December 27, 2017

Americans using a lot less water

Christian Science Monitor - The average American is using a lot less water on a daily basis. Six gallons less, to be exact.

The US Geological Survey’s National Water Use Science Project has estimated water use in the United States every five years since 1950. In its most recent estimate published this fall, the USGS found that American daily water use per capita went from 88 gallons in 2010 to 82 gallons per capita in 2015.

Conservation of fresh water is important because it is a limited resource: Less than 1 percent of all the water on Earth can by used by humans. With growing populations and changing climates, fresh water is becoming increasingly valuable, says Edward Osann, a senior policy analyst and water efficiency project director at the National Resources Defense Council.

The US population grew by 4 percent between 2010 and 2015, or 12 million people, but total withdrawals for public supply – water that comes out of kitchen faucets and lawn sprinklers – decreased by 7 percent. According to the USGS, total public-supply withdrawals were at their lowest levels since 1995.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

There is not a drop of water on this earth that was not here when the earth was created.
Water is constantly recycled.

DC Reade said...

Anonymous- if only it were that simple.

If it were, there would be no problems with aquifer depletion, salination, desertification, pollution, droughts or floods.

Anonymous said...

The right move is not just to conserve water, but reduce the birthrate to 0.5 live birth per person, followed by medical sterilisation of both parties. Everyone gets an equal opportunity to pass on their genes, and nobody gets more than that.

It'd be a squeaker, but in about 200 years we'd be down to a stable population without having had to kill anyone meanwhile. Surely that's desirable?

Anonymous said...

I think your mom was medically sterilized before she had you.

Anonymous said...

they're drinking a LOT MORE SODA POP

Bill Bolivia said...

Guessing, I'd wonder the extent that increased imbibing of bottled water reflects fears--real or imagined--about the potability of fresh water.