August 25, 2008

“Virtual Water” Content Of Products Measured

The concept of “virtual water” reveals the amounts contained in the products we consume, Reuters reports. The concept can build awareness in consumers of their ”hidden” water usage, or that contained in the whole production chain of goods and services.

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Reader Comments

This is yet another example of what better tools – such as cradle to cradle Life Cycle Assessment – can tell us, and is no different than the concepts of “embodied energy” or “carbon footprint” that are rapidly becoming mainstream. I look forward to the day when we are able to look at products wholistically, across multiple impact categories in an integrated fashion to assess the overall benefits and trade-offs inherent to different design and production choices. Only then will we begin to avoid the trap of unintended consequences that are created by single-criteria decisions… name a single finaincial descision that happens that way.

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