H20 and Us

This is my first action project for my first STEAM course on the unit “Water.” During this class, we have been working on converting measurements for liquids. We converted gallons into liters, liters into pints, and pints into cups, and we also converted gallons and liters into pounds. We went on a Field Experience to the Chicago River were we collected as much water as we could carry back to the school. We measured how much water each person had. We talked about our daily water usage and the categories that revolved around using water. I made a poster that shows my daily water usage, the US's water consumption per day compared to other countries, and I also included ways to reduce the amount of water we use.

I predicted that my daily water use would be around 55 gallons. After doing research and calculating the number of gallons I use, my daily water usage was 200 gallons. I use 120 gallons of water (60% of 200 gallons) for cleaning. I use 60 gallons (30% of 200 gallons) of water for hygiene. I use 15 gallons of water (7.5% of 200 gallons) for cooking. I use 5 gallons of water (2.5% of 200 gallons) for drinking. The average person in the United States uses 151 gallons per day which is 575 liters and 1,267 lbs. The average person in Japan uses 99 gallons of water per day which is 375 liters and 826 lbs. The average person in Mozambique uses 1.3 gallons of water per day which is 5 liters and 11 lbs. The average person in the US uses 51 more gallons than the average person in Japan. The average person in the US uses 150 more gallons than the average person in Mozambique. I think it’s crazy how much water we waste without even realizing it. On our Field Experience, it took me 18 minutes to carry the water I had. I carried about 5 gallons. I can’t imagine if I had to carry heavy amounts of water like 20 gallons every day. If I didn’t have a clean water source, I would have to walk 30 minutes to Montrose Beach (from my house). I would also have to carry about 10 gallons of water and make 20 trips back and forth in order to have 200 gallons of water for my daily use. Each trip would be 60 minutes. That would take me 1,200 minutes (20 hours). I calculated the time it would take me to carry my daily water usage from a nearby water source to my home by, multiplying the number of minutes each trip was by the number of trips I would have to take.

NL. (2018)  Help Save Water 

NL. (2018)  Help Save Water 

NL. (2018)  Help Save Water 

NL. (2018)  Help Save Water 

This action project has made me aware of how resources around the world are used and how we shouldn’t waste our resources. That concludes this action project. Remember that a little bit of water goes a long way.

Works Cited

“Human Development Reports.” Human Development Data (1990-2015) | Human Development Reports, English Home 

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME, 2006, hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-report-2006.