Potable Water
Earth is comprised of about 70% water, the lifeblood of this planet and all those living upon it. Water is naturally
recycled and purified via the water cycle. As the sun drives winds and heats the ground, waters of the earth, all her
inhabitants, surface waters and some ground waters are evaporated and transpired into the air as humidity or fog. When water vapors in the air
increase until the dew point or maximum level of saturation (i.e., humidity) is reached, it either rains or condenses
on cool surfaces, or in the upper atmosphere, later falling to the earth as precipitation in the form of rain, sleet, hail
or snow.
Although we are blessed with such a vast amount of water on this planet, most of it is in the form of sea water. Of the 2.5% fresh water on earth, two thirds is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps, while roughly 0.3% is in the form of surface water such as lakes, ponds, rivers and streams. What little freshwater remains is available in the air and atmosphere as fog or humidity, or is found underground via wells, springs and other groundwater sources. Despite such an apparent lack of fresh water, with some simple water conservation and recycling practices, we can save up to 95% of the water we currently use. Nearly if not all water sources can also be collected, filtered, purified and stored to provide a potable water supply. Clean drinking water can even be obtained from seawater, with the added bonus of sea salt as a bi-product of seawater desalination.
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