Zerofootprint and Unilever Launch Water Calculator
by Ron Dembo, Zerofootprint on 04.18.08
Unilever has teamed up with Zerofootprint to develop the One Minute Water Calculator. This customized piece of software asks simple questions in order to calculate the amount of water individual lifestyles require. With water availability looming as a potential world crisis, this calculator arrives at an important time so as to offer individuals the opportunity to not only monitor, but also reduce their water consumption.
This calculator is based on Zerofootprint’s One Minute Carbon Footprint Calculator, which measures the extent daily activities contribute carbon dioxide and other GHG’s into the atmosphere. Click on the above links to calculate the impact you have on the environment, or check out the Zerofootprint site for more information.
What a great addition to the array of environmental calculators out there. Good job Zerofootprint.
Wow. 94,390 Liters (24,935 gallons) per year!
I live alone in an apartment, no yard, no car. That number is staggering to me.
However, the calculation for toilet is too vague. I'm sure some people use it more than others. And there's always selective flushing.
Now they need to add a "price of water" feature that helps you find ways to save money by changing your habits. (Won't help with me -- I pay no marginal price for water to my apartment. Free water -- another bad idea...).
Water pricing is the next big thing.
If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down.
How can they attribute a single usage stat for a toilet? Some people flush a lot more than others. I use the neighbors' bushes whenever I have the chance.
Whoo Hoo, I only use 51,000 liters per person. Not to bad if you ask me. (The showers kill me. I like my long hot showers.)
Does not allow for gravel yards, energy star appliances or low flow showerheads, etc Rough guesses at best. Why not just look at your water bill or meter?
Nice idea but crap calculator if you really want to try to inform people. How about, how many showers do you take per week? I assume that they assume everyone showers every day? They say Europeans use roughly half the water of Canadians in a year, well Europeans generally take 3 showers a week, at most. Also, who washes their car more than once a week? why have the multiplier based on weeks for a car wash? shouldn't it be per month or per year? Not a very thoughtful presentation, come on guys! Think before you spend countless hours manipulating Javascript into some kind of clunky web app.
Sorry, I just have to make one more comment about how poor this "calculator" is. If I wash my car at a "full service car wash" 21 times every week (yes, that's 3 times every day of the week), it claims I use around 24K litres/yr. Now if I brush my teeth for 3 minutes every day and leave the water on while I do it, I use roughly 24K litres/yr.
Hmm.....did these guys actually calibrate this "calculator" based on real quantities, or did they just plug in some numbers to make it do that neeto math thingy?
WTF? eh??
Yes, there does seem to be a problem with the toothbrushing part of the calculator.
I think it's a good idea but agree that before it is rolled out to the public, the bugs should be eliminated.
It may be nice if they showed the assumptions they made, even if it is on a separate page so it doesn't clutter up the calculator.