Page 50 - The Celestia Project

Chapter 6: Water Conservation

ONE WATER, INDIVISIBLE. Although we tend to think of
water as broken reservoirs of different quality and value, it’s time
to think of all water as one.
The Bottled
A RE WE REALLY entering “a new geologic age,” as 500 Water Hoax
scientists proclaimed recently during a meeting about
water in Bonn, Germany? In our time, access to this basic AN ANALYSIS BY Business Insider says it all. The price you pay
life need is already restricted for many. If current usage for bottled water is up to 2,000 times higher than that of
and population trends continue, according to Maude Barlow, author tap water. The irony is that in the U.S. especially, tap water
of Blue Future: Protecting Water for People and the Planet Forever, has been shown to be of equal or better quality than many
“global demand for water in 2030 will outstrip supply by 40 percent.” bottled water brands.

If you’re not convinced that “saving” our water supply is an Does bottled water have its place? Certainly, as an emergency life-
urgent priority, you may want to catch up on some of the latest giver in drought-stricken parts of the world, or in regions hit by natural
statistics from various water-monitoring organizations worldwide. disasters, but not as a staple of board rooms, hotels and campsites.
When you do, you’ll find that the future we can expect from a
“business as usual” approach to water management is terrifying,
no matter where you live.

Broken Hydrology

When we were kids, we all learned about the hydrologic cycle. But
that simple model of evaporation, condensation and replenishment
simply can’t keep up with the pace of human activity in the form
of mega-farm irrigation, thirsty lawns and cattle ranches. Consider
just a few of the worst-case scenarios for our current trajectory,
outlined in Blue Water:

Depleted Aquifers. We can expect a dry-up of some of the world’s
major “fossil water” aquifers, including the Ogallala, which supplies
irrigation for much of the large-scale farming in the Midwestern
U.S., commonly known as the nation’s “breadbasket.” Farmers
have been tapping it heavily in recent years to keep up with corn
production for ethanol and to compensate for drought cycles.

Ghost Cities. China plans to build 500 new cities in the next 20

Rising Consumption
Despite the advent of low-flow
toilets, faucets and smarter Domestic and public withdrawal in the U.S. SOURCE: PAST AND FUTURE FRESHWATER USE IN THE UNITED STATES
irrigation, water use per capita in (WWW.FS.FED.US/RM/PUBS/RMRS_GTR039.PDF)
the U.S. keeps rising. Why? Withdrawal / household / day Withdrawal / person / day People / household

THE ANSWER, ACCORDING TO THE USDA, is multi-fold. First,
household size overall has been shrinking, which results in rising
per-capita water use. As the agency notes, “A minimum level of
water use per household, especially for lawn and garden watering,
is largely unrelated to household size, causing per-capita use to rise as
household size drops.”

Other factors include “the use of appliances such dishwashers, washing
machines, swimming pools and lawn sprinkler systems. These changes
are consistent with the increasing real incomes experienced in many areas
of the U.S. over the past 30 years.”