Water Is Far More Valuable and Useful than Oil

Even after 20 years of covering environmental issues in two dozen countries I had no idea of the incredible amounts of water needed to grow food or make things. Now, after two years working on my book Your Water Footprint: the shocking facts about how much water we use to make everyday products, I’m still amazed that the t-shirt I’m wearing needed 3,000 liters (793 gal.) to grow and process the cotton; or that 140 liters (37 gal.) went into my morning cup of coffee. The rest of my breakfast swallowed 1,012 liters (268 gal.): small orange juice (200 liters); two slices of toast (112 liters); two strips of bacon (300 liters); and two eggs (400 liters).

Water more valuable and useful than oil
Researching all this I soon realized that we’re surrounded by a hidden world of water. Liters and liters of it are consumed by everything we eat, and everything we use and buy. Cars, furniture, books, dishes, TVs, highways, buildings, jewelry, toys, and even electricity would not exist without water.  It’s no exaggeration to say that water is far more valuable and useful than oil.

A water footprint adds up the amount of water consumed to make, grow or produce something.  I use the term consumed to make it clear that this is water that can no longer be used for anything else.  Often water can be cleaned or reused so those amounts of water are not included in the water footprints in the book.  The water footprint of 500ml of bottled water is 5.5 liters: 0.5 for the water in the bottle and another five contaminated in the process of making the plastic bottle from oil.  The five liters consumed in making the bottle are as real water as the 500ml you might drink but hardly anyone in business or government accounts for it.
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Peak water is here
Water scarcity is a reality in much of the world.  About 1.2 billion people live in areas with chronic scarcity, while 2 billion are affected by shortages every year.  And as the ongoing drought in California proves, water scarcity is an increasing reality for the US and Canada.  Water experts estimate that by 2025 three in five people may be living with water shortages.

Water Is Far More Valuable and Useful than Oil