Why is Water SO Important?
Water is an important and essential way of life. If we did not have water on earth, there would be nothing; no living thing can survive without water. There are a multitude of properties and functions of water that make it important. The properties and or functions of water from least important to most important are the cohesion/surface tension, viscosity, and transportation of nutrients, high heat capacity, and the water cycle.
Water is very cohesive and adhesive. It can stick with like substances or unlike substances. The hydrogen bonds give Water enough of a polarity to be cohesive. This expands the capillarity of the water, increasing the ability for water to seep through the pores of paper and the fine grains of soil. This is important because this is how water is dispersed throughout the world. This also explains why water and oil do not mix.
Water is very “flexible.” It can shape to any container it is put in; this is called viscosity. The ability to shape to anything around you is an adaptive force. Water is easily adaptable to any container it is put in or any such thing to be stored. This is important because water is so vital to our universe, that easy access to water and ways of storing water benefits the world greatly.
Water helps transport nutrients throughout your body. 70% of your body is made of water. The accessibility that water has to your body’s nutrients and organs is vital to your health. This constant flow of water throughout your body carries nutrients to where they need to be. This is important because it is vital to your health. If one did not receive the correct nutrients because something in his or her body was acting up, he or she would get very sick or even die.
Water has a high specific heat. This means that it takes more energy (more calories) to heat up water than it does to do anything else with it. This is the only liquid with a range of 0 degrees Celsius to 100 degrees Celsius in freezing and boiling temperatures. It takes the same amount of heat and energy to freeze water as it does to boil water or evaporate it. This is important because our world is made up of mostly water. Some areas are colder and some areas are warmer; depending where you are in consideration to the equator. Having temperatures drastically changing can be easier for scientists to find solutions to the problem with global warming. Having temperatures change drastically all the time can cause serious problems in the world dealing with nature and natural disasters.
The most important function of water is the water cycle. Without the water cycle, the earth would not get sufficient nutrients and water to sustain life on earth. The process of precipitation, evaporation, and condensation over and over completes a never ending “circle of life” for inhabitants on earth. The precipitation can lead to run off in lakes and rivers or oceans, which spreads more nutrients to the organisms in those areas. It feeds the trees and plants, a hydration they need constantly to stay alive, which keeps humans alive.
Overall, water is a very important thing to inhabitants of the universe. It controls all life. If it were taken away, there would be no life left. Water is something that everyone depends on and it is not just because of these five physical properties and functions that people need water. There are many more, but these are some of the very important ones.
Water is very cohesive and adhesive. It can stick with like substances or unlike substances. The hydrogen bonds give Water enough of a polarity to be cohesive. This expands the capillarity of the water, increasing the ability for water to seep through the pores of paper and the fine grains of soil. This is important because this is how water is dispersed throughout the world. This also explains why water and oil do not mix.
Water is very “flexible.” It can shape to any container it is put in; this is called viscosity. The ability to shape to anything around you is an adaptive force. Water is easily adaptable to any container it is put in or any such thing to be stored. This is important because water is so vital to our universe, that easy access to water and ways of storing water benefits the world greatly.
Water helps transport nutrients throughout your body. 70% of your body is made of water. The accessibility that water has to your body’s nutrients and organs is vital to your health. This constant flow of water throughout your body carries nutrients to where they need to be. This is important because it is vital to your health. If one did not receive the correct nutrients because something in his or her body was acting up, he or she would get very sick or even die.
Water has a high specific heat. This means that it takes more energy (more calories) to heat up water than it does to do anything else with it. This is the only liquid with a range of 0 degrees Celsius to 100 degrees Celsius in freezing and boiling temperatures. It takes the same amount of heat and energy to freeze water as it does to boil water or evaporate it. This is important because our world is made up of mostly water. Some areas are colder and some areas are warmer; depending where you are in consideration to the equator. Having temperatures drastically changing can be easier for scientists to find solutions to the problem with global warming. Having temperatures change drastically all the time can cause serious problems in the world dealing with nature and natural disasters.
The most important function of water is the water cycle. Without the water cycle, the earth would not get sufficient nutrients and water to sustain life on earth. The process of precipitation, evaporation, and condensation over and over completes a never ending “circle of life” for inhabitants on earth. The precipitation can lead to run off in lakes and rivers or oceans, which spreads more nutrients to the organisms in those areas. It feeds the trees and plants, a hydration they need constantly to stay alive, which keeps humans alive.
Overall, water is a very important thing to inhabitants of the universe. It controls all life. If it were taken away, there would be no life left. Water is something that everyone depends on and it is not just because of these five physical properties and functions that people need water. There are many more, but these are some of the very important ones.
Colorado River Basin Importance
The graph shows the depletion of the volume of the Colorado River Basin through the years. If it keeps following this trend, the river will dry up. If not for the fish and hundreds of other species that rely on the river, we should care because the Colorado flows through all of us. Many of us use it in our showers and pools, and in the fountains and green parks that our children play in. It is real estate (equity plummets with water levels). It is our wallets: a collective $26 billion per year from the recreation economy, and 250,000 sustainable jobs. It is our livelihoods: I have friends who depend on the river for their work as boatmen, fishing guides, defenders of water rights, teachers, photographers, hay growers, farmers, and realtors. We eat the river in cheese and beef and vegetables, products that are made from water from the Colorado and then shipped all over the world. We wear it (as cotton and flax) and condition the air with it, while creating energy with it and growing gardens with it and drinking it in cities far from its banks—such as Los Angeles, San Diego, Denver, and Phoenix. The river winds through the Rocky Mountain, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, and Grand Canyon national parks. We hike along it, swim in it, and skip stones in it. "Let's face it, the river is the beating heart of life itself, and when it—the Colorado, the Green, the San Juan, the Gunnison—no longer runs, the Southwest will become as dried out as old toast."
Ways that we can conserve this water is by watching how much water we use/consume, consider other options for water source, and put a limit to how many crops can be planted. If we are cautious of how much water we use, it will save a significant amount of water each year. This can be beneficial to society because this conserves the water in the basin and creates a less likely chance of it drying up. Another thing that could help conserve the water is considering other options for a water source. If we always use the Colorado River Basin, it is sure to dry up, especially with how many people rely on it. If there could be another basin or river, anything that we could use as well as the basin to balance our usage of it. This would probably go unnoticed under people's noses, but if they found out, they would most likely be mad, or go along with it. If people found out that there was a shortage in water, they would obligingly switch water sources to save the one that they have been using for years. Another thing that could help conserve the basin is limiting the amount of crops we plant. Plants are hungry devils that absorb all the water. Yes, they need it to grow to help us sustain our lives by providing us food, but we need water as well. If farmers worked together and limited the amount of crops they planted each year, they would save buckets of water.
Ways that we can conserve this water is by watching how much water we use/consume, consider other options for water source, and put a limit to how many crops can be planted. If we are cautious of how much water we use, it will save a significant amount of water each year. This can be beneficial to society because this conserves the water in the basin and creates a less likely chance of it drying up. Another thing that could help conserve the water is considering other options for a water source. If we always use the Colorado River Basin, it is sure to dry up, especially with how many people rely on it. If there could be another basin or river, anything that we could use as well as the basin to balance our usage of it. This would probably go unnoticed under people's noses, but if they found out, they would most likely be mad, or go along with it. If people found out that there was a shortage in water, they would obligingly switch water sources to save the one that they have been using for years. Another thing that could help conserve the basin is limiting the amount of crops we plant. Plants are hungry devils that absorb all the water. Yes, they need it to grow to help us sustain our lives by providing us food, but we need water as well. If farmers worked together and limited the amount of crops they planted each year, they would save buckets of water.
Sources:
http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2014/world/colorado-river-basin-groundwater-disappearing-much-faster-lake-mead/
http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/us-mexico-decline-colorado-river#axzz3I46v1UiV
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/americannile/
http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2014/world/colorado-river-basin-groundwater-disappearing-much-faster-lake-mead/
http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/us-mexico-decline-colorado-river#axzz3I46v1UiV
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/americannile/