Fresh Water - Overview

Consider this: According to United Nations estimates, there are currently 1.2 billion people in the world who do not have access to safe drinking water, and 2.4 billion who lack proper sanitation facilities. (...) By 2025, the U.N. estimates that some 3 billion people will suffer the effects of water shortages. Consider that between 1990 and 1995, global water consumption rose six-fold, which is more than double the rate of population growth. This is due in part to industrial demand; for example, it takes 80 gallons of water to produce 35 ounces of paper, and 57,000 gallons of water to produce one metric ton of steel. Changes in our diet also are driving water consumption. It takes 15,000 tons of water to produce 1 ton of beef, while 1 ton of grain only requires 1,000 ton of water.

1.1 BILLION HUMAN BEINGS HAVE NO ACCESS TO SAFE WATER.
NEARLY 1.8 MILLION KIDS DIE EVERY YEAR OF DIARRHOEAL DISEASE...

Flushing of toilets may be using as much as 5% of available fresh water.

Nearly 50% of all water consumed in the U.S. is used for livestock. You would save more water by not eating a pound of California beef than you would by not showering for 6 months.

Animals raised for food produce 130 times more excrement than the entire human population---86,600 lbs. per second---which all too often leaches into streams and contaminates groundwater.

As nations like China, India and Mexico continue their rapid industrialization and catch up with the developed world, water consumption will only increase.

As a result of over-consumption and depletion of its water table, Beijing is sinking into the ground at the rate of 10 centimetres per year. Certain barrios in Mexico City sink as much as 30 centimetres a year.

See our Solutions Page, What You Can Do Page, Resources Page for more info.