Source:

04-22-2009 16:39

Water is our lifeline that bathes us and feeds us. In ancient cultures water represented the very essence of life. The Romans were the first to pipe water into their growing cities, especially with their aqueducts. They also realized that sewage water could cause damage to their people, and needed to be removed from large areas of people.

Water is our lifeline that bathes us and feeds us.

Water has played a role not only in the history of countries, but in religion, mythology, and art. Water in many religions cleanses the soul through holy water. For example, the water at Lourdes, France is thought by many religions to be sacred water with healing powers. In Egyptian mythology, the Nu was the beginning of everything and represented water. It brought life to their people, but in drought, produced chaos.

Water has always been perceived as a gift from the gods as it rained from the heavens.

The water or hydrologic cycle explains interactions between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The water or hydrologic cycle is a major driving force on our planet. Water is in constant motion, evaporating into the atmosphere from oceans, lakes, rivers and streams. When the atmosphere can no longer support the moisture within the clouds, we experience rain, snow, hail, or sleet. Some water is locked in the form of ice at the polar caps and in glaciers. Water melts in the spring, producing runoff, that percolates through the Earth as groundwater (subsurface) or makes its way back to the sea (surface). The oceans contain most of the water, but it is salt water which is unusable by most organisms. Only pure H2O (water) can interact with organisms.

The movement of the oceans also has a direct effect on the atmosphere. The atmosphere is that envelope of gas that keeps organisms living on this planet. Oceans and atmosphere interact to give us weather.

Water provides the Earth with the capacity of supporting life. An organism doesn’t have to be told how important water is to their existence. An amphibian knows to lay their eggs in water or else there will be no new born. Even flies know to lay their eggs in fresh water.

The only organism that doesn’t understand the importance of water is humans, especially in industrialized countries. Children in those societies turn on the water in a sink and never think about the trouble someone has gone for that "miracle" to occur.

 

Editor:Yang Jie