"Water Drop Fairy" takes you into the world of "invisible water"

"Water droplets" are H2O, and they are the water resources that humans rely on for survival, spread all over the earth. Each of them is an individual, just like us. But when they are combined together, they become a huge water system.

"Invisible water" refers to the large amount of water consumed in the production of agricultural and industrial products. This water is "embedded" in our daily goods and services, and is neither visible nor tangible, but our daily consumption and trade behaviors affect them all the time. We add this invisible water to the products according to the visible water consumed in the production process, which is virtual water. Physical water is visible, but virtual water does not exist in a physical form, so it is "invisible water".

Can invisible water be quantified?

Since the publication of Our Common Future, a report on the future of humanity by the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987, the concept and model of "sustainable development" has become a consensus of all mankind.

Comprehensive and accurate evaluation of the impact of human socio-economic activities on natural resources and the ecological environment is the basis for achieving sustainable development of both human society and the natural system, and the "Footprint Family" was born. The Footprint Family includes well-known indicators such as ecological footprint and carbon footprint, which are used to evaluate the impact of human activities on the consumption of biological and natural resources and greenhouse gas emissions on the earth's environmental system.

We consume invisible water every day

When asked how much water we drink in a day, we must think of how many glasses of water we drank today, which is limited to the visible water we drink daily, and this is only a drop in the bucket of the invisible water we consume daily.

This invisible water often comes from the beverages and food we consume in our daily lives. Let us count their water footprints and track the invisible water in our daily lives.

Virtual Water Strategy and Water-saving Society

Virtual water flows, also known as "virtual water trade", refers to the virtual flow of water resources formed by the virtual water content of trade products between different countries or regions along the trade process and path. It has both size and direction, that is, from the exporting country or region to the importing country or region.

Along with the concept of virtual water flow, there are also concepts of virtual water export and virtual water import. For importing countries or regions, this part of water resources is a kind of "external" water resources.

If you care about the sustainable and healthy development of human society and the sustainable use of natural resources, you should establish the following two scientific concepts:

First, controlling and reducing your daily water footprint can greatly promote the sustainable and efficient use of water resources;

Second, scientific and coordinated management of "visible water" and "invisible water" can achieve coordinated and effective management of global water resources and ensure that the precious water resources on the earth receive due protection.

Source of this article | Invisible Water

Image source: Invisible Water

White Paper Bookstore