Your Water Footprint: The Shocking Facts About How Much Water We Use to Make Everyday Products

by Stephen Leahy

The average American lifestyle is kept afloat by about 2,000 gallons of H2O a day. The numbers are shocking. Your Water Footprint reveals the true cost of our lifestyle. A "water footprint" is the amount of fresh water used to produce the goods and services we consume, including growing, harvesting, packaging, and shipping. From the foods we eat to the clothes we wear to the books we read and the music we listen to, all of it costs more than what we pay at the check-out. The 125 footprint facts in this book show the true cost of our lifestyle and what it is doing to Earth, including draining it dry. The "Virtual Water Concept" shows the amount of water used in human activities. Presented in clever, understandable graphics, Your Water Footprint raises readers' awareness of how much water is used to make the things we use, consume and grow. What we put on our dinner table has a very high cost. Nearly 95 percent of our water footprint is hidden in the food we A cotton t-shirt takes almost as much water as beef, a pair of jeans even more. In fact, all aspects of our daily lives require water in some way, shape or form. The saying that "nothing is free" applies more to water than anything else we consume, considering just three percent of the world's water is drinkable and that we are using more of it than ever before. Factor in climate change, population growth and pollution and we have an unsustainable situation. Many experts predict dire water shortages if we continue on our current path. Your Water Footprint is riveting. Consumers of all ages will be stunned by what it reveals. It is an excellent reference and an exciting way to introduce the resource-consumption equation to students.

Genres: Nonfiction, Environment, Science

144 pages, Paperback

First published September 2, 2014

Reviews

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually, this book is a good one to skim through and still get lots of information. There are a lot of graphics and maps, etc. It was an eye-opener!!! Please Goodreads friends -- check this book out of the library and glean however much information from this book that you dare -- and review it for more people to become aware of how much water they are really using on a day-to-day basis.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read with many graphics, some of which are a bit oddly organized, to show how much water things actually consume. In some ways, it's like "Eat This, Not That" in that it shows alternatives. It also succinctly tells why biofuel isn't necessarily the answer; they consume far too much water that isn't put back in the supply. So what is that answer? The first thing that came to mind is that we have to slow population growth, and that's not going to be very popular just like every other time it has come up in public discussion. Eating less beef is also a good place to start as is walking to nearby destinations or taking public transportation. If this were easy, we'd already be addressing it. It's time for individuals to make incremental changes so they add up to a big difference because some governments aren't going to address it even though it is clear that this is at the emergency level in places.

[LibraryCin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subtitle pretty says what the book is about. The first and last two chapters (the introduction, conclusion and “Water Saving Tips”) are more text, while the rest of the chapters are made up, primarily, of infographics to make it easier to visualize how much water is used on making those everyday products.

This was interesting. I think the graphics really help to understand the measurements a bit better than just a giant number in litres or gallons. The chapters that were all text did get a bit bogged down, so parts were a little bit dry. There was just a lot of information, but I think the book (and particularly, the infographics) helps open our eyes to how dire the situation is and may become. The “Water Saving Tips” at the end does help provide suggestions of things we can all do to help.

[Kayla Souve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very informational. It is focused on water consumption, use in production of goods and everyday life. There are plenty of comparisons to look at and the overall state of the water supply in the world. The book shows how all the things we do and buy use water and to keep that in mind in order to make smart necessary money purchases.

I tend to get annoyed with these types of books because they pretty much say everything you do is bad. However, most of them do not give ideas or ways to make lifestyle changes and actually help. This book gives lots of tips and ways to reduce water usage. Because the book only focuses on water consumption you have to take a step back. While cotton shirts use more water they are also environmentally friendly compared to plastic fiber polyester. So be an informed chooser.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's amazing how much water it takes to produce most anything a consumer buys! An extensive study of water usage and tips for an individual to conserve water. Easy to read format and engaging graphics.

[Nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one amazing book - written with lots of graphics it drums in just how much water we humans consume and consume and consume.
Have to read it in small doses to not become totally depressed. Excellent for upper primary.

[Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe some ideas how we can cut back, too?
Distressing but necessary

[rabble.ca]

http://rabble.ca/books/reviews/2015/0...

Review by Paul Weinberg

Oh dear, not another reason to worry about the planet! There's already climate change, pollution, industrial agricultural practices and water and energy profligacy, to name just a few.

Now, veteran journalist, Green candidate for Parliament and first time author Stephen Leahy, in his recently published book, Your Water Footprint: The Shocking Facts About How Much Water We Use to Make Everyday Products, has come up with a new reason to worry about the planet: the worsening shortages of fresh water that are overexploited for industrial purposes.

"Our entire way of life is based on water; it is not based on oil as government tells us," says Leahy, who is based in Uxbridge, just east of Toronto.

Leahy is referring specifically to "virtual water," which involves non-recyclable fresh water that is consumed during the production of food, energy and manufactured goods, but is invisible to the consumer.

It is here that Leahy has concerns with regards to exponential growth. He argues that the tripling of fresh water usage in the past 50 years is not sustainable because this is a finite and irreplaceable resource.

At the same time, he reports, there is insufficient fresh water in the world for human sustenance. Here, the resource is more likely to be recycled and re-used.

Nevertheless, about 1.2 billion people on the Earth live in areas with chronic water scarcity; while another two billion are affected by shortages every year. By 2025, three in five people may be living with water shortages.

To deliver this message, Your Water Footprint relies on a smart combination of graphics and text in its depiction of how virtual water is used in the economy.

It takes, for instance, more than 7,600 litres or 2,000 gallons of water to produce a pair of jeans; 2,460 litres or 650 gallons for a T-shirt; and 8,000 litres or 2,113 gallons for a single pair of leather shoes.

Read more here: http://rabble.ca/books/reviews/2015/0...

[Viraj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of pictures. I did not check the accuracy of the contents; however, when I thought about it, it made sense. The book lists the water footprint of every day used items and gives alternatives. The last 5 pages list the changes one can make to reduce one's water footprint. The earlier the world understands and makes behavioral changes, the better for everyone.

[Nic · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 3.5, really. I have sympathy for the book's creators, who try really, really hard through metaphors and infographics to show how much water is used by various items (a pair of jeans, a hamburger, etc.). Maybe it's just that my spatial relations aren't great, but I just had trouble wrapping my head around it all. Gallons . . . liters . . . we're using a lot of water, is what I got, and we should be worried about that.

I did enjoy:

- the parts of the book that talked more generally about water use (agriculture uses the most, followed by energy production)

- the comparisons of water required to make similar things (unsurprisingly, cloth napkins beat paper napkins at conserving water, a vegetarian diet beats a meat-heavy one, and cloth diapers beat disposables; more surprising to me is that polyester beats cotton)

- the tips on using less water (many are common sense, but some are good to know, like how best to water gardens to conserve water)

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative without being weighed down in too many details. I liked that the author gives the big picture of how the world's growing population affects our water supply as well as how our individual purchasing habits affect available fresh water. He expanded my concerns regarding frackjng. Not only can it cause dangerous seismic activity, it makes the large amounts of water used in the process completely unusable. Given that our water is a closed system and irreplaceable, this is most concerning.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Your Water Footprint is a fast read, as it is filled with photos and graphs. It's also somewhat numbing - it contains so many facts and numbers they started to blur. The book is very attractive, and the illustrations are eye-catching. There is a lot of good information in here, but the fact is we use so much water for so much that we do and make, it's overwhelming to think about reducing water usage and paying the true cost of the things we buy. Still, if you are looking for some facts about water usage, this is a great reference book.

[Silea · Rating 4 out of 5]

The numbers are astonishing. Hard to believe, which makes me hope they're accurate, but without digging deeply into the cited sources, who knows?

I like that it has tips about how to reduce your water use, but glaringly absent was things like 'grow your own vegetables'. I can't promise how many gallons of water i use per watermelon i grow, but i know it's fewer than 264.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading “Your Water Footprint” is an eye-opening experience, to say the least. The facts and figures on the amount of water used in everyday products are staggering. The book is meticulously researched and exceptionally well written with extensive illustrations and photos that make it a pleasure to read. Highly recommended! Michael Dyet

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for understanding just how much we use/waste water everyday. The book has suggestions for ways to conserve water in the back. A great book, a little heavy text in the beginning and the end, but easy-to-understand graphics in the middle. I had no idea how much water is used to create every day products and food. Eye opening.

[Deb Boudreau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I knew that water is used for making a lot of things we use, this brought home, in an easy & interesting way, just how much. And, the overall impact of water use worldwide. It's enough to either scare you or guilt you into using and wasting less.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book for everyone to read. Never realized how much water is used in producing EVERYTHING we eat, wear, use everyday. Very easy to understand layout, not like a textbook. I certainly learned a lot about personal water conservation. Excellent book.

[Tina Panik · Rating 5 out of 5]

The info graphics in this book succinctly illustrate the power of water: its use, control, and necessity in our lives. Open any page at your next dinner party, and you're sure to spark a conversation that lasts the entire evening.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will make you think twice about the water that you use; in the things you buy and the way you drive. An important book that demonstrates that we should be as worried about our water consumption as global warming and that the two are inexorably linked.

[Indu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Food for thought. The strong aspect of this book is that the information is made more relate-able and striking by it's visual presentation. This helps us process the information without getting lost in statistics.

[Rebekah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised that synthetic textiles such as vinyl have the author's support over traditional ones such as leather and cotton. I suppose that makes sense if you're only considering water consumption and not the material's potential for reuse or degradability.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shocking indeed. But SOOOOO many numbers! It was hard to relate the enormity presented in some of the numbers b/c they were things I couldn't understand. 30 meters deep by 42 meters high? What? 8 million liters? Okay...

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the scariest books I've ever read!

[Dorothy Hynous · Rating 5 out of 5]

everyone should read
shocking

[Shawn Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. Loads of facts put across in interesting and impactful ways - must read for all of you who enjoy drinking water.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting book on water conservation and how it affects us all. A lot of good tips for the homeowner on how to conserve water. An interesting read.

[Cathy Houston · Rating 3 out of 5]

the information can be overwhelming but the basic solution is still the same use less.

[Norma Dushack · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was very factual. It was easy to read and understand.

[Mills College Library]

333.9116 L4349 2014

[Kerrymac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Your Water Footprint is a great resource and reference guide. The information can help inform purchasing decisions to reduce the amount of water we use for manufacturing and agriculture. This is not, however, a book to sit and read all at once, but to refer back to time and again.