Thirteen Fun Facts About Water
The water we have and how much we use--from making a pair of jeans to producing a pound of corn.
1) Percent of the earth's water that is fresh water: 2.5
2) Percent of fresh water locked in glaciers and ice caps: 68.6
3) Percent of the 127 trillion gallons of fresh water withdrawn in the U.S. each year that's used for irrigation: 37
4) Gallons of water needed to make one pair of jeans: 2,900
5) Gallons of water needed to produce one pound of beef: 1,847
6) Gallons of water needed to produce one pound of corn: 146
7) Gallons of water needed to make one egg: 35.7
8) Gallons of water used daily by an average U.S. household: 400
9) Average gallons of water to flush a conventional toilet: 4.25
10) Gallons of water to flush a low-flow toilet: 1.6
11) Gallons of water consumed per MWh of nuclear electricity produced: 900
12) Gallons consumed per MWh of fossil fuel electricity produced: 585
13) Gallons consumed per MWh of wind energy produced: 0
This story originally ran in the November-December 2012 issue as "Numbers Game: Water World."