Pictured above: Georgian Bay taken while hiking in Lion's Head, Ontario
I must apologize for something stupid I wrote the other day.... "I have an endless supply of fresh water" ...I stated in this post called Living Simply vs. Simply Living. Perhaps I can be forgiven for thinking that way as I live in an area surrounded by lakes - Great Lakes to be exact. I can take a short drive south (40 minutes, 30 if I hurry) and walk out into Lake Erie, pictured below.
I can cross the border and get up close and personal with Lake Michigan, pictured above during last summer's trip to Chicago.
Or I can drive for an hour north-west and watch the sunset over my beloved Lake Huron. All fresh water, seemingly endless.However, I am wrong....very wrong. This chart shows where the world's water supply is located and freshwater lakes account for only 0.0070% of which 20% is located in Canada.
Estimate of Where the Earth’s Water Can be Found
Oceans, saline lakes and other saltwater 97.4800 %
Icecaps/glaciers, frozen and underground freshwater 2.5100 %
Freshwater lakes 0.0070 %
Soil moisture 0.0009 %
Atmospheric water vapour 0.0009 %
Marshes and wetlands 0.0009 %
Rivers 0.0002 %
Incorporated in biota 0.0001 %
Total 100.0000 %
http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/freshwater/1
Oceans, saline lakes and other saltwater 97.4800 %
Icecaps/glaciers, frozen and underground freshwater 2.5100 %
Freshwater lakes 0.0070 %
Soil moisture 0.0009 %
Atmospheric water vapour 0.0009 %
Marshes and wetlands 0.0009 %
Rivers 0.0002 %
Incorporated in biota 0.0001 %
Total 100.0000 %
http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/freshwater/1
Approximately 60% of our fresh water drains to the north while 80% of our population lives close to the Canada/U.S. border. I sense a problem here. Also, over the past few years our prairie provinces have been experiencing drought conditions, and with the effects of global warming this situation will only worsen.
At http://www.goblue.org/ you can calculate your water footprint with a one-minute calculator. The average Canadian uses 125,000 litres of water per year while in Europe the average per person is only 73,000 litres per year. I was a little worried but then happy (sort of) to see that I am using less than half the national average. My water footprint is about 67,292 litres per year. That number still seems unacceptably high. The challenge at this informative website is to cut your annual water useage in half.
I think I am up for the challenge but I may have to cut a foot off my daughter's hair! Tee hee. Seriously though, I think there are some things I can do to decrease my water consumption. I am going to go over all of the tips at Go Blue and I'll get back to you.
