Planet Watch - Environmental News

Clean Water is essential to our survival. Yet we have not been effective stewards of this critical natural resource. Water is a fundamental part of our lives and every process in our body occurs in a water medium. It has been ranked by experts as second only to oxygen as essential for life since we can only survive for a few days without water.

The average adult body is 55 to 75% water or 2/3 of your body weight (40 to 50 quarts). A human embryo is more than 80% water and a newborn baby is 74% water. In addition, your body must replace 2 1/2 quarts of water on average everyday.

We need lots of fresh water to stay healthy and since such a large percentage of our bodies is water, water obviously figures heavily in how our bodies function. Water is our body's principal chemical component. Every system in ones body depends on water to function properly, Aside from aiding in digestion and absorption of food, water regulates body temperature and blood circulation, carries nutrients and oxygen to cells, and removes toxins and other wastes. This "body water" also cushions joints and protects tissues and organs, including the spinal cord, from shock and damage.

Clean water of a balanced PH is critical not just to our health but to life as we know it.

Water and Our Earth - Water is critical to our food production and the proper functioning of most of the eco systems that life depends on here on planet earth. In this section we will explore the issues around our threatened water supplies and what is being done to protect and conserve our fresh water supplies. We also look at the health of our oceans and other aquatic eco systems that are essential to the health of our biosphere.

Protecting Our Water

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Written by Elma Parker Monday, 06 October 2008 11:35

Water is vital to people's health and livelihoods. And yet, in Canada, there is no national strategy to address urgent water issues, and no federal leadership to conserve and protect our water. The Canadian federal water policy is over 20 years old and badly outdated leaving our freshwater to face crises including contamination, shortages and pressures to export to the United States.

In April, 2007, the Council of Canadians obtained a leaked document produced by a Washington think tank, revealing that business and government leaders in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico are actively discussing bulk water exports.