Water is emerging as one of the single most important resources of Planet Earth. Already scarce in some areas, it has become the new “gold” to be bought, traded, coveted, cherished, hoarded, and abused worldwide. It is currently traded on the Stock Exchange…
Part history, part science and part philosophy and spirituality,“Water Is…” combines personal journey with scientific discovery that explores water’s many “identities” and ultimately our own.
Now Margaret Atwood’s choice for books to read in New York Times 2016 ‘Year in Reading’
Some see water as a commodity like everything else that can make them rich; they will claim it as their own to sell. Yet it cannot be “owned” or kept. Ultimately, water will do its job to energize you and give you life then quietly take its leave; it will move mountains particle by particle with a subtle hand; it will paint the world with beauty then return to its fold and rejoice; it will travel through the universe and transform worlds; it will transcend time and space to share and teach.
Water is magic.
Water is you.
I’m a limnologist. I study and help manage water in our environment; its flow, distribution, storage and properties. I look at how water changes the landscape, carving out huge valleys, forming deltas at river mouths, and polishing pebbles smooth on a lakeshore. I investigate the effects of its contamination by toxins, organic pollutants and disrespect. In its solid form, water has scraped out huge swaths of land and formed some of our largest lakes, dropping moraine in places and melt water from ice blocks elsewhere. In its gaseous form, water controls climate and weather.
Water is the most common substance on Earth. Chemically, the water molecule is basically two atoms of hydrogen joined to one of oxygen. Simple. Not so simple.
For something so “simple”, water is pretty complex. Its unique properties make water likely the most important element of our existence and in ways most of us can’t possibly imagine. Without water no life form could exist. Water is a universal solvent. It transports all kinds of things from the sediment of the Nile River to the oxygenated blood cells in your arteries. Water stores energy and heat. It responds to and changes the properties of all manner of things.
While Earth is blessed with copious amounts of water, 97 percent is salty and 2 percent is locked up in snow and ice. That leaves 1 percent for us to drink, bathe, and grow our crops. Less, really, because some of that water is contaminated.
Since dinosaurs quenched their thirst in the soupy marshes of the Triassic Period millions of years ago to the rain falling on your house today, the amount of moisture on Earth hasn’t changed. However, scientists predict that by 2025 1.8 billion people will live where usable water is scarce.
“Water is life,” says author Barbara Kingsolver in an article in the 2010 Water Issue of National Geographic. “It’s the briny broth of our origins, the pounding circulatory system of the world. We stake our civilizations on the coasts and mighty rivers. Our deepest dread is the threat of having too little—or too much.” North Americans use about 100 gallons of water at home every day, yet the world’s poorest subsist on less than 5 gallons, many walking miles to get their water.
One of hour greatest crimes is that we don’t treat water respectfully and with gratitude. It’s free, after all. It’s everywhere, isn’t it?
“Water is the ultimate commons”, says Kingsolver. That lack of respect and gratitude engenders subtle abuse. And that abuse spills into self-abuse. All life is made from 50 to 95 percent water with humans averaging 70 percent. Some scientists now tell us that—although an adult human contains generally two-thirds water—on a molecular level, our water content is closer to 99%.
We are water.
What we do to water we do to ourselves.
Internationally published author, teacher and limnologist Nina Munteanu explores one of the most important substances of Earth.
Nina Munteanu’s “Water Is…” represents the culmination of over twenty-five years of dedication as limnologist and aquatic ecologist in the study of water. As a research scientist and environmental consultant, Nina studied water’s role in energizing and maintaining the biomes, ecosystems, and communities of our precious planet. During her consulting career for industry and government, Nina discovered a great disparity between humanity’s use, appreciation and understanding of water. This set in motion a quest to further explore our most incredible yet largely misunderstood and undervalued substance.
Published by Pixl Press
ISBN: 978-0-9811012-4-8 (print); 978-0-9811012-5-5 (digital)
Trade Paperback/Digital 584p + Index, Bibliography
Published April, 2016
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