Evaluating The Carbon Footprints And Water Footprints Of Common Foods

Apart from the article by Barnett, several other papers have been written concerning water crisis. For instance, the American Water Works Association writes that in as much as the world is covered with 70% water, 97% of it is salty, and therefore it is not suitable for consumption. Another 2% is ice that is found at the poles. Primarily, this cannot be accessed for consumption since it is far from habitable places. Only 1% is available for use (American Water Works Association).

After learning about the statistics of how much agriculture consumes our planet, I was appalled to see how destructive it is. Jonathan Foley put into perspective the increase and rapid demand for food. Agriculture alone consumes 40% of our land surface, 70% of our irrigation system, and

The Earth is a huge planet this is covered by 70 percent water. Astonishingly from this 70 percent the human population can only use 1 percent of the world’s water the rest of it is salt water, frozen, or in some way unattainable (Santa Clara Valley Water District, 2016). Humans have found many different ways to obtain this 1 percent of fresh water they need, but the techniques vary depending on location. In San Jose, California we obtain our water from 3 major sources: groundwater, imported surface water, and local mountain surface water. These 3 sources contribute different amounts of water to the San Jose community. Imported surface water composes about 50 percent of our water supply, while ground water composes roughly 40 percent, and local mountain surface water composes approximately 10 percent (Santa Jose Water Company, 2016). However, these percentages can change due to factors such as weather and global warming.

What are the three major ways in which humans use water? What are the ways in which domestic water is used? What activity constitutes the largest use of domestic water?

The sources of food and water problems are vast. Some of the sources are using corn as an alternative to feeding animals such as cows and pigs. As Michael Pollan states in his book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, corn was being mass produced after world war II after there were weapons of mass destruction with high nitrogen content that were the used as fertilizers. The issues mentioned in The Omnivore’s Dilemma and Blue Future by Maude Barlow share the same amount of issues in water and ability of the government to regulate farming practices and companies that are leading to these issues. Both books mention the major source of water loss as mass production of crops and meat.

Global warming and climate change attributed to increased emission of greenhouse gases have continued to be pressing issues in today’s society since they threaten the stability of the climate, population, and economy of the world (“Meeting the Energy Challenge”, 2007). The challenges associated with global warming and climate change is attributed to the fact that 75 percent of world’s carbon dioxide

Water is all around us. This substance is of high importance to every living thing which is on planet earth. As much as we consider water to be life and the most important substance, still we don’t seem to appreciate it very much, as it is being wasted in such great amounts. Everyone believes that water will always be around but not taking into account that the majority of the water on planet earth are not for human consumption. Human beings can only survive on consuming fresh water. The percentage of

The Climate Crisis at the End of Our Fork by Anna Lappé is an argumentative article that gives an unorthodox view to the probable causes and potential solutions of global warming. In the article, Lappé argues that many modern procedures for food production and distribution across the world have an astronomically negative effect on climatic change. Three different “connections” between food production, food distribution, and negative climatic change arise from the article: the “land use connection”, the “agricultural connection”, and the “waste and transportation connection.” Lappé also insists that changing the way food is produced and distributed around the world could decrease the harmful consequences of global warming rapidly, and ultimately

Everyday, billions of people use water all over the world. They use water in drinks and food. They use water for bathing and hygiene. They use water in agriculture and industry. They use water for so many things. However, there are many problems with the usage of water around the world. In his editorial, “Our Water System: What a Waste”, Michael E. Webber explains how America has a water problem, and how that problem can be solved.

With all of this water used to grow produce, it is truly a scary thought to consider how much of this water is simply wasted and tossed with the produce that is not deemed “worthy” of being sold and is therefore tossed.

The United States agriculture makes up for more than two-thirds of our nations water footprint. That huge water footprint is primarily due to the tremendous amount of water needed to grow the grass and feed that a cow eats over its lifetime. This also includes the Cattles drinking water, cleaning, and processing. Those who are greatly affected by the lack of water in their states, particularly in the west coast, feel that the amount of water consumption needs to be reduced significantly. According to the National Geographic, “the water it takes to produce the average American diet alone—approximately 1,000 gallons per person per day. This is more than the global average water footprint of 900 gallons per person per day for diet, household

In the first place, wasted food is the reason for large percentage of the wasted water. It takes way more water than people think to grow crops. That crispy salad, or those bright orange carrot take gallons upon gallons of water to produce, yet we just toss them in the trash. Eliza Barclay in the article "When You Waste Food, You're Wasting Tons Of Water, Too" states that "Inside the 1.3 billion tons of food wasted every year worldwide is 45 trillion gallons of water." She also said that, "This represents a staggering 24 percent of all water used for

Global warming has been a controversial topic for years and some have even denied its existence; however, as more studies are being published every day in regards to our changing climate, it is hard to ignore this growing issue and how humans contribute to it. The term greenhouse gases refers to the group of gases that are primarily responsible for global warming and chief among these gases is carbon dioxide. Rising carbon dioxide levels can be attributed to a combination of burning fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and petroleum as well as deforestation in general ( Source A). To slow the effects of global warming, it is important for leaders in our society to consider their greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide, and make

Because carbon footprints are such hot topics in the news these days, it's an ideal topic for this particular paper. As concerns about global warming and potential climate change have continued to evolve the term "carbon footprint" has become ingrained in many people's consciousness. Though the large Fortune 500 companies focus on reduction of their own carbon footprints, individuals can help in their own small way as well.

The total volume of freshwater consumed and polluted for the production of goods and service used by a consumer is known as the water footprint. Consumption is loss of available water from its catchment area and redeposited at another catchment area, or used to make a product or by evaporation such that it is no longer available for use for another purpose. (Hoekstra et al 2011)