April 12, 2015
A column that connects children to their roots. Unknowingly, we are rapidly depleting fresh water, this rich natural resource.
Water forms the basis of life. File photo: S. James
April 12, 2015
A column that connects children to their roots. Unknowingly, we are rapidly depleting fresh water, this rich natural resource.
Water forms the basis of life. File photo: S. James
For the next few weeks, we will get to know about something which is precious; which forms the basis of life; and something which all of us have taken for granted – And that something is WATER.
We can live without food for even a week but without water we would die in a couple of days. All living things including plants and animals require this precious liquid.
You must have read in many newspaper articles that scientists are looking for evidence of water in other planets. Because if there is water, then the planet could support human life.
But did you know that water is fast depleting?
Many times in school or at home we tend to simply turn the water on and forget to close it. Unknowingly, we are rapidly depleting this rich natural resource which could potentially have dire impact on our planet.
Water is also used to clean our bodies and homes, and to produce electricity.
The website of the World water council mentions that human population is growing at the rate of 40 to 50 percent. This could directly put more pressure on the shrinking supply of fresh water. The development and concrete structures mean disappearance of green cover – which in turn makes the Earth hotter and cause water in lakes and rivers to evaporate faster. Water is mainly classified into three groups, surface water (wells, ponds, rivers and lakes), ground water (which can be sourced by digging wells and borewells) and salt water (which is the sea).
In fact sea water is the largest available source of water on the planet which if properly utilized can effectively take care of the population needs but the desalinization process (removing the salt from it) is expensive that it is rarely used.
The availability of fresh water is an important social issue. Water does not belong to any single individual, state or nation. It belongs to nature. It is an elixir that nature has given mankind and to all living things on this planet.
Judicious use and conservation are the prime tasks on hand.
Courtesy: The Hindu
