Waking Up to Water
In honor of Earth Day, I wrote the following essay about the importance of water conservation for Quest readers and Spirituality & Health magazine. My hope is to help foster a deeper appreciation for this precious resource and to inspire a more mindful and careful enjoyment. Thank you for taking steps to help protect Planet Earth and all the life she supports!
Fresh running water is something many people living in developed countries take for granted. When we turn on the tap, water magically appears. If we want hot water, we simply twist a handle. Toilets whisk away our waste so quickly that it’s immediately forgotten. Most of us bathe, make our morning coffee, and start the washing machine without contemplating how water comes to us or how precious it is.
As the daughter of two immigrants born in Eastern Europe in the 1920s, I grew up on my parents’ stories about what it’s like to live without such conveniences. In Hungary, my mother’s family had to carry their water home one bucket at a time from the town’s communal well a mile away. Hot water for cleaning or bathing had to be heated one pot at a time on a wood or coal stove. Every drop was used wisely. In Poland, where long winters frequently brought below-freezing temperatures, my father’s family of eight shared one outdoor latrine.
A decade ago, when I was conducting extensive research for my eco-conscious cookbook, The Earthbound Cook—250 Recipes for Delicious Food and a Healthy Planet, I was surprised to discover just how many ecological burdens are attached to delivering an ample supply of fresh water. Now, as climate change is making these issues more pressing than ever before, it’s crucial that we do a better job of conserving this essential resource.
Many people who live in areas where rainfall is abundant aren’t concerned about letting water run down the drain as they brush their teeth or soap their dishes, but this leaves energy consumption and emissions out of the equation. Pumping, treating, collecting, and discharging water and wastewater is extremely energy intensive. In my home state of California, our water supply accounts for nearly 20 percent of our state’s total electricity use while generating about 10 percent of our greenhouse gas emissions. Hot water heaters use so much energy that they are responsible for approximately 18 percent of the average home’s total energy usage.
It’s also easy to forget that humans consume a tremendous amount of water in ways we don’t directly see, such as in producing our food and manufacturing all the goods we consume. As the world’s population continues to grow—from 3 billion in 1960 to 7.8 billion in 2020 to an estimated 9.9 billion in 2050—our water supply will remain fairly constant. Experts predict that by 2030, the world’s demand for water will outstrip supply by 40 percent.
In our homes alone, the average American family consumes more than 300 gallons of water per day. Imagine if my mother’s family had to draw 300 gallons from the well every day and carry each one a mile by foot? Impossible!
