Water in our world

Water covers 75% of the earth's surface. Nearly 98% of the earth's water is in the oceans. Fresh water makes up less than 3% of water on earth, over two thirds of this is tied up in polar ice caps and glaciers. Fresh water lakes and rivers make up only 0.009% of water on Earth and ground water makes up 0.28%. It makes up 60 to 70% by weight of all living organisms - and the viability of all life on earth is determined chiefly by the presence of water.

AND YET........ we seem to overlook its value in our lives. Below are links to three articles that present different perspectives to the water issue.

Water Scarcity Could Affect Billions: Is This the Biggest Crisis of All? Glug-glug..Not normally a sound of foreboding. But mankind's most serious challenge in the 21st century might not be war or hunger or disease or even the collapse of civic order, a UN report says it may be the lack of fresh water.

The politics of water Water is the most valuable resource in the Middle East, more precious even than oil. Scarcity of water has contributed to regional tensions and is an aggravating factor in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Cholera and the Age of the Water Barons: The explosive growth of three private water utility companies in the last 10 years raises fears that mankind may be losing control of its most vital resource to a handful of monopolistic corporations. In Europe and North America, analysts predict that within the next 15 years these companies will control 65 percent to 75 percent of what are now public waterworks. The companies have worked closely with the World Bank and other international financial institutions to gain a foothold on every continent. Critics fear that they plan to control the world's water resources and drive up prices even as the gap between rich and poor widens.