Water as Our Most Precious Resource

Joshua Galloway

Section 5

Why is it that the current droughts are always a part of the news?

Why is it that you constantly read about new water restrictions or what use regulations?

Why is it that such great care is taken in the United States to see that every member of our population has access so some type of water source, be it well or town/city supplied?

The reason is that water is what makes the world run. It is essential to our individual bodies and to the environment that grows and surrounds us. It has so many functions that it is easy to see that without it life would be not only difficult but impossible.

Water in Our Body

Water in its relationship to our own individual bodies is huge. You can live for many weeks without food but only for a few days without water (Friedman). With sixty (60) percent of you body tissues being composed of your body it is easy to see its importance, but that is not all that it does for your body. Water assists with regulating our body temperature, dissolving and transporting vitamins and minerals, diluting and transporting wastes of our body, lubricating joints, promoting mental function, promoting a healthy blood volume and viscosity, promoting healthy performance of all our body systems, among many, many more other things that we have not even began to understand. All these functions make it easy to see that a shortage of water with in your body could be a huge danger. Dehydration has many causes ranging from normal water loss, to increased heat, to sickness. Being even the least little bit dehydrated can cause decreased mental and physical performance (Friedman).

Water in Our Food Supply

Now what makes water outside of our bodies so important? Let’s start by considering the functions that water plays in other animals. When it comes to other animals water plays many of the same rolls that it does in the human body. So it is essential for the healthy of the animals that we depend on for food, just as it is our healthy. Without water they could not survive and therefore would not have them as a resource for the food we need. Taken one step farther, we find fish. Fish must have water survive; their very existence is dependant on the fact that they transfer the oxygen they need to their bodies from the water that surrounds them. So you say we don’t have to have animals to survive we can be vegetarians. This would be a seemingly great idea, except for the fact that plants depend on water just as much as humans and animals. Water is an essential part of plant processes. Water helps move minerals and vitamins through the roots to other parts of the plant, transfer chemicals from one part of the plant to another, with photosynthesis, plant metabolism, and with transpiration to help cool the plant. So like dehydration in humans a lack of water can also be detrimental to the health and productivity of plant life. Lack of water can lead a plant to produce fewer seeds, flowers, roots, and fruit, all of which are crucial to the plants survival (Daily). As you can see water does a lot for plants also.

Water in Our Environment

How does water fit into our Environment? Well for beginners it covers seventy-one (71) percent of the Earth’s surface. Of the surface water ninety-seven (97) percent of it is in oceans and large bodies of water, another two and four tenths (2.4) percent is in the polar ice caps and icebergs, and the other six tenths (0.6) percent is in rivers, lakes, and ponds. (Wiki) Image 1(westbasin.org)

Water in Our Economy

Now let’s take a look at all the industrial processes that require water. Water plays a huge role in chemical solvents, cooling, and transportation. Seventy (70) percent of freshwater consumed is used in the field of agriculture (wiki). Power plants often use water as a source of cooling and water also plays a huge role in paper production.

Conclusion

The fact is that water is a part of everyday life. It is important for our health and our prosperity. There are very few functions that we go through in life that do not involve water at some level. It is predicted that by the year 2025 that twenty-five (25) percent of the world will be in a water crisis (wiki).
Atlas of a thirsty planet"

This map displays the ercentage of population with access to safe water (2000).


How will we function? It is in the best interest of all people of the planet to use it wisely and consider ways of conservation and our ability to use the water we must wisely. All of these uses and predicted problems lead to a very simple fact; water is our most precious resource.

Water Usage

Sources
Daily, Robert. (2008, March 17). How Plants Use Water, Wetting Fronts, Transpiration, Root Zones, Photosynthesis. Retrieved from http://desertwaterwisegardens.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_plants_use_water
Friedman, D.P., Stine, C.C., Whalen, S. (2004). Lifetime Health. United States of American: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
Wikipedia. Online. “Water.” Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/water
Images
Image 1 http://www.westbasin.org/Portals/0/education/waterpercentages.jpg
Image 2 http://www.ci.patterson.ca.us/ImageGallery/Public%20Works/Water%20Conservation/Avg%20Family%20water%20usage-indoors%20v2.JPG
Image 3 http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/05/uk_drought_in_the_uk/img/6.jpg
Image 4 http://www.oakharbor.org/filemanager/Oak%20Harbor%20-%20decal.JPG
Image 5 http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/business_of_good/images/thirsty_map.jpg&imgrefurl=http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/business_of_good/particulars.shtml&usg=__KyUnx47nlTJTfFFVffWTXV7xTA0=&h=252&w=400&sz=70&hl=en&start=9&tbnid=mQ4wtLJBqJ2yZM:&tbnh=78&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dplanet%2Bwater%2Bpercentages%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den

Other Resources
http://nutrition.about.com/od/hydrationwater/a/waterarticle.htm