Human Water Needs and Water Use in America

The minimum amount of water necessary to sustain human life is calculated. The water needed to produce a pound of meat is 25 times the amount needed to produce a pound of vegetables or grain. The amount of water now being used to sustain the American standard of living is computed. The number of people the American land could feed if all the rainfall in the country were totally utilized is calculated. It is estimated that the country could accomodate 50 million more people bringing the total population to 230 million before there would be any decrease in the present standard of living. This figure will have been reached by the year 2000.