Page 4 - Water Sustainability 
P. 4

|
                                                  UNIT 1     Why WATer MATTers





                                    GROW YOUR KNOWLEDGE

                                    A personal water footprint is the total amount of water a person
                                    uses. Read the questions below. Then, with your teacher’s permission,
                                    access the watercalculator.org website. Use the tool to calculate
                   your own water footprint as you answer the questions below. The information you need
                   may display with the prompts, or in your water footprint report. While using the water
                   footprint calculator, respond to the prompts as accurately as possible.
                   1.  What is your water footprint?

                   2.  Is your water footprint greater than or less than the U.S. average?
                   3.  List at least four things that directly impact the amount of water you use every day.

                   4.  What are the two largest contributors to your water footprint?
                   5.  What is one thing you can do to reduce your water footprint?





                                            Essential Concept



                                            Water is central to sustainability.



                                            1.1   Our Relationship with Water



               WATER SUSTAINABILITY         It is impossible to separate water sustainability from a
               Equitable use and manage-    healthy natural environment, a successful economy, or human
               ment of water that does      equity and well-being. Successful water sustainability means
               not impair its availability or
               quality for present and future   that we must always consider the relationship of water to
               generations or ecosystems.   humans and to nature.
                                            It is relatively easy to see obvious uses of water such as drink-

                                            ing, bathing, and cleaning, but there are also many ways in
               EMBODIED OR                  which water use is hidden from view. Embodied water, which
               VIRTUAL WATER                is also called virtual water, is the amount of fresh water used
               The amount of fresh water
               used to produce a product    to produce a product or service. You might know how much
               or service.                  water you drink each day, but do you know how much water is
                                            used to produce the food you eat? How about water to gener-
                                            ate electricity or to manufacture the clothes you wear?





                                                            16
   1   2   3   4   5