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Water Facts
Introduction
Whisper Energy is committed to finding solutions related to
conserving water and recycling water in ways that are both beneficial and
economically feasible. We believe that both the Brac Greywater System and
the MicroMedia Reclamation System represent renewable energy systems that meet
these goals and help create solutions related to water issues. Please take a few
minutes of your time and read the information that is shown on our website
related to both systems.
Earth's Hydrologic Cycle
"Water Facts"
There is approximately the same amount of water on Earth today
as there was when the Earth was formed. Water is continually recycled in
the Earth's hydrologic cycle (see diagram above). Nearly 97% of the
world's water is saltwater or otherwise undrinkable. Another 2% is held in
ice caps and glaciers. That leaves just 1% for all of humanity's needs -
agricultural, residential, manufacturing, and community needs.
Water regulates the Earth's temperature. It also
regulates the temperature of the human body, carries nutrients and oxygen to
cells, cushions joints and protects organs and tissues. The human brain is
75% water, human blood is 83% and bones are 25% water. Each day, the sun
evaporates 1,000,000,000,000 (one trillion) tons of water. In a one
hundred year period, an average water molecule spends 98 years in the ocean, 20
months as ice, about two weeks in lakes and rivers, and less than a week in the
atmosphere.
Groundwater can stay polluted for several thousand years.
At least 1 billion people must walk three hours or more to
obtain drinking water. Nearly 2% of U.S. homes have no running water.
In Mexico, 15% of the population must haul or carry water.
Households turn on water faucets an average of 70 times daily.
It is estimated that up to 50% of the water that families use could be saved by
implementing simple conservation methods.
One inch of rain falling on one acre of land is equal to about
27,154 gallons of water. The 250 million U.S. residents living today have
access to about the same amount of water as U.S residents did 200 years ago,
when the population was 4 million.
If the present consumption patterns continue, two out
of every three persons on Earth will live in water-stressed conditions by the
year 2025.
How to help Protect Freshwater:
Conserve: Limit the time you spend
watering the lawn, showering, running the garbage disposal and running faucets.
Fix leaky faucets...one drip a second can waste 2,000 gallons a year. Buy
water-efficient plumbing fixtures. If all plumbing fixtures in the U.S.
were replaced with water conserving fixtures, we could save 3.4 to 8.4 billion
gallons of water per day.
Protect: Water that lands on an
impermeable surface, such as pavement, flows through the watershed to the
nearest body of water and deposits its contaminants. Limit the use of lawn
or commercial fertilizers, and be sure to use only phosphorus-free fertilizers.
Most lawns and farm land have sufficient phosphorus, and when more is added it
runs through the watershed and causes algae growth in surrounding lakes.
Use limited amounts of phosphate cleaners and detergents. Eliminate the
use of drain cleaners. Use recycled products and green
detergents/cleaners.
Learn: Realize that many human
activities affect water quality. Become an educated consumer. Buy
recycled, environmentally friendly products.
Change: Rethink your daily habits and
help reduce water pollution and water use. Help reduce the production of
toxic air pollutants that cause acid rain. Our actions have a widespread
impact on the lasting quality of freshwater resources. We can and must
make a difference.
*Information provided by the U.S. Geological Survey; American
Water Works Association; National Drinking Water Alliance; National Geographic
Society; The Freshwater Society.
Water Facts: The Big Picture
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/world/03/water_popup/html/supply.stm
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