 SUBJECT: Water & Forests |
 What's so special about water? It has no color, no taste and no smell. It is one of the simplest chemical substances, made of just three atoms. It appears to be everywhere -- in clouds, oceans, ice and steam.
Water seems common, but you might be surprised to know just how uncommon it really is. As far as we know, Earth is the only planet in our solar system where water exists as a liquid. No living thing -- plant or animal -- can survive without it. In fact, water makes up a large part of most living things. Water covers more than two-thirds of the Earth. About 70 percent of the human body is water. And more than 70 percent of a tree is made up of -- you guessed it -- water! The water on the Earth's surface is mainly found in oceans (more than 97 percent) and frozen polar ice caps and glaciers (about 2 percent). Less than one percent of all the surface water on Earth is fresh water that people can drink. Because water is necessary for life, it's important that we keep it clean. A forest plays a big role in maintaining and improving water quality. Copyright © 1994-2000 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. [Accessed 13 March 2000]. 1 "human body" Encyclopædia Britannica Online. http://members.eb.com/bol/topic?eu=42389&sctn+2 2 "Earth" Encyclopædia Britannica Online. http://members.eb.com/bol/topic?eu=108974&akp;sctn=1 3 Physiology of Woody Plants, 1997, Ch. 12, p. 296 |
 |