In an arid country like Australia, we need to make sure we do our best to conserve water and we’ve come up with a way that will help industry do just that.

It involves life cycle analysis, and it can calculate the amount of water used – both directly and indirectly – in the production of metals.

To give you an idea, we calculated that it takes 1600 litres of water to make the 19 kilograms of copper in an average medium-sized car. Add up the water required to make all of the other metals found in your car and you’re practically driving around a swimming pool! Read more

Did you know the average person in the UK uses 150 litres of water a day? This takes into account cooking, cleaning, washing and flushing. By making small lifestyle changes you can reduce water waste. The key to water efficiency is reducing waste, not restricting use. Here are some simple ways to be more water-efficient.

Gleaming gnashers – Turn off the tap while brushing teeth. A running tap can waste over six litres per minute. If everyone in England and Wales did this, we could save 180 mega litres a day – enough to supply nearly 500,000 homes. Read more

I’m often told that I look way younger than I really am.

Now, I have no scientific proof to this fact, but I think (I really do!) a large piece of this has to do with how much water I drink.

I drink a lot of water – about 5 liters a day.

Don’t worry, I’m not saying you have to drink this much.

Your number is largely personal and depends on a few factors: the climate where you live; how much you exercise; if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding; medical conditions; and the list goes on.

But, a general guideline for an average healthy adult, according to The Institute of Medicine, is 2.2 liters  of water a day for women and 3 liters a day for men.

If you sometimes find plain water boring, try one of my personal faves – hint water or hint fizz – 0 sugar, 0 diet sweeteners – nothing but water + fruit oils and essences.

hint  was actually created for folks who didn’t like water, but didn’t want to drink sugary drinks or anything with diet sweeteners.

If you need more “ammo” on why to drink h20, here are 5 benefits of drinking water that may have you changing your mind. Read more

We all know that water is good for us and we should be drinking copious amounts of it every day. Well, maybe not copious amounts but enough to flush and hydrate us.

If you are a soda, coffee or juice drinker all day, then you may not be getting enough water into your system. Not to mention the added sugar, chemicals, and other interesting ingredients that are part of those beverages. Consuming water regularly throughout the day provides many benefits. These are just a few: Read more

Water power is the backbone of Alpine countries’ energy supply. Despite its important role in Europe’s energy shift, further development of hydroelectric infrastructure in Austria and Switzerland is on hold.

One of several water dams on Grimsel Pass in the Swiss Alps. Hydropower used to be profitable, but now revenues have shrunk drastically. Credit: Ray Smith/IPS.

On sunny, windy summer days in Germany, when millions of solar panels soak up the sun and wind turbines run at full speed, the German electricity network can’t cope with the overcapacity. Especially on Sundays, production often exceeds demand. The result is low prices, at times even negative ones; which means customers get paid for buying electricity. Read more