Water Resources and Environmental Problems

What is water? Water is a form of molecule that is consisted of two hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom. Seen from outer space, the world we live in looks almost like a globe of water. Every living organism needs water for its survival. Without water, plants, animals, humans, microbes and everything will perish. Do you know why water is very important to us?

Our body is composed of about 75% of water. Thus, we are literally walking with bags of water. Water allows our blood to flow through the blood vessels and thus supplying our body with various nutrients. It also allows waste matter to be eliminated from our body via the excretory system as waste matter is toxic to our body. Besides that, water also plays a critical role in controlling our body temperature and ensures that the temperature neither drop nor increase or we will be under weather. Everyday we drink glasses of this precious transparent liquid just to relieve thirst. Water is certainly vital to our life.

Water is not only important for the needs of our body. About two thirds of the total surface of the earth is covered with water. Our main source of water is the bountiful skyjuice. Rivers, lakes, seas and oceans have always been our major means of travel. People often use boats and ships to cross the waterways easily to another destination. Before the advent of roads and railways, rivers and other waterways were highways linking people and places. From the cradle of civilization, man has depended on water.

Another importance of water is that we use water to do almost all daily activities such as cooking, bathing, washing and others. Green plants also need water for photosynthesis process which is important to maintain the equilibrium of an ecosystem. Apart from that, water has become an important resource in industries like textile dipping industry, canning industry and food processing industry. Nowadays, hydropower uses water to generate electricity. Hydroelectric power comes from water driving a water turbine connected to a generator. It is a low cost, non-polluting and renewable energy source.

Earth’s water is filled with life. Rivers, lakes, seas and oceans have become the habitat of various kinds of fishes. Nearly all fishes live exclusively in water, and there are many types of marine mammals such as dolphins and whales that also live in water. Plants like plankton and algae grow in the water and are the basis for some underwater ecosystems. Nowadays, fishes have become our major source of food. They provide us an abundant of protein.

However, water pollution has become a serious problem in the world we live in today. It is a hard nut to crack. Our crystal-clear water nowadays has become more and more polluted. Most of our rivers and lakes today are extremely polluted. Piles of rubbish and toxic waste from factories and industrial plants can be found in these dirty rivers and lakes. It is done by irresponsible people who think that rivers and lakes are the suitable dumping ground. As a result, many fishes die from diseases. Polluted water can be a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes and flies. What more if we use the rivers and lakes as our main source of water. Besides that, oil spilling on the seas and oceans is another serious environmental problem. Thick layer of oil formed on the water surface blocks the sunlight and oxygen from reaching underwater. As a result, many aquatic life die from suffocation.

In the nut shell, as long as there is life on this planet, water will be here. Without water, life as we know it is impossible. Thus, it is important for us to know how precious water is. We ought not to waste it or pollute it by any means. Wasteful habits must cease and reckless development has to be controlled in the nick of time. As saying goes, “prevention is better than cure”. As civic-minded and responsible people, we should always keep our water as clean as a new pin and put an end to the undesirable environmental problems as we know that water is just too precious.