How Much Do You Have?

Think about your thumb and let’s say that your thumb is the whole world, 0.03% would be a speck on your thumb. You wouldn’t be able to see it and you would have to use a microscope take a glimpse of it! The class that I am taking is called H20. Our Action Project in unit one is based on our daily usage of water. Throughout unit one we have recorded and conducted experiments that have changed the way I perceive water. I have grown to become more conscious of my use of water. I’ve learned how limited potable water can be to access. 2.5% of Earths water is fresh and potable. 1.2% of the fresh water is accessible (Perlman). It is here in this class where we learned how much water we use and the importance of how we cannot take it for granted. There are many places in the world where water is not accessible.

I have learned that there are areas where water is not accessible, and in order to gather water, people would have to walk to their nearest water source in order to get it. Once they’ve gathered their water, they would have to carry all of the water back to their homes with nothing but their hands. In this course, we reenacted the same event. After conducting my experiment I then was able to calculate how long it would take me to carry all of the water that I use in a day.  After having to calculate the numbers, it resulted that it would take me 1 hour and 8 minutes to carry 63.5 gallons of water.

I chose to compare Australia because I felt that it would be very interesting to understand another large developed nation compared to the US. I now know that the average US person uses about 151 gallons of water per day (Watkins). Which compared to mine is large. It is more than twice as much as mine. An average person’s water usage per day from Australia is 132 gallons of water (Watkins). This is less than the amount that a US person uses but is still nearly twice as much as my usage.

I now feel that I am more educated about water usage and I now remind myself to never waste water. Through experiments and study, I have learned how hard it is to not have water. It has taught me to never take water for granted because of the information that I’ve learned about how water is so limited. I'm now trying to ration my water by limiting my time in the shower which I would say takes up a lot of my water usage and limit the amount of time I wash clothes by setting one day out of the week where all of my clothes are washed. If you think about the amount of water there is in the world that is potable, it is a small fraction. Next time you use water, think of how limited our precious water is, and it will change you for the better.

AR. (2017) How Much Do You Have?

                           

Sources:

Perlman, Howard. "Where is Earth's Water? USGS Water-Science School." The USGS Water Science School, U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Geological Survey, 2 Dec. 2016, water.usgs.gov/edu/earthwherewater.html.

Watkins, Kevin. Human Development Report 2006. United Nations Development Programme, 2006. hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/reports/267/hdr06-complete.pdf.

Sources for Poster:

Brian. "L'Australie. de Brian." thinglink, www.thinglink.com/scene/657239166089691137.

United States Environmental Protection Agency. "How We Use Water." graph. United States Environmental Protection Agency, www.epa.gov/watersense/how-we-use-water.

US Maps 2017. "United States Vintage Map." map. US Maps 2017, overthinking.co/blank-us-map-download/united-states-map-vintage-map-download-antique-map-history-coos.

"Water Use In Households." graph. NWP101A Investigate Sustainable Water Cycle Management, Commonwealth of Australia, www.dlsweb.rmit.edu.au/toolbox/splash/toolbox_11_04/uoc1/html/p4sust_hous.htm.