Water Resources
Water is singly the most important element to the world as a whole. It is the lifeblood of the environment, essential to the survival of all living things whether it is a plant, an animal or humans (Environment Canada, 1996). It is a powerful resource that we cannot afford to live without, so we must do everything possible to maintain its quality and the life inside it for today and the future. It creates, sustains and has the ability to take life. However, we as humans have lost respect for the basic element to our existence. We dump sewage, chemicals and garbage into our own water and, exploit the fish and animals living in the waters almost or to the point of extinction. We pollute and ravage the oceans without any regard for what the outcome to our ecosystem could and will be if it continues. As humans, we are primarily composed of water. Our blood, which is our means of transporting food and waste, and also regulates our temperature, is made up of 83 percent water. It is an unquestionable fact that we need water, just like everything else that exists on this planet. Water's harmless and pure nature creates and sustains life but when exploited for commercial uses it becomes damaged by pollution and the ecosystems inside it ar
The pollution of our fresh water resources is an environmental disaster that will affect humans greatly. Inside the boundaries of Canada, we hold approximately 9 percent of the world's renewable freshwater supply and 20 percent of the world's total freshwater resources, including waters captured in glaciers and the polar ice caps (Environment Canada, 1996), and possess more lakes and inland waters than any other country in the world (Microsoft Encarta, 2000), meaning that we, as a nation, are being targeted to sell our water to the rest of the world. The scary thing about this is that under the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and North American Free Trade Agreement, Canada's resources, including water, can be bought by U.S. companies to be sold to the rest of the world. Our water, in Canada, however will not be of any use to anyone in the world though if it continues to be polluted. Water is a beautiful thing that needs to be respected. It is not simply something we can turn a blind eye to. It offers home to millions of outstanding and breathtaking animals and plants that will eventually be destroyed if more action to control the pollution is not taken. As stated before, we need water, it is absolutely essential to the existence of any and all life on the planet. It is what is in a glass, a sink, and a river. A refreshing drink, a cleansing wash, an invigorating swim, a home for plants, insects, fish, birds and mammals. All this depends on the quality of water. Water is the lifeblood of the earth. (Environmental Canada, 1996) Another major disaster that is very negatively affecting the oceans of the world is the destruction of the world's coral reefs. Scientists are saying that more than a quarter of the world's coral reefs have been destroyed by pollution and that the remaining reefs may be dead in 20 years if the pollution continues (mcbi.org). These reefs, that have been alive and thriving in the oceans for up to 2.5 million years, are an underwater ecosystem that we cannot afford to live without. These reefs are homes to hundreds of different sea animals and plants and also the destruction of the reefs would not only be a major blow to the environment but also the livelihood of half a billion people who rely on the reefs for food and income. Eutrophication is the progressive over fertilization of water, in which festering masses of algae bloom, choking rivers and lakes. When chemicals like nitrogen and phosphorus (the main components of fertilizer and human waste when broken down) are introduced in increased amounts by dumping, they have a cascading effect on the ecosystem that lives underwater. Phytoplankton multiply explosively with the increased amount of fertilizer and waste turning the water from a crystal clear (little phytoplankton = clear water) to shades of green, brown and red (many phytoplankton = colour change because of colours of plankton). (Nixon, 1998) Our water resources are of such a great importance because water itself is responsible for so many things in life that it would be absolutely impossible to continue on without it. Firstly, water is such a unique substance because it is the only substance that occurs at ordinary temperatures in all three states of matter (solid, liquid, and gas). As a solid it is found as glaciers and ice caps, on water surfaces in winter, as snow, hail, and frost, and as clouds formed of ice crystals. It occurs in the liquid state as rain clouds formed of water droplets, and on vegetation as dew. Water also covers three-quarters of the surface of the earth in the form of swamps, lakes, rivers, and oceans. As a gas, or water vapor, it occurs as fog, steam, and clouds. Other reasons why water is of such importance to us is because of its use as the "universal solvent." Water is referred to as the universal solvent because of its ability to form a hydration shell around other molecules. By forming this shell around molecules other than water it prevents the other mol
Some common words found in the essay are:
Environment Canada, Microsoft Encarta, Fishermen We've, Agreement Canada's, Environmental Canada, Oceans Canada, , Zeke Grader, water pollution, fresh water, canada 1996, microsoft encarta 2000, water resources, water water, commercial fishing, fishing companies, coral reefs, microsoft encarta, precipitation stage, Free Trade, Fisheries Oceans, world's coral reefs, polar ice caps, glaciers polar ice, rivers lakes oceans,
Approximate Word count = 2677
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)
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