Putting It to Use You need water, too. You drink it. You use it to bathe, fl ush, wash, and garden. At home, every American uses about 380 liters (100 gallons) of fresh water on average every day. Europeans use about half of that. In Marsabit, where people rely on wells, each person must get by on just 19 liters (5 gallons) each day. People use even more water to make things.


It takes water to make your desk, pencil, even this magazine. Growing food uses the most water of all. It


takes 117 liters (31 gallons) to grow one pound of potatoes. Livestock like cows need even more water. It takes 2,400 liters (630 gallons) to “grow” one hamburger! T at’s not even counting the wheat to make the bun or the tomatoes to make the ketchup.


Water, Water Everywhere With so many demands on our fresh water supply, do we have enough? Although Earth is not running out of fresh water, it is not always there for people when and where it’s needed. Some places have too much water. Other places don’t have enough. Just six countries have half of the world’s


supply of fresh water. T e people of Greenland have more than enough water. Only 60,000 people live there. Each one has access to millions of liters of water each day. Yet people in places like Marsabit struggle


to get the water they need. In some parts of the world, people have to walk many kilometers each day to fi nd water. T e water must then be carried back to their homes. Oſt en this water is dirty and drinking it can make people sick.


Grass is not an option in Salton City, California. This neighborhood survives on water pumped in from the Colorado River.


22 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER

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