Questions are accumulating about how water demand needed to supply a hydrogen vehicle industry might affect large water bodies like the Great Lakes.

Even as political leaders in the auto-making Great Lakes region tout hydrogen-powered vehicles as a potential catalyst for an economic turnaround, questions are accumulating about the impact of the technology on water use.  While potentially clean and renewable, are hydrogen powered vehicles (and hydrogen energy generally) sustainable given their water impact?

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Note: This article is part of EcoWorldly’s series on food and agriculture around the world. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, this week EcoWorldly writers are exploring environmental issues related to bringing food from the farm to your dinner plate.

Sellers of organic products all say the same thing: their products are better for our health and for the environment. So if you’re planning on chowing on organic cranberries, yams and free-range turkeys this Thanksgiving, rest assured that your meal is good for you and Mother Earth on a different level. Organic farming also uses less water than commercial farming methods.

Large quantities of water are used for farming around the world, and some environmentalists argue this has contributed to the global water crisis. According to PeopleandPlanet.net, over two-thirds of the freshwater used by humans annually around the world is used for crop irrigation. In Africa, for example, the Nile River loses 90 percent of its water for irrigation purposes before it reaches the Mediterranean Sea. In Asia, which contains two-thirds of the world’s irrigated land, 85 percent of available water is used for irrigation. And in California, 80 percent of the water withdrawn for state water projects is used for agriculture. The remaining 20 percent is used for residential, commercial, institutional and industrial use, according to a report released by the environmental research and advocacy group Pacific Institute.

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Green Power Conferences’ green policy includes a commitment to contribute 5% of its annual income to charitable causes, a vow to only work with eco-friendly industries, and a pledge to use environmentally sustainable strategies to operate its offices and conferences.

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Most of us know something about carbon footprints. In fact, some of us may have already taken measures to reduce the hypothetical size of our footprints–from walking or riding a bicycle instead of driving, to purchasing carbon credits to reduce the impact of our carbon emissions. But many of us may have never thought about our water footprint. The new website H20 Conserve allows users to calculate their water footprint and gain insights on how most people waste water and how to conserve this precious natural resource.

Despite my interest in water issues, I have never calculated my water footprint, so I decided to check out the website. According to the site, my individual water use is 1,073.25 gallons per day (yikes!). In comparison, the average American uses 1,190.5 gallons of water per day. I also learned that it takes 24 gallons of water to make a single pound of plastic, over a hundred gallons to make a pound of cotton, and that a single dripping faucet can add up to 20 gallons of water lost each day.

In addition to the interactive H20 calculator, the website also offers a list of practical water saving tips, an information guide on relevant water topics, and a glossary of important water-related terms. The site also provides links to educational resources for elementary and high school classrooms. These tools can certainly empower individuals to make water conservation part of their everyday lives.

“By allowing visitors to calculate their water footprint, including the water they use at home, the water used to produce their food, energy and household products, we hope to get people thinking about water in a whole new way,” commented Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food & Water Watch, in a press release.

H20 Conserve is the product of collaboration among several public interest organizations committed to water conservation, including Food & Water Watch, GRACE, and The John Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.

Photo: H20 Conserve

Environment Minsters in the United Kingdom want households to cut their water consumption 20 percent by 2030. The announcement comes as the UK Environment Agency prepares to release its study on water resource management, which looks at how the industry should coordinate resources in the face of climate change, rising energy prices, and growing demand.

Hilary Benn, the environment secretary, aims to cut use by 30 liters (8 gal.) a day per person by 2030, according to a report in The Times. Benn says the current daily consumption of 150 liters (40 gal.) is unsustainable and needs to be slashed. As a point of comparison, the USGS estimates that average daily water consumption in the U.S. is somewhere between 80-100 gallons per capita.

>>More on water at EcoWorldly

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High Yield Per Acre

Soybeans generate a measly 60 gallons of biodiesel annually from an acre of land and has an energy balance of 2.5. Corn generates about 300-400 gallons of ethanol per acre and has an energy balance of 1.3. Sugar cane can generate 600-800 gallons of ethanol per acre annually and has an energy balance of 8. Sugar cane unfortunately is very labor intensive to cultivate and could contribute to deforestation.

Agave however can yield an impressive 2,000 gallons of distilled ethanol per acre each year annually. Cellulosic ethanol from agave has 6 to 9 times the yield per acre. This would significantly reduce the quantity of land needed to produce the same quantity of transportations fuels.

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Water shortages are on the rise, from Mexico to the Andes, northern China to southern India, and Spain to Pakistan. Drought, soaring populations and population densities, changing diets, and increasing living standards are all factors. Is this an issue that technology can fix?

Judging by investors’ responses, the answer seems to be yes. FourWinds will invest up to $4.7 billion in water treatment and desalinization and companies that make meters, pumps, and pipes.

BlueWater Bio is a player in the wastewater and sludge treatment arena. Their claim to fame is a treatment technology called Hybrid Bacillus Activated Sludge (HYBACS). It uses proprietary bacteria that eats waste, saving on chemicals. The high quality treatment effluent has reuse potential for commercial or industrial applications, but I wouldn’t recommend drinking it.

Monsanto’s top 20 experts have been examining how climate science will affect the company, with drought being the leading problem to solve. New drought-resistant crops are being created.

“The most advanced of these is now a drought-tolerant corn product … commercializable within several years,” said Monsanto’s head of technology strategy and development David Fischhoff . “We expect this to be the first generation of an ongoing stream.”

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