My Personal Water Footprint

New York City residents use on average 60-70 gallons of water per day per person according to the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP). In 2016, NYC used 1,002 million gallons per day, that is roughly 12 million gallons a year. It goes without saying that New Yorkers use their water without worry and mindfulness. Very few of us know where we obtain our water source from. If more people were aware of how we obtain our water, we would be more open to conserving it instead of misusing it.

Water conservation shows the policies, strategies and activities made to manage freshwater as a sustainable resource to shield the water environment, and to meet current and future human demand.

You will use the EPA’s household emissions calculator to quantitatively identify three to five everyday products or practices that contribute most to your footprint and identify measurable solutions to each. That is, you will estimate savings of both carbon emissions and money that can be achieved via the solutions. In the study questions, reflect upon your results and relate them to themes covered in Contemporary Environmental Issues.

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.

The way Americans use water all depends on the location and how much water is readily available. California, a dry state with scarce water supply, versus Florida, a tropical state with more water resources, have very different ways of using water throughout the day. For example, Coastal southern California has cutting-edge water usage policies, including mandatory low-flow toilets and strict lawn watering laws (Pickert, 19). Compared to Florida, which has an adequate water supply, Floridians still use more water than what is available, and have very little water usage policies to resolve this issue (Behn, 45). Although there are many issues concerning water usage in Florida and California, there are many ways in which they can be resolved,

Water sustainability is an ever-growing problem because of the increase in population, and over consumption used by agriculture, industry, and domestic which are using more water than we are able to supply. According to CBS News, California’s water shortage has been a big issue since 2011. Climate change has a lot to do with the amount of water we have available to us because the amount we need does not cut out to the amount needed to satisfy the population. Therefore, conservation is key; we must take into consideration the amount we use in a daily basis. Both you and I can easily save water we have, directly and indirectly like what we consume with what we eat, buy and use, which would overall improve water sustainability.

Majority of people posse the learning tools to educate themselves on simple effective conservation that maintains our environment. One tool useful while at home is the internet, which contains a huge database to assist in finding innovated ways go ‘green’ with water. Another way people utilize water conservation methods within their home improvements fixing poor plumping or damaged sprinkling systems. In addition, observing your bill to pin point the major use of water and seeking ways to lower any excess usage. Involving friends and family helps with promotion along with assistance to maintain a lifestyle that will persist. To understand this shift in lifestyle author Janet A. Lorenzen states “a green lifestyle is a pattern of living that involves deliberation over the uncertain environmental impacts of everyday practices and a guiding narrative that makes that process personally meaningful” (Lorenzen 95). This shift in living requires individuals to think what their action accomplishes. The challenge for anyone to break a constant habit is by find another healthier method to

With a simple change of mindset, you can begin to make a difference in ending food waste and aiding in water conservation in your own home.

Today, one can conserve water. Water is an important part of our everyday lives and one should use it as efficiently as possible. There are a few ways to focus on conserving water. One step to take would be to change and update pipes, fixtures used, and operating systems so that the newest and easiest systems are being used. These new systems today tend to save and cut down the amount of water we use by just running water in the shower or by flushing the toilet. The other most practical way to conserve water would be to change one’s habits while using water. Instead of letting the shower run for two minutes before one actually getting in it, one should turn it on as they get in. Another conscious way of conserving water usage would be to do less loads and bigger loads of laundry so that not as much water is used as often. Some things are easier to conserve than others, but when a conscious effort is made there is a way to get it

Just raising the cost of water is not sufficient, as it does not discourage people from using more water because they are not forced to use less. An acceptable, humane amount of water per person should be decided upon by the water conservation act, and if this amount is exceeded, the cost for additional gallons of water should be triple what is normally paid. This would be effective in discouraging people from using too much water and depleting the supply.

Although water conservation helps, some people have misconceptions about what water conservation can and can't do. If we all work together to conserve water, we can help assure a bright and prosperous life for future generations. Become an advocate of conservation in your community. Help promote conservation as a wise and important water management principle.

Environmental issues have been a big problem since the 70’s, we were warned that if we continued to treat the planet as we already were, and there would be consequences not only on the planet but humans as well. Human beings are continuously destroying the planet and in the process wasting water; yet demanding that we have fresh water for everyone. “By 2050, the global population will demand roughly 80 percent more energy and 55 percent more water than today” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adnan-z-amin/the-intersection-of-water_b_8031834.html.) Water covers about 75 percent of the earth and this gets divided into ponds, lakes and rivers. If humans were to lose water as a resource that would have a huge effect on a great many things. We would

This essay reviews my personal carbon footprint and discusses ways to manage it and reduce some of the biggest areas of my resource consumption. The footprint calculator that I used required that I answer a series of questions about my consumption habits, and based on the answers I provided, showed the impact of my lifestyle on the planet. The footprint calculator uses data for selected countries, based on National Footprint Accounts. The online calculator asked questions to determine how to distribute the ecological footprint into different categories based on the country's average consumption profile. In addition to calculating the amount of carbon a person is responsible for through their daily activities, the calculator also estimated a total ecological footprint to represent the amount of land and sea area required to provide the resources a person needs and to absorb their carbon emissions.

In order to be an integral part in saving the Earth’s environment and ensuring resources for future generations, the way individuals live needs to change. Being fortunate enough to reside in one of the nation’s most developed countries, I wanted to make sure the way I have been living has been meeting the standards set by sustainable living. Using the overall environmental footprint provided by Global Footprint Network, I was able to pinpoint the areas in my life that needed to improve in order for me to be more sustainable. I chose to use this Footprint calculator because it gives you a breakdown on how many resources from the planet are needed in order to provide for your living standards. Once you have input the information, the calculator provides a general ecological footprint explanation and gives real case scenarios in which you can do to reduce it. The results for my footprint were as follows: If everyone were to live the way I do, we would need 5.3 planet earths to provide enough resources. It would take 23.6 global acres of land for energy production, which would emit 23.6 tons of carbon dioxide, and the biggest impacts on my personal footprint included 36 percent of services, 21 percent food and 19 percent mobility.

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)