CUAHSI LTAW: The Little-Known Tale of the Thirsty Chips

The story we want to tell is centered around a small creature, that has many teeny tiny legs. No, it’s not a spider! Although, it could fit into spaces where a spider can too. It’s ubiquitous, if you know where to look you may find it at home, at your workplace, or it could even be in one of your pant pockets right now. As confusing as the riddle may be, the story line is simple. In our short film, we want to narrate the story of what is commonly known as “the chip”. In more technical terms it’s called an integrated circuit (IC) or in some cases a semiconductor IC. Before you lose interest, let us clarify how this electronic device fits into the \"Let's talk about water\" series.
By some rough estimates, a large chip fabrication (fab) can use up or exceed 10 million gallons of water a day, which is equivalent to the water consumption of the daily household in a small city. Our inspiration for this project stemmed from the realization that many people, even those in the electronics industry, are not cognizant of this water-intensive nature of chip fab and manufacturing. To gauge awareness levels, we conducted an informal preliminary survey that involved graduate students from different disciplines such as Electronics engineering, Computer Science and Interdisciplinary Ecological Sciences & Engineering (ESE) at Purdue University. Astonishingly, most respondents answered with a \"NO\" or \"Maybe\" when asked whether they were aware of the water requirement in chip fab. This finding spurred us to embark on this project with the aim of enlightening both students and local citizens on the significant interconnection between the minuscule chips in their gadgets and the substantial water used in their production.