Water Is a Finite Resource… So Does That Mean We’ll Run Out?

How much water do you use on a daily basis? Have you ever even thought about it? The answer may surprise you.

The typical American uses 99 gallons of water a day for daily activities and chores. That may seem like a lot, but it’s a small drop in the bucket compared to how much the coal, nuclear, and natural gas plants use on a daily basis, which is about five times the amount a typical American uses. Our daily electricity usage equates to about 250 gallons of water per American.

“[We use] 10 gallons of wateran hour every hour of every day just to power our computers and our refrigerators and our washing machines at home.”

10 gallons of water an hour every hour of every day. Let that sink in. All that water has to come from somewhere, and as it turns out, somewhere is running out quickly. Water was once thought to be an infinite resource. The Earth, after all, is referred to as the Blue Planet, but that’s really not the case anymore…

Worldwide Thirst For Drinking Water

Nearly 783 million people don’t have access to clean drinking water, and the need for clean drinking water is only going to increase.

“We don’t even take [water] for granted because taking it for granted would suggest we pay attention to it.”

Water is depleting from the Earth at an alarming rate. The drought in Californiahas reached record breaking levels. Freshwater reserves are drying up, crops are suffering, and groundwater is rapidly disappearing. Scientists at the University of California, Irvine used NASA’S GRACE satellite to discover that the Earth’s largest aquifers are diminishingat an alarming rate. The images showed that 21 of the world’s 37 largest aquifers around the world have lost more water than they gained over the last ten years, and eight were considered “overstressed,” meaning that as humans remove water from these sources there is no water available to replenish what was lost.

What Can We Do?

Things will not change unless we become more aware of our water usage, and aware of our water waste. Don’t dump out a half empty glass of water, pour it in the dog’s water bowl instead, or water a potted plant with the leftovers. Take a 10 minute shower instead of a 20 minute shower every morning. There are a ton of creative ways to conserve water, what are some of your favorites?