Virtual Water

This first chapter introduces the concept of virtual water, which we have already touched upon in class. Pearce defines it here as the water beyond standard household use, but instead the water that is needed during the manufacturing, growing, or feeding of a given product. He explains that food requires the most virtual water, do to the water needed to tend to crops as well as bathe or grow the grain to feed livestock, and then process and preserve their meat. I found Pearce’s enumeration of the amounts of water that go into common products was eye opening, especially that, when factoring in virtual water, the average westerner consumes 360,000 and 480,000 gallons a year. The fact provided in this chapter that I found the most surprising was that the United States was the world’s largest exporter of virtual water. I also found it interesting when Pearce presented a more nuanced view of the virtual water trade that while the current system is untenable, some virtual water trade will always be necessary for particular regions, like those of the Middle East or the Sahara.