Water ~ In Essence ~

Water is the tie that binds every living thing on our planet, making this a vast and challenging category for exploration.

Consider the adult human body is 50 to 65 percent water; a child’s body is approximately 75 percent water.

An estimated 1.2 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water. Lack of clean drinking water leads to nearly 250 million cases of water-related disease each year and between 5 and 10 million deaths.

The Earth has 1,386,000,000 cubic kilometers of water, only 2.5 percent of which is fresh water.  Of this fresh water, only one tenth of one percent (0.01 percent) is usable in a renewable fashion.

Freshwater is essential for human survival. However, in many parts of the world, poor water quality poses a major threat to human health. An estimated 1.2 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water and must depend on water sources contaminated with bacterial and viral organisms, or industrial waste. Over the next twenty years, 76 million people could die from water related diseases – that’s more than are threatened by the global AIDS pandemic -- unless major changes are made.

The human body can live for weeks without food, but it can only survive a few days without water. The average person needs a minimum of 5 liters (1.3 gallons) of water per day to survive in a moderate climate at an average activity level. The minimum amount recommended for drinking, cooking, bathing, and sanitation totals 50 liters (13 gallons). The average person in the United States uses between 250 to 300 liters (65 to 78 gallons) per day for these tasks. The average person in the Netherlands uses 104 liters (27 gallons) per day for the same tasks. The average person in Somalia uses only 8.9 liters (2.3 gallons) per day, much less than the recommended minimum.

In the United States, water pollution is threatening the survival of fish and amphibians. In 2002, the U.S. Geological Survey tested 139 rivers and found that 80 percent showed evidence of drugs, hormones, and products such as soaps and perfumes. Here is one example of how this consumer waste can harm wildlife: A scientist at the University of Georgia has found that exposure to anti-depressants in the water can cause tadpoles (immature frogs) to grow much more slowly than normal. Frogs often lay their eggs in temporary wetlands, such as ponds that dry up in the summer. If the tadpoles that hatch from the eggs are exposed to anti-depressants, they may take a longer time to develop into frogs. If the tadpoles don’t become frogs before the wetlands evaporate, they die prematurely, before they can lay their own eggs, changing the ecosystem.

The WaterWheel {a money maker brand} is a low-cost water pump that is changing the lives of East African farmers. In the past, farmers had to rely on carrying buckets of water to irrigate their crops. The WaterWheel allows farmers to water larger pieces of land more easily. It is a portable pump that is powered entirely by foot. It can transport water from a depth of 23 feet and spray it up to 46 feet in the air. Farmers who use the MoneyMaker are able to switch from “subsistence farming” (growing just enough food to feed their families) to farming as a small business. One example is Janet Ondiak, who used to struggle to irrigate a small piece of land with buckets of water. She purchased the Water Wheel and now operates a vegetable farm business with three full-time workers. The WaterWheel, a money maker brand, was developed by a nonprofit organization called ApproTEC, who estimate that the pump has helped create 16,000 new jobs and $30 million per year in profits and wages.

In 1994, the People's Republic of China began a 15-year project to build a dam across the Yangtze River. When completed, the Three Gorges Dam will be the world's largest dam and most powerful hydroelectric power plant, towering 610 feet high and stretching 1.3 miles wide. It will also create a 400-mile reservoir that will flood 19 counties. Those who favor building the dam say that it will provide clean, renewable energy, control natural flooding, and allow big commercial ships to reach China's interior regions. However, critics warn that the project may have negative effects on the local environment and culture. When the dam opens in 2009, over a million people will have been relocated, over a thousand archeological sites will be underwater, and endangered species, such as the baiji dolphin, may be closer to extinction because of changes the dam will cause to the ecosystem.

Citations:
A World Transformed. Map. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Maps, Sept. 2002.
Gleick, P.H. "Dirty Water: Estimated Deaths from Water-Related Diseases 2000-2020." Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security. 15 Aug. 2002 .
“Water-related Disease”. Home page. World Health Organization. 26 Nov. 2003 .
“Access to Safe Water”. DEPweb. The World Bank Group. 1 Dec. 2003 .
Gleick, P.H. "Basic Water Needs." Water International 21 (1996). .
Walton, Marsha. “Frogs, fish and pharmaceuticals a troubling brew”. CNN.com. 14 Nov. 2003. 14 Nov. 2003. .
Stevens, Jane Ellen. “Martin Makes a Middle Class. Stanford grad Martin Fisher has gone low-tech in search of solutions for Kenyan farmers.” San Francisco Chronicle. 8 Dec. 2002. 19 Feb. 2004 .
“Micro-irrigation Technologies.” Home page. ApproTEC. 19 Feb. 2004 .