5 Weird ways you use water that you probably didn't know or think about!
When you think about how you use water on a daily basis, you most likely think of the obvious ways that you do this. Your morning shower, that first glass of water after your gym session, or perhaps that load of laundry before you went to work.
While these are all true, there are also some pretty weird ways that you can directly or indirectly consume water, most of which you and I rarely think about. Here are a few that really stood out for me, and one or two blew my mind the first time I read them.
- Cellphones
What a convenience our cellphone is and let’s be honest, most of us would be lost without them. An instant connection to anything, anytime, anywhere.
There is more power in your cellphone today than all the computing power that landed the first astronaut on the moon. According to the mobile economy report compiled by GSMA, there are an estimated 15.1 billion cellphones in the world. That's 2 cellphones for every human on the planet and half of them are too young to own a phone.
If you think of water and cellphones you probably immediately think of the end of your phone or serious damage to its components rather than water consumption. As bizarre as it may sound, it takes about 13 000 litres of water to produce one phone. With 15 billion cellphones on the planet, that's just over 1.9 trillion litres of water that was used to create these phones. A simply staggering amount when you think about it on that scale.
Perhaps the next time you have that itch to upgrade, think about whether you really need it and if it is totally necessary. Not only will you save yourself some money but you will also save water while continuing to use the same device you already own.
2. Food Waste
Most of us don’t think twice when we scrape the scraps on our plate after eating or toss something that was lurking at the back of our fridge in the bin. When it goes bad we toss it and we often buy too much to be able to eat it all.
Worldwide it is estimated that 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted each year. The World Resources Institute estimates that around 204 trillion litres of water are used to grow the food that is wasted each year. It's a mind-boggling figure when you put it into context. 204 trillion litres is 25% of all the water used for agriculture worldwide.
The food we waste and the food that we consume accounts for the largest part of our individual water footprint. The fantastic news is that we can reduce it as well as help save water by making some small practical changes. By planning our meals better, we will waste less food and therefore less water.
Another change we can make is to switch to less water-intensive food products and minimise the consumption of others. Highly processed foods, dairy, and water-intensive crops like asparagus take more water to produce than grains, vegetables and fruits. Minimising or cutting out food items that use or consume a lot of water in their production can go a long way to bringing down the amount of water.
These are some small ways that we can reduce the impact of our food water footprint.
3. Bottled water
Sadly that convenient bottle of water you grab to quench your thirst during the day or after some physical activity has way more water tied to it than just the water you consume. The packaging and water purification process is estimated to consume six to seven times the amount of water that you find in the bottle. When you drink 500ml you actually consume 3L (500ml + 2,5L). Switch to a reusable water bottle and fill it up each time you need to carry water rather than purchasing bottled water every time. Reducing your usage of bottled water will reduce your water footprint and positive impact onn the reduction of plastic waste that also impacts negatively on the environment.
4. Electricity
If your country or local power producer uses nuclear or fossil fuel-fired plants to generate your electricity then that power comes with a huge water cost. These plants rely on water for cooling purposes and this process uses millions of litres per day in order to effectively achieve that objective. According to IOPScience, 52 billion cubic meters of freshwater is used annually for global energy production.
It goes without saying, that by reducing your consumption of electricity, you reduce your consumption of water. Think before you flick the switch and if you don't need to use it right now, switch it off.
5. Coffee
Your morning brew is more than just the water you add to the beans to make that infectious delicious cuppa. Just like bottled water, coffee production requires a monumental amount of water to make that cup of coffee you now sit and enjoy in the morning.
Each cup is estimated to use about 130 litres of water and whopping 18000 litres per kilogram of coffee. Reduce your coffee consumption and relish that one cup a day while helping to save water.
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This article is brought to you by H2O Securities. H2O securities are committed to solving the global water crisis and taking an active role in the future of water infrastructure finance. To find out more about H20 securities go to https://h2o-securities.com/
