We can live without many things, but not water.
Water makes life possible. Even in the developed world we are becoming increasingly familiar with drought and floods as a result of climate change and so are starting to wake up to the need to be more careful with water. As with climate change, however, persuading people to change their lifestyle for the good of the planet is a slow process. Many people do not realize that this can be a relatively small and non-disruptive change, such as fitting a hippo-style water saving device in your toilet.
While the planet has a lot of water (approx 1400 million cubic km) less than 0.001% of that is economically available for human use (fao.org/aquastat). With the world’s population predicted to increase by one third to 8bn by 2030, water resources will become increasingly scarce. Average demand in for water in the UK is around 150 litres per day per person, and it’s been rising by 1% a year since 1930.
Over a billion people lack access to a safe water supply, the amount of clean drinking water available is actually shrinking and yet the demand for fresh water is increasing year on year. There’s only a limited supply of water, and life on earth cannot survive without it. Maintaining this precious resource is a global prerogative.
But reducing your water use doesn’t just save water – it saves energy, it reduces your carbon footprint. The water industry is one of the biggest uses of energy in the world; they use it to treat and pump water to and from consumers and businesses. Saving water saves energy and saving energy helps reduce climate change.
