As part of the pre-departure quiz on most of our programs, we ask you to work out your ecological footprint, and the results often come as shock. Now National Geographic has put together a water use calculator that shows you how much water you use in everyday life.

Interestingly, it takes into account not just the normal things you would expect such as how many showers you have, how many loads of washing but also how many cups of milk you drink, servings of pork you have and how much you spend on clothes.

Once your water usage has been calculated, it summarizes your answers and you can make a pledge to reduce it in different aspects of your life. Your pledge is added to everyone else who has made the pledge with the aim of saving 50 million gallons for healthy ecosystems and a sustainable future. At the time of writing, there have been 10,649 pledges and a total of 1,911,618 gallons of water pledged to be saved.

You can calculate your water footprint here.

National Geographic also provides tips for water saving at every stage of the quiz.

Let us know what you think and if and how you plan to cut down.