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 Executive Summary
The biggest water user is agriculture, which accounts
for 70 percent of water usage world wide (OECD, 2012). The more processing a food requires, the higher its water-intensity measurement will be. In our examples above, growing the apple demanded water for irrigation. However, producing the cheese
required water to grow the crops that fed the animal that produced the milk, for the animal to drink, and to clean the equipment that processed the cheese.
Water intensity can also be measured in non-food products. A diaper, a tee-shirt, a ream of paper and a car all require water in order to make it to the retail floor and into our homes. Even the energy debate is affected by water intensity. An electric car consumes three times more water than a gasoline-fueled car. While we work to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels, we will need to consider the offset in water intensity.
Adding water intensity to the concept of an ecological footprint produces conflicts among groups more naturally considered allies. Farmers need water to irrigate crops that feed people. However, their use of water resources may limit water availability needed to preserve wildlife. It can also adversely affect groundwater, which can make pumps run dry or cause other problems related to drinking water. Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is a process that looks at various stakeholders when considering how water resources should be managed, finding ways to balance the economic, social and environmental interests of users.
Eco-labeling is beginning to be used to communicate the water-intensity, as well as other sustainability measures, of products. Studies indicate that consumers are willing to pay more for products that have been produced using environmentally friendly processes. As eco-labeling is used more, there is the potential for producers to be motivated to use water wisely.
As dry regions look to manage their water resources, some are finding the concept of virtual water to be useful. Virtual water considers the water it takes to produce imported products as water imported to the state, thus considering it a part of the region's water resources. Annual global trade in virtual water averages 2320 billion cubic meters (Water Footprint Network, 2012).
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