subject: Consumerism, Organic Clothes And Declining Water Supply - Is There A Connection? [print this page] Consumerism, Organic Clothes And Declining Water Supply - Is There A Connection?
In part three of the five-part series discussing how consumerism factors into global environmental decline, we are looking at the connection between clean water availability and consumerism and how organic clothes fits into the whole equation. Only three percent of the world's supply of water is fresh water, which is stored in aquifers, surface waters and the atmosphere, and since there is no reliable and economical method to convert large amounts of saline water to potable water, the competition for water is only going to rise.Today, about 884 million people have inadequate access to safe drinking water and 2.5 billion people do not have adequate access to water for sanitation and waste disposal. And if predictions are correct and the world's population increases by 3 billion by 2050, every citizen on Earth will be facing an enormous water crisis in the coming years.So is the decline of water availability really just about population? No, at least according the United Nations, which released a report in 2006 that said 1) the world does not have enough water and 2) the problem of insufficiency is "due to mismanagement, corruption, lack of appropriate institutions, bureaucratic inertia and a shortage of investment in both human capacity and physical infrastructure." With little in place to manage or control water usage, it really comes down to what we do as individuals that determines how soon we get ourselves into (or out of) a water crisis. So how much water do we consume? The average American uses about 180 gallons per day for personal use (washing, drinking, etc.), but this does not include water used for food production. If we factor in the water used for agriculture and cooling power plants, the number of gallons used per day per person skyrockets to 1,430 gallons. Just for food production, it takes about 108 gallons of water to produce a pound of wheat and 12,000 gallons of water to produce a pound of beef. In the United States, 87 percent of all the fresh water consumed in a year goes to agriculture and about 33 percent of the total grain produced in the world is fed to livestock. While there are many clear indicators that our current levels of water consumption, compounded by our limited supply of fresh water, are serious issues themselves, another environmental concern is how we simply contaminate the good water we do have. Take, for instance, the clothing industry, and specifically the role cotton production has played in the industry's value. Cotton production requires roughly one-third of a pound of chemical fertilizers and pesticides to product one pound of harvested cotton, and all these pesticides must end up somewhere. Most, in fact, end up in aquifers and water tables, and in the United States 14 million people are routinely drinking water contaminated with carcinogenic herbicides and 90 percent of municipal water treatment facilities lack the equipment to remove these chemicals. Something worth thinking about, is it not?There is no resource in this world more important then water. Without good quality water, we cannot survive. By choosing to shop and live sustainably we can both help reduce water consumption and reduce water contamination. Choosing eco friendly clothing will certainly help but we must go further then that. We must look at all facets of our current lifestyles, including what we eat and how we live.
