The Big Thirst

Fishman writes that NASA ejected millions of pounds of water from its space shuttle during launch to prevent sound from destroying the spacecraft.

People use water for various ceremonies. Water produces large waterfalls and small snowflakes. Water can sink ships. Water is in many products, and it is both practical and symbolic: “Water is the most familiar substance in our lives. It is also unquestionably the most important substance in our lives” (1).

Electrical appliances use more than twice as much water as other household uses. Water is in most products, and a part of most activities; water is even in the air. Humans are made up mostly of water. Human cells contain water and function in water: “A 150-pound man is 90 pounds of water (11 gallons)” (2).

People don’t generally think of a relationship with water, despite its ubiquity. In farms and developing countries, people still relate to water. However, in developed countries, water is cheap and abundant.

Because industrial societies produce water invisibly, people don’t track it as they do gas. Fishman argues that people should correct their opinions of water to protect the resource.

In 1999 researchers recorded American water use statistics, including toilet flushing, baths and showers, and various appliances.