WSJ Article Targets Water Footprints

Reporting alarming water shortage data from the United Nations and U.S. water managers, a Wall Street Journal reporter surveys corporate efforts to calculate the water needed to produce a single unit of consumer merchandise and find ways to reduce water “footprints.” Alexandra Alter, “Yet Another ‘Footprint’ to Worry About: Water,” The Wall Street Journal, February 17, 2009. With two-thirds of the world’s population facing water scarcity by 2025, and 36 U.S. states expecting shortages by 2013, “water footprinting has gained currency among corporations seeking to protect their agricultural supply chains and factory operations from future water scarcity,” writes Alter.

According to Alter, it can take up to 132 gallons of water to make a 2-liter bottle of soda and a cup of coffee can take about 35 gallons. Representatives from some 100 companies, including PepsiCo Inc. and Starbucks Corp., will apparently convene in Miami the week of February 23 to address the issue. Some experts apparently question the accuracy and usefulness of water footprints, because the effect of water usage on different world regions can be dramatic depending on local climate conditions. Still, conserving a finite resource has gained appeal. As the manager of a World Wildlife Fund water footprint project was quoted as saying, “Three billion more people are going to be on this planet [by 2050]. Somehow we’re going to have to use the same amount of water we use today.”