Water, Water, Everywhere…but not a drop to drink

CO LLEGE

STUDENTS

WITH

A

C ONSCIENCE

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Globe.png

Swanson, Peter. Water: The Drop of Life. pg. 9

1%

5%

Thirst

Slight Fever

Body is Immobilized

Death

12%

10%The Body Without Water

American familyMasai Family

http://naturarkivet.no/~knutroy/africa/images/31)%20Masai%20family.jpg

http://www.allsyntheticsgroup.com/images/family.gif

Each person in an African Masai

family generally lives on ~ one

gallon of water per day.

In contrast, each person in a family in

Los Angeles uses approximately ~130 gallons of water per

day.

Swanson, Peter. Water: The Drop of Life. pg. 9

http://www.aquaseche.com/images/rain%20drop.jpg

Availability and Wealth affect

amount of water used

Differences in Usage despite equal

bodily needs

Swanson, Peter. Water: The Drop of Life. pg. 9

Differences in Annual Water Usage in cubic meters per person

North Americans 1,280

Europeans 694

Asians 535

South Americans 311

Africans 186

Barlow, Maude and Tony Clarke. Blue Gold: The fight to Stop the Coproate Theft of the World’s Water. Pg. 56. New Press: New York. 2002

Water AvailabilityDespite the earth’s surface being covered with ~70% water:

97% of the earth’s water is

saltwater

~2% of the freshwater

is locked up in glaciers, snow, and icebergs

~<1% freshwater remains in ponds, lakes, rivers, and

groundwaterSwanson, Peter. Water: The Drop of Life. pg. 9

Industrial,Agricultural, and human wastes

15 million people are

killed annually

Every 8 seconds, a

child dies of a water-related

disease

Waterborne diseases and Chemical contamination

Swanson, Peter. Water: The Drop of Life. pg. 9

Where is Most of our Water Used?

http://www.burbankwaterandpower.com/images/waterdrop.jpg

Showers:

1) Shortening your showers by one or two minutes can save up to 700 gallons a month

2) Turn water off while soaping up

3) Brave the initial cold water while it is heating up

4 ) Install a low-flow showerhead

Don’t let the faucet run while:

1) Brushing your teeth; saves ~ 3 gallons/day

2) Shaving

3) Doing dishes

Other: 1) Don’t use the toilet as a waste basket;

saves ~4-5 gallons per flush2) Wear clothes multiple times before

washing.More water saving tips can be found at: http://www.waterconserve.info/links/Protection_and_Solutions/Conservation/ http://www.monolake.org/socalwater/wctips.htm#topten

Idea for layout. Note that you can laminate them so that RAs can reuse it!

About the creator of this bulletin board

• Brenton Hull is a third year Resident Assistant at the University of Pittsburgh.

• Since he’s curious about where this board will end up next, please send him a brief email at: Brentonh@gmail.com