The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology has published its most recent POSTnote.
The water used for production, known as “virtual” water, constitutes 95% of human water use. As pressure on the world’s water supply rises, recognition of the amount of water used within each step of production could play an important role in managing water use.
The August 2011 Number 385 POSTnote examines how virtual water use is calculated and its application within the global economy.