I found that my approximate daily water consumption is around 1,488 gallons. This is below the United States average, but only by about 300 gallons. This is above the per capita daily water footprint in Saudi Arabia.
The internal percentage of the total water footprint in Saudi Arabia is 34%, while in the United States, it is 80%. This tells us that more goods and services are produced outside of Saudi Arabia for Saudi Arabians than goods and services are produced outside the United States for Americans. Saudi Arabians rely more on outside actors for production than their own country.
This implies that the economy in Saudi Arabia is less diverse and less self-sufficient than the United States. Politically, that gives Saudi Arabia less power. To gain power on the international stage, Saudi Arabia seeks to diversify and develop its own economy and encourage foreign investment. Especially as one of the regions that needs to take climate change most seriously, it is important for Saudi Arabia to take control of where its citizens’ goods come from. If it’s able to diversify its economy and become a producer that its people can rely on, it can control the energy that is used and create more sustainable production processes.