Thirteen Fun Facts About Water

1) Percent of the earth's water that is fresh water: 2.5

2) Percent of fresh water locked in glaciers and ice caps: 68.6

3) Percent of the 127 trillion gallons of fresh water withdrawn in the U.S. each year that's used for irrigation: 37

4)  Gallons of water needed to make one pair of jeans: 2,900 

5) Gallons of water needed to produce one pound of beef: 1,847

6) Gallons of water needed to produce one pound of corn: 146 

7) Gallons of water needed to make one egg: 35.7 

8) Gallons of water used daily by an average U.S. household: 400 

9) Average gallons of water to flush a conventional toilet: 4.25 

10) Gallons of water to flush a low-flow toilet: 1.6 

11) Gallons of water consumed per MWh of nuclear electricity produced: 900

12) Gallons consumed per MWh of fossil fuel electricity produced: 585 

13) Gallons consumed per MWh of wind energy produced: 0

This story originally ran in the November-December 2012 issue as "Numbers Game: Water World."