WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Climate shifts and population increases are putting pressure on America's water sources, leading to record-setting droughts and unprecedented water shortages. Despite the gravity of this situation, most Americans still don't realize that they have a role to play in protecting and conserving our precious water resources. But a new website called H2O Conserve (www.h2oconserve.org) is coming online to show us that it's time to do something about our 1,000-plus gallon-a-day habit.

Every aspect of our lives is connected to water, and we use enormous amounts of it to make everything from electricity to food to household products. For example, it takes 24 gallons of water to make a single pound of plastic, and over a hundred gallons to make a pound of cotton. Even the electricity we use is tied to water - with power plants consuming 40 percent of our country's fresh water resources.

The website's H2O Calculator takes all this into account, and after you answer a few questions it reveals just how much water your lifestyle requires. How much do you think you use? Well, the average American guzzles an astonishing 1,189.3 gallons per day according to the calculator's measure.

"By allowing visitors to calculate their "water footprint" - including the water they use at home, the water used to produce their food, energy and household products, we hope to get people thinking about water in a whole new way," says Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food & Water Watch.

After using the calculator, visitors are invited to learn more about our water system and important water issues. It also provides tips for saving water at home - a valuable resource in the face of nation-wide water shortages.

H2O Conserve was developed by a group of public interest organizations, including Food & Water Watch, the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, GRACE, and the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. In the words of Dr. Robert S. Lawrence, Director of the Center for a Livable Future, "H2O Conserve provides practical information and tools for the average American to understand and act to conserve water."

Learn more about our projects at the following URLs:

Food & Water Watch www.foodandwaterwatch.org
GRACE www.gracelinks.org
Center for a Livable Future www.jhsph.edu/clf
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility www.iccr.org

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