Water, our planet and us
Yvonne Yates
Director of School Services, KLRN
There are about 326,000,000,000,000,000,000 gallons of water that can be found on our planet. This water evaporates from the ocean, travels through the air, rains down and then flows back to the ocean. About 70 percent of the planet is covered with oceans.
According to an article from How Stuff Works, ninety-eight percent of the water on the planet is in the oceans, and therefore is unable to be used for drinking because of the salt. About 2 percent of Earth’s water is fresh, but 1.6 percent of the planet's water is locked up in the polar ice caps and glaciers. Another 0.36 percent is found underground in aquifers and wells. Only about 0.036 percent of the planet's total water supply is found in lakes and rivers. That's still thousands of trillions of gallons, but it's a very small amount compared to all the water available.
It is a chilling thought to think about the amount of drinkable water that makes up our earth. Benjamin Franklin said that “when the well is dry, we know the worth of water.”
As spring approaches, my mind drifts to thoughts of lunch by the river, Earth Day (April 22nd), and Fiesta San Antonio (April 19-29th). All three of my day dreams have a link to the conservation of water and natural resources. In 2010 Fiesta San Antonio starting to make strides to make Fiesta GREEN. Our wonderful Riverwalk expanded, and went through a growth spurt in 2011 to extend to The Pearl. Talk to your students about the importance of water and what they can do to help conserve water. It is up the educators of our community to not only teach the core subject but also civic and social awareness to students. Visit SAWS Education Website and check out the resources that PBS has to offer. Don’t forget to get your free KLRN Connect account today, too.
