I recently read a piece by Aryn Baker in Time magazine from Cape Town, South Africa where they are facing acute water scarcity. I read it and sighed, “It sounds horrible, but I am here in the U.S. — shouldn’t bother me, I have enough water and electricity and the Internet of course, but I do sympathize.” Aryn writes:
“I’m sure I can handle 6.6 gallons of water a day. I’m already down to two showers a week, and my daughter would go down to once a month if I let her … I’ll be cooking my meals on the grill and eating with my fingers. The toilets? Until now, I’ve been using my shower water to flush. But once the taps run dry, we won’t even have that.”
“China is on the brink of a water catastrophe. A multiyear drought could push the country into an outright water crisis. About 100 million people across India are on the front lines of a nationwide water crisis. A total of 21 major cities are poised to run out of groundwater next year, according to a report by the government.”
According to CNN, “Over 2 billion people already lack access to safe drinking water at home, and by 2025 over half of the world’s population will reside in water-stressed areas. These numbers will increase significantly if climate changes (it will of course), and population projected trade read and sighed again.
“It’s a sad situation, but I am totally fine in the USA.” Or am I? Will my children get enough? Will my grandchildren and those who follow have enough water left to allow them to live and prosper? The answer may be complicated but it is definitely, “no” a big “no” certainly if we keep on doing what we are doing now.”
How will our freshwater sources be depleted? According to a new study from Ohio State University, as sea levels rise due to global warming coastal communities could lose up to 50 percent or more of their freshwater supplies than previously thought. As the U.S. water supply decreases, demand is set to increase. On average, each American uses 80 to 100 gallons of water every day, with the estimated total daily usage topping 322 billion gallons, and the country’s population is set to reach 524 million by 2100. Which means a lot more stress on the water resources across the country.
Where is all the freshwater being used? According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), in 2015, the U.S. consumed approximately 322 billion gallons per day (BGD) of freshwater. This freshwater was used for a variety of purposes, including irrigation, public supply, thermoelectric power, industrial uses, mining, livestock, aquaculture, and self-supplied domestic use. The largest consumptive use of freshwater in the U.S. was agriculture and thermoelectric power with a combined consumption of 170 BGD, more than half of the estimated total daily usage.
So, does our electric bill indicate that we consume freshwater? Yes. With 80 % of electricity produced from fossil fuels in the U.S., it’s a double whammy for Mother Nature. With Co2 along with other harmful gasses being released into the atmosphere, fossil power plants consume huge amounts of freshwater, so much so that they are the second most water intensive industry in the U.S after farming.
Am I part of this problem? Yes, but the solution too! Buildings that we live and work in are significant consumers of electricity. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in the United States the commercial and residential sectors combined, accounted for 71% of the country’s total electricity consumption in 2020. On average a person uses about 1100 kWh per month, and it takes 1.8 liters of water to produce 1 kWh (Ref: NREL), amounting to about 2000 liters per month per person. Imagine you carrying 2000 Poland Spring water bottles to home every month, a hefty 24000 a year. Yes, you actually use that much! For coffee lovers, imagine using 140 Starbucks Vanilla Latte Grande every day! Every single day of the year!! And every American does that daily. We are all in this together.
Yes, of course, governments are doing their bit and you can too. “Little drops of water, little grains of sand, Make the mighty ocean, and the pleasant land,” said JA Fletcher Carney. The first step towards saving our earth is being conscious of the problem every day, every minute, and you will find an opportunity to save a drop of water, to save energy, everywhere. Switch off your computer, lights, AC, and other electronics when not in use. Electronics continue to consume electricity even when turned off. Use daylight as much as possible. Choose energy efficient products (Energy Star program). Set the thermostat to an energy-efficient temperature. Weatherization of old buildings can save so much money and energy. Go solar if you can, Solar in fact uses little to no water for production of electricity. Look at the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program for environmental and financial savings.
