow food, etc. than ever before. More and more areas are experiencing more frequent and longer draughts. Austraila suspended agriculture in an area that was producing one fourth of their food because there was not enough water. In the US, the South and Southwest have been getting drier.

After you use water, it is processed and sent further downstream. It does not stay in one place to evaporate and rain down again- unless you put a bubble over places.

[AutoDas]

It doesn't dissappear but it does get dirty.
I doubt you want water that you showered with to use on your toothbrush.

The water you flush in the toilet is recycled and cleaned to 99.9% sanitary satisfaction.

[Defining Obscene]

I believe the health authorities advise that we should drink a ton of water a day. And now they're saying we drink too much. How about, I drink what I feel is enough for me.

[Standing Like A Rock]

it is impossible to run out of water unless we actually:

chemically change it to something else
send it into space
pump it into the earth


all the other ways that we "waste" water, we arent wasting them becasue we will eventually get it back. if it evaporates, it will rain back down, if it goes into the ocean, we could put it into a desalinization plant and get it back, if we use it in our homes and it goes back into the pipes, it will be cleaned and recycled.

and remember, we are only one species on a planet with millions. it is only simple math to determine that we dont really use that much compared to the MILLIONS of other species also using water.

[Zippyjuan]

Desalination will only help you in coastal areas and is currenty pretty expensive. It also requires a lot of energy (one method is to boil the water to evaporate it away from the salts and then cool it down again to condense it out of the air). And it does not always "rain down" when and where you want it. Places can and do run out of water. The condition is known as a drought.

Droughts in the US in 2007: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2007/ann/drought-summary.html

[Standing Like A Rock]

Desalination will only help you in coastal areas and is currenty pretty expensive. It also requires a lot of energy (one method is to boil the water to evaporate it away from the salts and then cool it down again to condense it out of the air). And it does not always "rain down" when and where you want it. Places can and do run out of water. The condition is known as a drought.

Droughts in the US in 2007: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2007/ann/drought-summary.html

even if there are droughts, we will always have the same amount of water... it isnt going anywhere...

[Zippyjuan]

In a truely global sense, yes. But the water may not be where we need it to be which is why we do need to be careful about how and where we use it. Trying to grow rice in the middle of a desert is not a good idea- although it is done. If we use up too much water in certain areas, we may not have enough available to grow the foods we need. As I mentioned earlier, Austrailia had to shut down one quarter of their total agriculture because they did not have enough water. It has been going on for seven years now. Tell them that it is impossible to run out of water. http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=481142

[Ceos]

Taking 20 minute long showers is wasting water.

And yes, it gets wasted. Being wasteful with water in consequence requires us to use more resources to maintain an ample water supply. It does energy to do so.

[Mitt Romneys sideburns]

Taking 20 minute long showers is wasting water.

And yes, it gets wasted. Being wasteful with water in consequence requires us to use more resources to maintain an ample water supply. It does energy to do so.

20 minutes? I stay in the shower until it runs out of hot water

[RockEnds]

even if there are droughts, we will always have the same amount of water... it isnt going anywhere...

I found the water. It all came to Iowa this year.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_M2QjJ76ORkw/SFPXfEWfXkI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/cEzedYOs0vk/Iowa+-+2008-06-13+16-19-20.jpg

[Standing Like A Rock]

In a truely global sense, yes. But the water may not be where we need it to be which is why we do need to be careful about how and where we use it. Trying to grow rice in the middle of a desert is not a good idea- although it is done. If we use up too much water in certain areas, we may not have enough available to grow the foods we need. As I mentioned earlier, Austrailia had to shut down one quarter of their total agriculture because they did not have enough water. It has been going on for seven years now. Tell them that it is impossible to run out of water. http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=481142

if i am getting plenty of water and will always be able to get it, then i do not see how it is my responsibility to conserve it when it is not in my best interests

[Zippyjuan]

No matter where you are, there is no guarantee that you will continue to have access to drinkable water. China has many large rivers- full of water. But they have become so polluted that many are unsafe even to swim in and have to rely on imported water to drink. An accident or disaster could cut off your supplies. Even too much water- like major flooding- can cause a loss of safe drinking water. If it was something like a flood, you may not be able to run out to the grocery store and pick up a case or two. They might not be able to get any in. Even Conneticut is not immune to the possiblity of not having enough water to drink- and they felt it was important enough to comission a study on dealing with drought and water shortages in the state: http://www.drought.state.ct.us/drtwkpln.pdf . According to this, they had a drought as recently as 2002- the fourth since 1964.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4374383.stm

China warns of water pollution
By Louisa Lim
BBC News, Beijing

Many rural Chinese have no access to clean water
Officials in Beijing have warned that a third of China's rural population - an estimated 360m people - lack access to safe drinking water.

They also said that more than 70% of China's rivers and lakes were polluted.

The vice minister for water resources, Zhai Haohui, told a symposium on water management that the provision of clean drinking water should be a priority.

This is yet another sign that China is struggling to deal with the impact of its breakneck economic development.

China's waterways are dying, and its rivers are running black from industrial effluent and untreated sewage.

The China Daily newspaper said that about two million people had suffered diseases caused by drinking water with high arsenic content, including cancer.

In the nation's cities, the situation is just as dire. There, ground water is the major source of drinking water.

Yet in one recent survey, 95% of the samples tested were polluted, some with sewage.

An official from the environmental watchdog openly blamed the crisis on improper policies and poor government administration.

But decades of rampant economic development have taken their toll on China's environment.

Those now tasked with cleaning up face opposition from polluting industries and local governments.

The current leadership has stressed the need to conserve the environment, but these latest figures show just how much damage has already been done.