Earth 111 Module 1 Summative Assessment
Water Use Project
Name:
Date:
Objectives
In the process of completing this assignment, you will
· record your personal direct water usage for one week
· examine direct and indirect water usage in your daily life
· compare your water usage to average per capita water usage
· reflect upon your own water usage
Overview
This assignment contains three parts. In Part 1, you will record and tabulate your personal direct water use in a water journal for one week. In Part 2, you will research the indirect water use that goes into producing something you use or consume on a regular basis (for example, food or toilet paper or electricity). For Part 3 of the assignment, you will reflect upon your personal water use and consider what you have learned from this project.
Instructions:
Part 1: Water Journal
Direct water use is essentially the water you use from the tap every day. This includes water used for drinking, showering, flushing the toilet, brushing teeth, washing dishes, laundry, etc. Using the water temple, record and calculate the following:
1. Record your daily water usage each day for one week using the water journal template.
2. Calculate your daily and weekly total direct water usage. Be sure to record all of your direct water usage, itemized by time of day, amount of water (in some cases you will need to do a bit of research or estimate your use based on assumptions about water flow for your shower or faucets, or amount used per flush, etc…)
3. Note whether the use is consumptive or non-consumptive in the journal.
Download Blank Water Journal as a .docx (or .pdf)
*Note: You will upload your water journal separately.
Part 2: Indirect Water Use Investigation
Indirect water is the water that goes into manufacturing the products you use and growing the food that you eat. Some indirect water use may be fairly obvious, for example, you know that water is required to grow the oranges for your orange juice. But some of it may be less obvious – what about the water used to make the cardboard carton that holds the juice, or the electricity that powers the juice factory, or the trucks that deliver the juice to the supermarket?
Choose at least one item that you use or consume every day, and research the indirect water usage that goes into producing it. There are many useful resources on the internet to help you do this, for example check out the Product Gallery at Waterfootprint.org. Use this information to estimate the total amount of water consumed in the life cycle of an item from primary production to arrival in your home, and multiply this by the amount of product you use each week. If you like and you have time, you may find it illuminating to research several items you use or consume regularly to see how they compare.
1. Describe the item you are researching and briefly why you chose that item.
2. Calculate the indirect water use per unit (or unit weight). *Show your calculations using (*, -, /, +,=) and parenthesis and describe in words as necessary.
3. Calculate the amount of product used per week and the total indirect water use per week. *Show your calculations using (*, -, /, +,=) and parenthesis and describe in words as necessary.
4. Write a few sentences reflecting on your results.
Part 3: Written Reflection
You will turn in a written reflection on your personal water usage, considered in the context of national and global averages, supply and demand, quality of life, and any other factors that might affect your attitude toward water use. Consider the questions below. Your answers should be given in complete sentences with correct spelling and grammar.
1. What activities account for the bulk of your direct water usage? Did you find that there are any daily activities that use much more or less water than you thought?
2. When you guessed your direct water use earlier in the module, how close was your estimate to the actual value, now that you've calculated it?
3. Consider all of the products you use and food you consume every day. Scaling up from your Indirect Water Use Investigation, do you think you use more water directly or indirectly every day?
4. Do you think your accounting in this project is an accurate estimate of your yearly average direct use? Why or why not?
5. How does your estimated water use (total direct and indirect) compare to the national per capita average? How does it compare to the global per capita average?
6. Do you live in an area where fresh water supply is abundant or limited? How might your water use habits change if you lived elsewhere?
7. Has keeping a water journal changed the way you think about your own water use habits in any way?
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