WATER

The average human can go three weeks without food, some a few days more and some a few days less (you know who you are in both cases) but we can only last around three days if we are deprived of water. And this makes sense as our bodies are a little more than 60% water. It’s the lubricant that keeps us running, much the same way oil is needed to keep a motor going.

And what happens to a motor if you undo the drain plug while it’s running. It won’t take long for it to seize up, while making a dreadful screeching sound as it does, and then smoke and flames will pour from every opening before finally coming to an explosive end. You on the other hand would just curl up and die with barely a whimper. Just thinking about this is making me thirsty.

All life on this planet needs water to survive, and most creatures are like us in that they are made up of a great deal of water. In fact we have no proof that life can exist anywhere in the Universe without it. Doesn’t mean it can’t, just that we cannot prove otherwise. Unfortunately there is not as much drinkable water around as you might think. The oceans cover a little over 70% of the Earth’s surface (which is why Earth appears blue from outer space) and unfortunately as the Polar Regions melt, this percentage is increasing every year. In turn the oceans contain 95% of the water on the Earth, leaving lakes, rivers, aquafers and the like to provide the 5% of the water that is considered fresh and potable. And this amount is shrinking as we think up new ways to pollute the water we can drink.

The amount of water we do have on Earth has remained constant for millions of years but the number of people on the planet who need it to live, has grown exponentially. As a corollary even though we have shrunk (read slaughtered to the point of extinction) the numbers of many of the other animals who roam the planet; we are the only species who can make water undrinkable.

One possibility is the desalinization of salt water. We are getting better at it but this is an ongoing process. And it’s expensive and consumes a lot of energy. As a note the average American uses 90 gallons of water a day, and the average usage in Saudi Arabia is surprisingly much higher. If we aren’t careful we may all soon be ancient mariners with water everywhere but none fit to drink.

And we still haven’t gotten into what makes water so remarkable. How can two atoms of Hydrogen mixed with one of Oxygen be so versatile? It’s the ability of water to be so, well fluid. It can easily transition from gas to liquid to solid and can be found in all three states on our planet. When water freezes it expands in density allowing for it to float on top of other water. No other liquid does this and we would have a much more difficult transition from winter to spring if the ice was at the bottom. Water allows other substances to dissolve in it. It has high surface tension and a lot of other one of a kind traits because of hydrogen bonding. But this is the end of the chemistry lesson.

One final thought, in 1995 Ismail Serageldin said, “If the wars of this century were fought over oil, the wars of the next century will be fought over water.” If we continue to treat our most precious commodity (after air of course) the way we have been, there is every possibility Mr. Serageldin will be hailed as a visionary Casandra instead of having shown us an avoidable future.