Water

Water

Every object we use required water for its manufacture. For example, the virtual water content of a new pair of jeans is about 3,000 gallons and the virtual water content of a new car is about 39,000 gallons.

I honestly can't say that I've ever stopped to think about how much water of all things it took to create a product. I guess I only ever considered the components that stayed in the final product. It'd be rather strange to be walking around in jeans with 3,000 gallons of water attached to them after all. Even when I'm just cooking dinner, it feels like I'm constantly having to turn on the sink for some reason or other. It helps to put the water problem into perspective in this way because it makes it relatable, which makes it easier for people to understand the problem and want to do something about it to help.

A common type of cooling system is called a cooling tower, used in most large buildings. Water flows through a building space or piece of equipment, picks up heat, and flows through the cooling tower, where evaporation lowers the temperature of the water. The water is then recirculated.
When I was working for my dad as an assistant building inspector, I saw these kinds of cooling towers all the time on the roofs of large industrial buildings. The sheer size of the things really made me think about how much technology has advanced since the Industrial Revolution. Even just imagining life without a refrigerator makes me uncomfortable. I remember visiting Spain when I was younger, where we stayed in a small, relatively undeveloped village in which A/C was a luxury. All they could do was put small fans everywhere, and it really made me appreciate what I have back here in the United States. I also have some experience with purifying water while camping on the trail. Water really tastes the best when you simply take it from a stream or lake, boil it, and then let it cool.

https://www.vacationsmadeeasy.com/TheBLT/21AwesomeMinnesotaLakesthatAllFishermenShouldKnowAbout.html

Strategies for treating and infiltrating stormwater all use permeable surfaces and include rain garden depressions and vegetated swales that replace concrete channels or pipes, porous paving that lets water infiltrate the soil instead of running off, and green roofs that soak up water instead of shunting it away.

This quote really got me interested in having a house that maximizes the potential of rainwater. I'd love to have a house in the future with a cistern from which I can draw fresh rainwater instead of having a fridge with a water dispenser on it. Not only would it be a good topic for conversation, but I'd also be helping out the environment at the same time. I'd love it if I was able to convince my friends to to do the same with their homes when the time comes. I like to think I've always been a real outdoors type, all things natural just taste a whole lot better to me. I've lived my whole life in Florida, so I'm no stranger to rain. All the strategies in the quote seem like great ideas to me and I'm looking forward to putting them into practice in my own home in the future.

Sources:

1. Robertson, M. (2017). Sustainability principles and practice. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.