If you haven’t guessed by now, I really have fun with calculators. Yes, I know they aren’t always accurate. Yes, I know they often are designed to inflict guilt (and are

This is the water calculator!

often successful). Yes, I know they don’t always represent the entire picture…. But heck, they’re fun.

So today, my calculator of choice measures a “water footprint”. The calculator, presented by a New York-based project called H2O Conserve, asks you a number of questions. You answer and BAM! Your water use gets compared to that of the typical American, all accompanied by handy and sometimes cute graphics. My favorite is the one that accompanies the ‘I don’t brush my teeth’ answer. (Which I do, by the way. I just wanted to see the graphic….)

I am below the national average, but just barely at an individual water use of 1,072.20 gallons per day. Written out, that seems staggering.

The calculator also offers handy suggestions of how to decrease my water use, but some of them are just plain against my cultural habits. For example, it says I can save 10 or more gallons of water a day by not flushing the toilet and “letting it melow” instead.  Somehow I don’t think that would fly with my colleagues at work.

But some of the tips are also interesting. For example, the calculator says I can save water by getting an efficient dishwasher, rather than washing dishes by hand.

If you want to see how much water you use, click here. And if you missed it, click the tag ‘calculator’ below to find out what an ecological footprint is… and how you measure up!