| water facts |
- The average North American uses more than 265 litres of water a
day.
- Each second, 16,256,000 metric tonnes of rain fall to the earth.
- Water is the only substance that can exist as solid, liquid and
gas in the average range of the earth's temperatures.
- More than twothirds of the world's fresh water is frozen - in glaciers
and polar ice.
- If all the water on the earth and in the atmosphere were poured
into Canada, it would for a pool 145 km deep.
- Water covers 3/4 of the earth's surface but less than 1% of it is
usable fresh water.
- In Canada, 7.9 million people, or 26% of the population, rely on
groundwater for domestic use. Approximately two thirds, or five million,
of these users live in rural areas.
- The earth receives no new supply of water; nature endlessly recycles
it.
- Through erosion, water moves billions of tonnes of top soil annually.
- If all existing water could be spread evenly over a smooth sphere
the size of the earth, it would cover the globe to a depth of almost
3 kilometres.
- More than 97% of all water is salty and in the oceans. Less than
3% is fresh and most of that is in the ice caps and glaciers. Less
than 1% is in lakes, streams and underground aquifers. An aquifers
is an underground formation of permeable rock or loose material which
can produce useful quantities of water when tapped by a well.
- Nearly 1/2 of the earth's river water is in the Amazon river basion.
- Lake Baikal in Siberia contains about 20% of the earth's usable
fresh water and the Great Lakes contain anouther 20%.
- A family of 4 uses about 1,230,000 litres of water annually.
- The ear of corn needs 98 litres of water to grow, a cow needs 11 litres of water to make 4 litres of milk, a fast food meal (soft drink, burger and fries) uses 5,300 litres and it takes about 147,631 litres to make a car.
| © 2005 Earthcare Connections |