This World Water Day, rethink your water and energy usage –– connected issues that affect each other and the world.

Every year, the United Nations celebrates World Water Day on March 22, a day the organization highlights to focus the world’s attention on one of Earth’s most important resources: fresh water.

First proposed in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, World Water Day is a day of celebration, awareness and creating new ideas for policies to protect and safeguard our water supply for generations to come. This year’s theme is water and energy.

The concern over Earth's water supply is partly related to the fact that as the world’s population grows, the demand for both energy and water will increase. The UN's 2014 World Water Development Report details the various potential threats to our water supply over time. The report also lists actions that the international community can take to ensure clean water is available.

“Water and energy have crucial impacts on poverty alleviation both directly, as a number of the Millennium Development Goals depend on major improvements in access to water, sanitation, power and energy sources, and indirectly, as water and energy can be binding constraints on economic growth — the ultimate hope for widespread poverty reduction,” according to the World Water Report's website.

The report also stresses the connections between energy, climate change and water. "The [2014 World Water Development Report] shows that there will be a significant increase in the use of energy," Michel Jarraud, chair of UN Water, said in a statement. "This puts additional pressure on freshwater resources which is further exacerbated by climate change … Increased collaboration is needed on all levels."

One of World Water Day's key messages is "Saving energy is saving water. Saving water is saving energy." To put this message into perspective, here are seven items most people use daily that depend on water, and consume huge amounts of energy to produce.

1. Beer

That after-work brewski would not exist without water. The global average to brew beer requires at least five barrels of water. Any type of water crisis — from drought to pollution — puts our ability to make a cold brew at risk.

2. Electricity

Almost everything we do each day requires electricity. Brushing our teeth, checking Facebook on our phones, preparing dinner — the list goes on. According to researchers at the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, fossil fuel-fired thermoelectric power plants use more than 500 billion liters of fresh water per day in the United States. So, the simple act of turning off an overhead light makes perfect sense when trying to conserve energy and water.

Image: Virginia Water Resources Research Center via IEEE.org

3. Any Drink

Coffee, soda, tea — all of these drinks use huge amounts of water. The Economist reported that the world uses about 1,120 liters of water to produce 1 liter of coffee, and 120 liters to produce one liter of tea.

Image: The Economist

4. Cars

For your next road trip, keep in mind that the Environmental Protection Agency said it takes 39,090 gallons of water to manufacture a new car — more gallons of water than it takes to fill a swimming pool. As for the gas it takes for a car to run: about 1 to 2.5 gallons of water is used to refine gasoline.

5. Plastic

A lot of our world is filled with plastic, including bottles, tech products and even tupperware for our lunch. Treehugger said it takes 24 gallons to produce just 1 pound of plastic. Never forget to reduce, reuse and recycle.

6. Clothing

Feeling stylish? Again, thank water for that. According to the EPA the average cotton t-shirt requires over 713 gallons of water to produce.

7. Food

Fruits, vegetables and grains — everything you need to eat and survive — is made possible due to thousands of gallons of water a day. Irrigation, which applies water to land and soil, is the primary way in which agricultural operations use water to ensure that we have food on the table. According to USGS data from 2005, about 128,000 million gallons per day were used in the United States for irrigation purposes.

Image: USGS

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