Sunday, March 01, 2009

Environmentally Friendly Consumption.


Doing what is right for the environment can be complicated if you want to take everything into account. Here are some surprising numbers I just read in this week's The Economist :

Consumers may already be aware of the environmental impact of producing goods in terms of energy or pollution, but they might be surprised to learn how much water is needed to create some daily goods.

A cup of coffee, for example, needs a great deal more water than that poured into the pot. According to a new book on the subject, 1,120 litres of water go into producing a single litre of the beverage, once growing the beans, packaging and so on are measured. Only 120 litres go into making the same amount of tea. As many as four litres of water are used to make a litre of the bottled stuff. Household items are even thirstier. Thousands of litres are needed to make shoes, hamburgers and microchips.


(click on the picture to enlarge)

1 Comments:

At 11:35, Anonymous Anonymous said...

It’s an evidence water has to be saved as the population keeps on growing through the world. About the coffee for example are there other means to make things without using less water ? Eating and drinking make people survive and have an income by selling their products, so is it the solution to drink or eat less food that needs lots of water? As we say in French : “c’est le serpent qui se mord la queue” (Sorry I didn’t find how to translate it in English on the Web : it means that apparently there is no satisfying solution).
Michèle

 

Post a Comment

<< Home

|