Stockholm Water Prize

摘要

John Anthony Allan of the University of London has won the 2008 Stockholm Water Prize, often considered the Nobel Prize of environmental science. Allan was awarded the prize on March 19 for introducing the concept of virtual water, which provides a way of calculating the amount of water needed to produce anything from coffee to hamburgers. People use water in many ways that they do not even notice. "Behind that morning cup of coffee are 140 liters [L] of water used to grow, produce, package, and ship the beans," the Stockholm Interna- tional Water Institute (SIWI) said when announcing the prize. That's as much as an average person in England uses each day for drinking, washing, and all other household needs. A single hamburger requires about 2400 L of water.