It might be good idea to start thinking about it.

 

There is more to a cup of coffee than just the 125 ml of water poured into a cafetiere: an astounding 140 liters of water is needed to grow the coffee beans for one cup. The production of one hamburger requires 17 times more: 2,400 liters.

 

Just 1 kg of cotton (think a pair of jeans) requires 10,000 liters of water for growing cotton, dying and washing.

 

That's why our water footprint - the impact our activities has on fresh water resources - matters. Our decisions about what we consume affect water resources in places where the products are made.

 

And many of them, like world's top cotton producers China and India, or coffee growers like Colombia, may already be experiencing water problems.

 

According to Ruth Mathews, director of the Water Footprint Network, which promotes sustainability and efficiency of water use, it's time not just for big companies - many of which have already started calculating their water footprints - but also for individuals to be aware of the effects of their consumption.

 

An average person in the UK uses around 150 liters of water per day, a figure that rises to more than 4,500 liters per day, when all the "hidden water" is calculated. However, almost 750 million people worldwide do not have access to clean water at all.

 

Changes in our decision-making can help other people gain access to clean water; and it's important to promote the message about the need for transparency in the global supply chain to companies and governments.

 

 

PHOTO: Storm clouds and dust can be seen in the sky above a woman as she walks at dusk along Mollymook Beach, south of Sydney March 5, 2014.

CREDIT: David Gray