Apr
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Water Blog
April 1, 2024 | | 6 Comments
On average I use around 1287 gallons of water a day. This includes virtual water usage. This is lower than the average American who uses 1802 gallons of water. Some aspects of my life that help lower my water footprint are only having one load of laundry a week (sometimes two), not having a car (having to walk everywhere on campus), I have no animals at school, and I do not have a yard or garden to water here at Dickinson. Some things that increase my water footprint is that I love to shop (both in person and online), typically my showers are over 15 minutes, I have 4 indoor plants that I water once a week (they are pretty small, so they don’t need too much water). Compared to the average Americans, many do have cars which quickly increase their water footprint. As well, families tend to have way more loads of laundry. Especially when there are little kids so spill and get messy quickly, so they have multiple outfit changes in a day.
For many Americans, myself included, water has never been an issue. I grew up in western New York, surrounded by two great lakes, Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, and the New York
Finger Lakes in Upstate NY
Finger Lakes. The idea of not having access to fresh water is a foreign one. The first time I saw a desert was when I was 18. My family and I went on a trip to visit my aunt and uncle in Los Angeles. We flew into Phoenix and drove through the desert to the Grand Canyon then to Las Vegas. Ironically, it did down poor on our drive from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas. While we were in Vegas, we visited the Hoover Dam. Looking at Lake Mead was probably the first time in my life I have been able to see global warming in action. Yes, it is easy to sit in a classroom and learn about climate change but to see the differences in water level was drastic.
Even though there are places in the US that have limited access to water. However, compared to many of the countries in the Middle East they have access to water. The per capita water usage for the US is 7800 liters a day (Water Footprint Network) . The only country that uses more water per person out of all the countries I looked at, including the Middle East, North America, and Western Europe, is the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The per capita usage is 8600 liters a day (Water Footprint Network). It is important to note that Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and Iraq had no data available. It is likely that Qatar and Bahrain also have a high-water usage. I decided to look at per person water usage as I felt that it represented more accurately how much water is available for each person.
While looking at the water usage for different countries in the Arab Peninsula I noticed the drastic difference between Yemen and the UAE. Yemen’s total population is 18.5 million people, and they use around 17 000 million M3 of water a year (Water Footprint Network). The UAE’s population is much smaller at 3.33 million people but still use 10 000 million M3 of water a year. Per capita Yemen uses 2500 liters a day and UAE uses 8600 liters a day (Water Footprint Network). Water footprint is not the only difference between Yemen and UAE. Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the Peninsula. While the UAE does not have many natural means of getting fresh water, like Yemen, they are able to both purchase water and purchase the goods that use water (agriculture).
The UAE is working towards increasing their hospitality and tourism industries. This is significant to water usage as having access to fresh water is extremely important if you want tourist to visit your country or city. As well, needing access to goods that need water. With the wealth of the government, they are easily able to import any goods they do not naturally have access too. As well, the government could impose policies to help limit their water footprint, but in reality, it would hurt the country economically to do so.
Comments
6 Comments so far
Thank you for your post. I thought it was really interesting how you talked about having to walk everywhere on campus because you did not have a car. When I was looking at my water usage, I realized it would be higher if I was not living on a college campus. How do you think your water use would shift if you were living at home?
Hi! I think if I were to do this at home it would actually increase my water usage as in the summers I have a small vegetable and flower garden which increases water usage. As well, when I am home I typically work part time at a retail job and I have to drive to it and I end up driving my little sister places as well.
Hi Grace! Thank you for your blog post! Your personal footprint is very impressive compared to the U.S. average. Your point about your water consumption for showers is very relatable, I also take long showers, so much of my water consumption is allocated to showers. I also found your point about climate change to be interesting. As you mention, in the U.S., we are not as exposed to the issue of water scarcity or drought situations, especially on the East Coast. So, as you mention, it is easy to not realize how much climate change issues can impact societies, whether in terms of water access, food security, infrastructure, etc. It is eyeopening to see how much we take water access for granted in the U.S. Do you think learning about the SDGs but specifically SDG 6 has influenced your views on water usage? Have you scaled back your water consumption at all because of it?
Hi! thank you so much for your thoughtful comment! I think this assignment has definitely impacted by water usage. Particularly when it comes to washing my dishes. I cook a lot of my meals but I do not have a dishwasher so I have to hand wash. This week I have been making sure to turn the tap off when I am scrubbing my dishes instead of letting it run!
I appreciated hearing your thoughts on water usage, especially your campus-focused perspective. Dickinson offers numerous resources that promote sustainability, such as water-saving faucets and showerheads, automatic sinks, low-energy washers, and more. Considering this, how do you think your consumption habits would differ if you had also calculated your water usage at home? Do you think the numbers would have been significantly higher, or relatively similar?
The anacdote about the Grand canyon really stuck with me. Visiting places like Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam can make the abstract concept of environmental issues much more tangible so, seeing the effects of global warming firsthand must have been a powerful experience
Hi Morgan! Thank you so much for your thoughtful response to my blog post! I think my water usage at home would be higher. I have a car at home that I drive a lot whereas here I have to walk everywhere!