After watching the film Last Call at the Oasis, a documentary about the limited water resources on earth, I began thinking about all the water that we use but do not see. The film has a segment which shows how much water is used in the production of good and agricultural commodities that we tend not to think about. For instance, how much water is used to fill an average home swimming pool is equivalent to how much water is use to farm four pounds of steak. In the scene, the hidden reality is exposed. This made me think about how much water I use on a daily basis, not through drinking, washing my hands, and showering, but in the clothes I wear, and the food I eat. I did some research to determine how much water was necessary to for only the clothes I was currently wearing. A pair of jeans from the farming of the cotton through production requires 1,800 gallons of water. A shirt requires 400 gallons of water. One pound of wool, enough to make a sweater needs 400 gallons of water. Enough plastic to make a pair of sneakers requires 72 gallons of water. Just the clothes I was wearing required 2,672 gallons of water. If you multiply that by all the clothes the average person owns and then by all the people in the Unites states, you realize just how vital water is to the production of nearly everything. I think if more people saw this documentary and realized this they would understand the necessity of water conservation. To learn more about the hidden reality of water needed for production check out http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/how-many-gallons-of-water-does-it-take-to-make.html Also, by watching the film Last Call at the Oasis, you can learn more about the water crisis the earth currently faces.
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