What is a Water Footprint?

I was glancing at articles in Discover Magazine and saw one titled “How Big Is Your Water Footprint?” This caught my eye because I have heard of the term “carbon footprint” but never “water footprint.”

It is something I had not given too much thought to, but holds much merit. We only think about the water we consume around the house and do our best by installing water efficient faucets and shower-heads. What this article addresses is that the products we consume have a water footprint consumers should know about.

One example is the typical 12 ounce cup of coffee. One would think it only takes 12 ounces of water to make that cup of coffee but in reality it takes close to 40 gallons, which go into watering the coffee plants and cooling the roasters during the processing of the beans.

Conservation scientists believe it is time people start being informed of a product’s water footprint, which is basically the total amount of water that goes into the manufacture of a product. This can help consumers understand just how much water is required to make a product.

According to Brad Ridoff, a water conservation specialist from Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, consumers also need to know where the water is coming from because some geographical areas have more abundance of fresh water than others. He also mentions that food and energy production account for nearly 90% of the world’s fresh water consumption, which is an incredibly high percentage.

The productions of different food products take a different toll on fresh water supplies. Two examples are an 18-ounce jar of pasta sauce and a small bag of Peanut M&M’s. The pasta sauce requires about 52 gallons of water to grow the tomatoes, sugar, garlic and onions. The M & M’s require 300 gallons of water to produce. Now you would think the M&M’s take a far greater toll on our fresh water resources, but the fact is that the pasta sauce is the one taking the greater toll.

Since tomato plants are typically grown in hot, dry climates, they are watered using irrigation systems that typically draw water from the same locations as human drinking water. Whereas, the peanuts and cocoa in the M&M’s are gown in temperate areas that do not need irrigation and they pull the water directly from the ground. Therefore, the pasta sauce is about ten times more likely to contribute to water scarcity than the M&M’s. This is why Brad Ridoff believes location is such an important component in computing the water footprint of a product.

Not all conservationists believe including location is important in calculating the water footprint of a product. Conservationists are still trying to figure out how to best include all the environmental impacts so they can incorporate this into a food label. Some believe it is best to just simply report the total volume of water used.

I think Brad Ridoff has a good point and they need to somehow incorporate the source of the water used as well. A product grown in Arizona, like cotton, is more likely to be depleting fresh water that is very scarce for that area, as opposed to growing blackberries in Seattle, WA where fresh water is plentiful.

Experiences with the Outdoors

The first photo is of my son in the Big Cypress during our swamp walk last September. The next few pictues are taken at Mount St. Helens. One picture is taken from the north side from the Windy Ridge visitor center and shows the side of the mountain and top that blasted away during the eruption. The other picture shows the devastation caused in the old growth forest surrounding the mountain due to the pyroclastic blasts. Lastly, there is a picture taken of the south side of Mt. St. Helens where you can see that there is still forest. This is not the case in the other sides.

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I do not have too many experiences with the outdoors in Florida mostly due to the heat and mosquitoes. But nevertheless I have had a few interesting experiences.

The most recent involved a swamp walk through the Big Cypress Swamp. I was extremely apprehensive about doing this and mainly booked the adventure because I knew my husband would love it. I also brought my two kids along who were not too thrilled about the idea. It ended up being a fantastic experience and all my fears were completely unfounded.

Now I would walk through a swamp at the drop of a hat. The water was quite clear and I learned about many interesting plants, such as the Bladderwort, which eats mosquito larva and helps to control the mosquito population in the swamp. My son became one with the swamp and waded through most of the hour long walk. We only saw a scorpion, a big cricket, and some apple snails. All the alligators went as far away from us as they could the minute our group entered the swamp.

In Florida I have also really enjoyed visiting Silver Springs in the Ocala area. Nothing quite prepares you for seeing a river of crystal clear water in such a great quantity. It is actually clearer than the water in a swimming pool. This is truly a spectacular site that cannot be captured in pictures.

I have also experienced all the beaches in Florida, starting with the Florida panhandle and all around the state up to Jacksonville. The sand changes in various parts as does the color and clarity of the water.

My last Florida outdoor experience worth mentioning was a trip to Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas. We got there by seaplane in order to have sufficient time to explore the fort and do some snorkeling. This was quite an adventure. The fort is mostly a shell of its former self but the park rangers will give you a very informative tour of the site. You can walk around the entire fort and snorkeling is a must. The water around the fort is extremely clear and full of tropical fish. The seaplane ride itself was also quite an adventure.

I lived out west for ten years and this is where I felt closest to the natural world. There are so many natural wonders out west that you could go somewhere different every weekend within 4 or 5 hours of your house and it would probably take you 15 years to see everything. We visited a multitude of places but I will limit my descriptions here to two places concerning one topic, volcanoes. I have a fascination with volcanoes, especially Mt. St. Helens.

I visited Mt. St. Helens four times and approached it from the three possible sides that you can reach by automobile. You cannot visit all the sides in one day because the road going to each site is not connected in a way that makes this feasible in a timely manner.

Most people only go to the Johnson Ridge Observatory on the north side of the volcano. This is where you can see the incredible devastation left by the explosion and pyroclastic blast of May 18th, 1980. I have also visited Windy Ridge which puts you even a little bit closer to the newly forming lava dome. Lastly, I approached Mt. St. Helens from the south at a location called Climber’s Bivouac. From the south it is amazing to see how many trees were left unaffected by the eruption. This area was largely unaffected and is night and day compared to some of the other areas which look like an atomic bomb went off. Mount St. Helen’s is a place one never gets tired of visiting and every time you go back it has changed because life is coming back to the areas that were blasted away. I have not been there in several years and look forward to seeing the changes.

Mt. Mazama is the other volcano I will mention. This one is dormant. It collapsed following an eruption about 7,700 years ago and Crater Lake formed in its caldera. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States with a depth of almost 2,000 feet at its deepest point. This lake filled up almost entirely with snowfall and is one of the clearest lakes in the world. Due to its depth it only reflects back the color blue and it has the most unbelievable blue color I have ever seen. There are numerous hiking trails one can go. After going to Crater Lake three times, I have done every hiking trail except the ones recommended only for very experienced hikers. The elevation is 7,173 feet above sea level so I figure I better not go on the hikes labeled “Strenuous with a 1,500 foot elevation gain.” I will never get tired of visiting Crater Lake and I consider it one of the wonders of the world.