Social Cause # 04 : Are you concerned about the supplies of fresh water for your community , if not those for the entire world ? Well , you should be … Did you know that many prominent researchers & established think tanks ( including Brahma Chellany , Michael Klare , Steven LeBlanc , Jared Diamond , Chatham House , and the Strategic Foresight Group ) have repeatedly warned that the next global military conflict will probably be fought over water ? And did you know that more than half of the world ’ s current population lives in areas where water is in very short supply ? And did you know that the 2010 United Nations Environmental Programme noted that agriculture is by far the largest user of the world ’ s freshwater resources , accounting for 70 percent of its use & 93 percent of its depletion ? And did you know that – while it requires 22 gallons of water to produce one pound of tomatoes , 30 gallons to produce one pound of potatoes , 100 gallons to produce one pound of corn , and 250 gallons to produce one pound of tofu – it takes lots more water to produce “ meat ”; namely , 570 gallons to produce one pound of eggs , 815 gallons to produce one pound of chicken , 1600 gallons to produce one pound of pork and at least 2500 gallons ( on some farms this figure rises to over 5000 gallons ) to produce a single pound of beef ? … And as such , to make matters even more clear , did you know that every single meat-eater who goes vegan saves as much water in one year as he or she would save by giving up showering for the rest of his or her life ?* Well , now you do .
[* The average American ’ s water requirement for an entire year ’ s worth of showers is roughly 5000 gallons . In contrast , the average American eats a little over 200 pounds of meat every year , an amount which requires the consumption of roughly one hundred times more water – over 500,000 gallons .]
“ The exhausted earth groaned and quivered under the monotonous glare of the sun . Spirals of heat rose from the ground as if from molten lava . A panting lizard crawled painfully over the fevered rock in search of a shady crevice . Cattle and dogs and men alike cringed under the scanty shade of the trees and waited for the rain to deliver them from the heat and thirst . Instead the heat grew more intense and oppressive , singeing and stifling all living things with an invisible sheet of fire .”
~ inspired by S . Rajaratnam
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