"THE DARK SIDE OF WATER" || Water footprint || Carla Julieta García Bonillo

In my opinion, it is very important to be aware of our water footprint, as we are destroying the

planet and innocent lives because of it. We are responsible for all the damage on Earth and

for all the casualties because of the lack of water on the planet. Living in a rich, developed

country doesn’t give us the right to waste this much water. We are not superior to other

people or nations. Thanks to our bad management of this liquid, 4500 children die every

single day because there is no drinking water for them, lakes and seas are disappearing,

more than 1800 million people suffer a lack of clean water...

We have to stop thinking about ourselves and start thinking about others. We can take the

bus instead of driving, turn off the tap while washing our hands, buy sustainable products,

buy less clothes and reuse them. We can stop throwing up food and start buying it in small

shops and start consuming local products. We can eat less meat and increase vegetables in

our diets to decrease the water used in food production, use less water when cleaning and

watering our plants, and clean the car or wash our clothes only when necessary. Washing

the dishes costs us 30 litres per day, so we can use a dishwasher instead; we spend 80

litres per day taking a shower, so we can turn off the faucet when lathering.

A lot of products that we use everyday need litres and litres of water to be produced: a pair

of jeans needs 10000 litres; a simple t-shirt, 2500 litres; a pair of trainers, 4400 litres and a

single cotton bud needs 4 litres. We must start having good habits and being responsible

when shopping.

We need water, we need our planet and we need everyone living in it. We are responsible

for everything happening to the Earth and to its people. Let’s take care of it. It is in our hand

leaving the planet ready for our children and helping people in need.

Carla Julieta García Bonillo