Water is essential for us to survive. Yet, 97% of earth’s water is ocean water which is too salty for us to consume or grow crops. Freshwater, the water we use to drink, grow crops, produce our clothes, etc., makes up a mere 3% of the water on earth.
As climate change disrupts freshwater availability, water scarcity has become more prevalent around the globe.
According to Drought in Numbers, a 2022 UN report, found that one billion people face water stress annually for periods of time. But that estimate can go up to 3.5 billion people in the next ten years.
Wild For Change’s recent podcast guest, Lis Bernhardt, a United Nations Programme Officer for Water provided a link to a water footprint calculator that shows how much water we consume in categories like food, indoor water usage etc., per week. It is a handy tool to see where we can cut back on our water usage and as consumers how we can become more water savvy.
The water footprint calculator offers a quick overview of your water usage and an in-depth version.
You can learn more about your water footprint here.
