water

= Water =

Water is a basic necessity of life. Water is needed by every living organism to survive. Without water, there would be no plants, no animals, no earth. Humans and other organisms depend on water for a home, for drinking, or for a food source. Fish and other aquatic animals and plants use oceans and rivers for a natural home. While humans and other animals use lakes or rivers for drinking. Also, animals such as bears and even humans use rivers and oceans as a food source by catching and eating fish.

= Water in the Past =

In the past, water was just as, if not more important than it is now. Back in BCE (before common era) most civilizations had cities within 70 km of the shore. They did this because the shore was very important to their success and survival. Sailing was the most effective way of transportation and trade was key to ancient civilizations. With a lower population then now, drinkable water was not a concern.

= = = Habitat =

Many animals depend on water for their homes. Many fish, and even some mammals make oceans and other bodies of water their home. They depend on these bodies of water for all their basic needs and water is where they are found. In these bodies of water, animals have a steady food source, a place to live and breed, and protection. Plants also make water their home. Many marine plants have a source of light in the water, and provide a food sourse for many fish and mammals.

= Drinkable Water =

Less then one percent of the worlds water is drinkable. ninety-seven percent is salty or undrinkable and another two percent is frozen. This does not leave us a lot of water that is drinkable. Studies show that as the human population rises, the amount of drinkable water decreases. It will take many years, but the amount of drinkable water will eventually be unable to keep the human population hydrated. The world depends on that water to keep the human race alive, so the lack of drinkable water could create complications in the future. 

= The Water Cycle =

The water cycle is a cycle that is occurs in nature and is never ending. The water cycle is made up of three parts. Evaporation, condensation and precipitation. Evaporation is the process in which water is heated and converted into a gas where it then rises into the atmosphere. As water then mixes with the air it forms water vapour. This water vapor then turns into clouds when the air cools. This is called condensation. Most water is returned to the earth in the form of rain. This process is called precipitation. The water cycle then continues and repeats itself over and over. The water cycle is a way of keeping water on earth. For example, if there was no precipitation or condensation, then water would simply evaporate, leaving no water left on earth, but since it is returned to earth, there is always enough water on earth.

= Water on Earth =

Water is almost everywhere. It is found in the form of rain, snow and other forms of weather. The human body is also mostly made up of water. Water also covers most of our planet. There is no doubt that water is a big factor in our lives = = = The Aral Sea =

The people living around the Aral Sea in rural Uzbekistan are among the poorest people in Central Asia. The shrinking of the Aral Sea has devasted fishing in the area. Evaporation of the sea has led to sand that contains high levels of salt, which can lead to health problems. During the 1980s the inflow was only 10 percent of what it was in the 1950s. The loss of inflow, combined with evaporation and little rainfall, caused the shoreline to recede, and in 1987 the sea's southern and northern parts separated, although they are still connected at times by a channel. By 1996 the fourth largest lake in the world covering 68 000 square kilometers decreased by 57 percent. This was due to several different reasons and created a large disaster in nature. The Aral sea is located in central Asia, Uzbekistan and has been shrinking severely since the 1960’s. This began once the Soviet Union created their irrigation project. They attempted to irrigate the surrounding dessert. In order to do such they need to divert the two rivers that fed into the sea. These were named Amu Darya and the Syr Darya. Their reasoning for doing such was to grow rice, melons, cereals and cotton. The cotton succeeded and Uzbekistan now consists of one of the largest exports for cotton. While creating this irrigation method, this system resulted in a large decrease of water in the Aral sea. This caused many problems. First of all the fishing industry decreased as the fish were dying of. Also toxins created by the farmers who surrounded the sea were previously absorbed in the sea, now that there is a shortage of water, the toxins are floating into the air .If the Aral sea were to dry up completely approximately 15 billions of tons of salt will be left behind. The really big problem about the Aral Sea disaster is that it can't be prevented. The only way to stop it is for Uzbekistan to stop producing cotton, but it can't because its economy depends on it. One thing they could do to slow the process down is at least close the canals' tops because before the water gets to the fields, about half of it evaporates.

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The amount of drinkable water decreases as the human population increases. In the future, it may get to a point where there is no drinkable water left for humans and animals. About 1 percent of the world’s water is drinkable. That is not a lot of water to survive on. It may last for now, but it will not last forever. Water covers most of the earth and makes up a large part of our life. Water is one of the most important substances in the whole world. Some other ones are the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle and photosynthesis.

= = = A shared responsibility = = = In Canada, the responsibility for making sure drinking water supplies are safe is shared between the provincial, territorial, federal and municipal governments. The day-to-day responsibility of providing safe drinking water to the public generally rests with the provinces and territories, while municipalities usually oversee the day to day operations of the treatment facilities. Health Canada's Water Quality and Health Bureau play a leadership role in science and research. Its mandate and expertise lies in protecting the health of all Canadians by developing the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality in partnership with the provinces and territories. These guidelines are used by every jurisdiction in Canada and are the basis for establishing drinking water quality requirements for all Canadians.

= = = Water movement : = = = Water is always moving. There are many factors involved in the movement of water. Wind, temperature, gravity, etc. effect the movement of water. Wind affects water because the wind and temperatures can make waves. With waves being made, many things can happen. Waves promote the exchange of gases, carbon dioxide into the oceans and oxygen out. Nutrients are also cycled and re-used. The ocean currents also affect the temperature on land, if the ocean was not moving and transferring energy, then the global temperatures would slightly drop. Currents can carry species from one spot of a body of water to another, mostly during storms. Waves also promote biodiversity, if there was not waves coming in and then going back out, there would not be as many species in the ocean. Groundwater is water that has penetrated the soil or bedrock and moves through rocks that have a high pore space.