A New Footprint to Measure

Advocates for water conservation have adapted a term being used by their carbon-reduction cohorts for a new campaign that invites Amerricans to measure their water "footprint."

A new website, www.h2oconserve.org includes an H2O calculator that allows visitors to determine just how much water they're using (which turns out to be, on average, just under 1,200 gallons a day).

After that cold splash of realization, consumers are invited to learn some tips for reducing water consumption and guided to sources of additional information.

One thing retailers should note is that a companion news release called on other organizations and government institutions to encourage consumption of public water supplies, rather than H2O sold in plastic bottles. So, it appears this anti-bottled water campaign is continuing. The organizations behind h2oconserve.org — Food & Water Watch, Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future and Grace — even sent us a reusable water bottle. It'll replace the paper cups we get every morning from the water cooler.

If they haven't already, supermarkets might want to review their bottled water sales and consider adding a selection of alternative containers, along with some educational literature promoting consumer choice, and see how the idea floats.