Ground Water: 5 Important FiguresFebruary 12, 2015

As Ground Water Awareness Week (March 6-14) is drawing close, it will be timely to look at ground water. Why is it so important? Does it influence a change in weather pattern? Will the world be in a worse place if there's lack of it? Here are five figures to help you answer these questions:

69% of fresh water is found in ice and glaciers. Ground water can be purified and recycled. This is the water that living things depend on. It's not surprising that over two third of the world's fresh water supply is found in ice and glaciers. And they are melting at an alarming rate. This is not good, as it forces arctic mammals to get out of their habitat and seek other places. It might not be cold, which won't be good for them. It also affects the aquatic animals, on which polar bears and other cold-blood vertebrates feed on. All of these can affect us.

Ground water provides 20% of water used in Australia each year. We shouldn't be worried about the low figure, as much of the landscape is arid. If you think about it, we are quite fortunate to have that much ground water. Keep in mind that this water acts as a lubricant, which influences the faults (beneath the Earth's crust). Although we have better water management, we have no control of the other factors. The ground water in other parts of the world - and how other people use it - can influence us. Perhaps there must be some kind of cooperation between nations.

99% of salt water is found in the sea. Kevin Costner's "Waterworld" is considered a box-office bomb. But some see something else. This is Hollywood's depiction of a post-apocalyptic world, when all that were left were a few islands. It may seem not good for the human race, but the ancient Greeks have shown that sea water is drinkable. There have been many ways of purifying sea water, with technology making it easier. But they are costly to do. Inhabitants of more economically developed countries (MEDC) can afford it. Alas, they don't represent the majority of the world population.

Fresh lakes provide 87% of the world's freshwater. This figure is encouraging, but only for those who are living near the African Great Lakes and the North American Great Lakes. This is an interesting study, as the climate would play a part in the "maintenance" of this body of water. Pollution is another factor. The presence (or lack) of communities too. All of these may change everything we know about these lakes.

Rivers represent less than 1% of the world's ground water. Don't be misled by this figure. In fact, the history of a river provides an accurate information on a particular environment. The changes can be found (and analysed) in the riverbed. The flow of water also change the movements of animals - and humans. So ground water from this source is very precious.

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