Thirst

We tend to be become aware of water shortages when it effects us directly, or when we hear about it effecting a particular part of the world, but are probably less aware of the broader pressure points on global water resources.

This post on The Henley Centre blog  makes an excellent point that whilst carbon consciousness and our knowledge of the CO2 intensity of different products and activity has steadily increased, there is precious little awareness of the water intensity involved in the production processes of the things we eat, use, and consume (what's known as 'embedded water'). Data from the FAO (the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation) shows just how significant this 'embedded water' is – 170 litres of water is used to produce one glass of orange juice, an egg requires 135 litres. 2,400 litres of water go into producing one hamburger.

Less than 0.007% of all the earth's water is available to drink. Some say that we're going to run out of water before we run out of oil. Our water problem is fast becoming a hunger problem. Points captured in this simple presentation which has just been named the winner of Slideshare's latest 'World's Best Presentation contest'. It's worth 5 minutes of anyone's time.