You thought you were consuming around 150 liters of water a day? This is the average quantity assessed for domestic use in France, per day and per person. But this “visible” water represents only a tiny part of our actual consumption. By adding the “invisible” water hidden behind the products of our daily life, we arrive at… approximately 4,000 liters per day and per person. In this excerpt from “Special Envoy”, this is explained by Esther Delbourg, environmental economist specializing in water resources issues. She came to help the journalist of “Special Envoy” Nathalie Gros to take stock of her actual consumption.
To produce a steak, you need 7,500 liters of water
“Invisible” water is water taken from nature to produce our daily goods. Did you know that by cooking a simple omelette, you consume water? And a lot of water, since it is estimated that 200 liters are needed to produce a single egg. This invisible water that we “eat” daily is thus hidden behind all food products. Whether of plant or animal origin, they require large quantities – for growing plants and feeding livestock. Other examples in the kitchen? It takes 325 liters of water for a baguette, 4,000 for a packet of coffee, 850 for a carton of orange juice, 1,050 for a camembert, and 7,500 for a rib steak…
For a computer and all its components: 100,000 liters
Let’s move on to the office side, with an equipment that has become essential: the computer. It causes our water bill to explode, since the manufacture of all its components requires… more than 100,000 liters of water. If there is no question of doing without it, we can at least ensure that “that it is produced in regions where people, on the spot, already have enough water to feed themselves”, recommends Esther Delbourg. The best you can do on the office side is to check the origin of your computer equipment, and keep it as long as possible.
For jeans: 8,000 liters
On the other hand, on the locker side, a revolution is essential, notes the journalist after having taken out jeans and T-shirts from her dressing room. For a simple cotton T-shirt, count approximately… 2,700 liters of water. A pair of jeans represents 8,000 liters on average – for growing cotton, but above all for washing the fabric. The balance sheet turns out to be much heavier than expected…
Extract from “Water: the hunt for gaspi”, a report to be reviewed in “Special Envoy” on April 20, 2023.
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