We’ve all seen numerous carbon footprint calculators which tell us how much carbon dioxide is created in the production and distribution of different products, including electricity & gas. Now there is Water Footprint to tell us how much water is required to produce everyday items.
The water footprints of some common, everyday products are staggering:
- 16,000 litres of water required to produce 1 kg of beef;
- 140 litres of water required to produce 1 cup of coffee;
- 75 litres of water required to produce 1 glass of beer;
- 40 litres of water required to produce 1 slice of wheat bread;
- 3,400 litres required to produce 1 kg of rice;
- 2,700 litres required to produce 1 cotton shirt;
- 5,000 litres of water required to produce 1 kg of cheese.
This makes you seriously question why we are growing water-intensive products such as rice and cotton in very dry Australia. I guess it all comes down to pricing – if water were appropriately priced (instead of being free or very cheap) then no longer would it be economic to produce certain types of crop in certain countries.
