WATER FOOTPRINT: ~​900 liters/phone
Because a smartphone has many different
components, it requires a lot of resources and
tedious tasks to be done from shaping glass
to fit the size of the screen, to mining metals
for chips.
It didn’t surprise me that it took this much
effort to make a smartphone, but what opened
my eyes was when realizing the amount of
water that goes into, for example, the process
of digging into the earth to acquire the
necessary materials to begin piecing them together.
FairPhone, an eco-friendly smartphone brand, was what appealed to me when researching
alternatives. Unlike other phones such as an iPhone, they sell interchangeable parts if
whenever the device malfunctions, which not only costs less in the lifetime of your smartphone
usage, but favorable in terms of the water footprint! I’m definitely going to look into more
alternative smartphone brands when I replace my current phone.
WATER FOOTPRINT: ~​0.07 gal/napkin
0.07 gallons (1.12 cups) of water
doesn’t seem much, but that’s the
amount it takes to make just ONE
napkin. This is because it accounts for
its production and transportation, not
including the amount of water needed
to grow the plants.
I was surprised! I didn’t expect such a
lightweight piece of material to require
that much water to make… especially
when it’s put into perspective of how much ​ water was used for the m
​ ultiple pieces of napkins I
use per day.
An alternative is to use linen napkins instead of disposable napkins. Linen is also the strongest
natural fiber, which will increase the amount of uses and decrease our water footprint. With this
knowledge, I’m going to commit to reducing the amount of napkins I use and bring a reusable
linen napkin whenever I have the chance.
WATER FOOTPRINT: ~​2497 liters/kg rice
In other words, about 2.5 liters of water is
needed for a gram of rice. This is because of
the amount of water needed to grow the rice,
process, transport, and finally consumer use,
which requires about 1:1 ratio of water to rice
in steaming it. That’s a lot of water.
It’s a startling number to acknowledge
because personally with my Asian
background, I consume white rice on a
regular basis.
Quinoa is an alternative of rice (also beating brown rice), requiring only ~500 liters per kilogram
(yes, 5 times more efficient!). I’ve tried quinoa before as a healthier alternative, but now knowing
that it’s so much more beneficial in terms of water footprint as well, encourages me to switch to
quinoa as my main “rice.”
WATER FOOTPRINT: ~​10,000
liters/jean
Because cotton is the main
resource needed in the production
of jeans, a pair will inevitably have a
high water footprint. Cotton requires
a lot of water to grow, and jeans
themselves also require additional
fabric treatments before finally
transporting them to consumers
(which also consumes a lot of
water).
I’m shocked by the water footprint because I personally own many pairs to sustain throughout
the week. An alternative in going about purchasing jeans is becoming more selective in what we
buy. For example, some brands such as Mud Jean, has what they call, a “Lease-A-Jean”
Program, which reconditions used jeans into well conditioned pairs. Another alternative is to go
to thrift stores to straight up buy used jeans. I’m going to work on committing to purchasing
jeans, and clothes in general, from thrift stores because it’s a more affordable and water
footprint friendly.
WATER FOOTPRINT: ~​140 liters/cup
Ironically, 140 liters of water is needed in
order to brew just a cup of coffee. This is
because of the amount of water required
to produce roasted coffee itself, in which 7
grams is needed to produce a cup of
coffee...
This fact shocked me just as much as the
other items I’ve researched. Wrapping my
mind around how a mere cup of coffee
requires ​that much water to produce
absolutely blows me away.
Luckily, there is an alternative to the caffeine that I so desire every morning--tea! A standard cup
of tea requires 34 liters of water per cup, which is much better compared to coffee. I think I will
make the switch to tea, as it will provide the same effect I crave in my day.
NAME:​ Lisa Chau
USERNAME: ​lisachau
EMAIL: ​[email protected]
SCHOOL:​ Independence High