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Our team’s assignment was to learn about our water supply.
Earth seems to have plenty of water. But 97 percent of that water
is salt water. Another 2 percent of the world’s water is frozen. That
leaves just 1 percent as fresh water. The good news is that 1 percent
should be enough for everyone. The bad news is that it’s not spread
equally around the world. Some places have a lot of fresh water,
but others do not.
Tamiko brought some information to our first meeting. She
said we use 35 times more water today than people did 300 years
ago. The human population has grown, and so have the ways we
use water.
Jorge looked surprised and asked, “Will we ever run out of water?”
Keira was sure the answer was no. She reminded us about the water
cycle. She said, “The amount of water on Earth doesn’t get used up.
It gets recycled.”
But David wondered if the amount of water we need will grow
larger than the amount we have. That made all of us realize how
important it is to take care of the water we have. Tamiko summed it
up this way. “Water is one of the most valuable natural resources on
Earth! We have to take care of it. If we make our water too dirty
to use, or if we use our water faster than it is replaced, we could
be in a lot of trouble.”
At the end of the meeting, each
of us chose something to investigate
about our water supply. We agreed
we had a lot to learn.
WATER:
A Vital Resource
by Keira, David, Tamiko, and Jorge
Water is a renewable
resource, but it is not
unlimited.
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