Water: Working for people and nature

In Canada, water truly is a part of our natural heritage and an important piece of our national identity.  But despite the fact that water has such a central role in Canadian culture and in the economy, the full extent of water’s influence in shaping our lives is often underappreciated because its functions aren’t always obvious.  I’m talking about water’s role as a producer.  Water’s role goes way beyond the water we see coming through the tap and down the toilet.  This is only one of its many jobs – the others just aren’t as visible.
For one, there’s agriculture – the importance of water’s job here can’t be understated.  Globally, 70 percent of all water withdrawn from lakes, rivers, and aquifers is used to irrigate crops that support our diets and clothing needs.  One kilogram of beef, for example, takes up to 15 thousand liters of water to produce.  To put this amount into perspective, a person’s recommended daily drinking water intake is between 2 to 4 liters.
Water is also hard at work in the energy sector.  In Canada, more water is withdrawn for thermal power operations than all other uses combined.  But it doesn’t end there.  Water is also put to work producing energy even when it’s not removed from its source.  I’m referring here to hydropower – energy harnessed from the movement of water down rivers.  Roughly 60 percent of electricity produced in Canada comes from hydropower.
Water plays an equally vital role in the manufacturing sector.  As consumers it’s easy to loose sight of this because we’re rarely ever exposed to the processes that turn raw materials into finished products.  But make no mistake, water – sometimes in very large quantities – is used in many of these processes.  It takes about 400 thousand liters of water to produce a car.  This is enough water to fill 8 NHL regulation size hockey rinks.
Not to mention how much water it takes to make your daily latte:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDTmjR_GG1w[/youtube]
The more we become aware of the link between water and, well, pretty much everything we use and consume from energy, food, clothes, cars, furniture, and electronics, the more we can appreciate just how deeply indebted we are to this precious resource.  As we start ‘seeing in blue’, so to speak, we also find new opportunities to reduce our water footprint in ways that go beyond the tap – such as turning off the lights, buying clothes second hand, and maybe eating a little less meat.
Humans employ water in many different ways.  But we’re not alone in our dependence on water – fish, birds, mammals large and small, and humans are all in the same boat on this issue.  Taking action to reduce our water footprint is something that each one of us can do to help ensure that water continues to flow for both people and nature.