Water—Marvelous Gift to Man
By “Awake!” correspondent in the Dominican Republic
WE WERE standing beside a rumbling stream, high in the mountains near Medellín, Colombia, after having traveled all day through a dry section of Córdoba. Our clothes and the car in which we were traveling ran with little rivulets of dust. And so did our throats, it seemed. Rounding a curve in the ascent that would take us over the mountain and down to Medellín, we came upon this stream. Truly, a marvelous gift from man’s Creator!
The Water Cycle
The water of this lovely stream was on the move. Along with the water from other streams from the mountains, valleys, and even underground, from rivers and lakes, it was moving to the sea. There the sun with its powerful rays would raise it as water vapor, removing the salt by simple evaporation.
Every second our sun draws up nearly 15,000,000 tons of sweet water from the salty oceans and other sources. Carried by clouds and air currents over some thirsty landmass, the water vapor is deposited as rainfall, drained off into some river or stream and eventually returns to the sea. Remarkably, the Holy Bible, about 3,000 years ago, described this cycle, saying: “All the winter torrents are going forth to the sea, yet the sea itself is not full. To the place where the winter torrents are going forth, there they are returning so as to go forth.”—Eccl. 1:7.
But water vapor comes not only as the result of the sun’s pumping action upon surfaces of bodies of water. About 85 percent comes from oceans, but plants also contribute water vapor. They take moisture up through their root system and then it passes out through the leaves as vapor. A birch tree may give off some seventy gallons of water daily. And an acre of corn may give off some 4,000 gallons in a day!
Man, His Food and Drink
Jehovah, the Creator, displayed his marvelous wisdom when he made water, and we have every reason to appreciate this gift. Our bodies are from 75 to 90 percent water, the percentage diminishing with age and being a little less in women than in men.
During the average person’s lifetime, he takes in over 15,000 gallons of water. Each day a man takes in about two and a half quarts of water, whether by beverages or in food. Our food is often 60 to 95 percent water by weight. For example, did you know that an apple is 80 percent water, a tomato about 95 percent water and a watermelon 97 percent? Even the driest of foods, baked sunflower seeds, are 5 percent water.
There is plenty of water on the earth, but some areas have much less than others. Water shortages are not uncommon in the Dominican Republic. Some time ago, the front page of a Santo Domingo newspaper eloquently illustrated the problem. It showed a water faucet with a single drop of water falling into a cupped hand. One could easily imagine the situation. A hot, dusty day, with clothes to wash, the house to clean, dinner to prepare, and not a trickle of water from the faucet! However, a study made by technicians of the United Nations and the Organization of American States asserted that the Dominican Republic has sufficient water to satisfy the present and future needs of the country. The problem appears to be in making that water available to all.
Guide for Explorers and Routes of Commerce
Water serves man in so many ways. Explorers have long used rivers as guides. Traveling the Amazon and its 200 tributaries, explorers penetrated the Amazon basin. And until now these waters provide the chief means of transportation in the area.
The Mississippi River made possible the exploration of vast stretches of America, since it forms the trunk of a 14,000-mile inland waterway. The Saint Lawrence waterway carried explorers and settlers into the heartland of the North American continent.
And man has long used waters to transport himself and his goods from one part of the earth to the other, be it by raft, canoe or ocean liner.
An early commercial highway in the history of man was the Euphrates River, navigable by small boats for some 1,200 miles. Modern-day routes of commerce follow such courses as the Mississippi. Made famous by song, this ‘Old man river just keeps rollin’ along’ its 2,470-mile course from northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.
Considered one of the most beautiful rivers in the world is the Rhine. However, if you were one of the many industrialists of the Ruhr area, you would probably be more interested in the fact that this floating highway could carry your products to important Belgian and Dutch ports. From southeast Switzerland it flows 810 miles through Germany and the Netherlands to the North Sea.
Turns the Wheels of Industry
The Creator made the water that has turned the wheels of industry from the days of the watermill to the present hydraulic turbine. Man early recognized the potential energy in enormous waterfalls and in the huge waves that crashed against the coastlines of the world, but he has been limited in his efforts to control that power and turn it to his own use. According to the Encyclopedia Americana (1961 ed., Vol. 29, p. 24), he is using only an “infinitesimal percentage” of what is there. Until now little has been done to utilize the power that results from the action of ocean waves.
Down by the old millstream may have been a romantic meeting place, but it was also the site of the watermill that ground grain into flour. The flat circular millstones connected with a wheel, which was turned by the current of the stream. Less picturesque but more efficient is the hydraulic turbine, which generates power from dammed-up water. This system is used extensively in North America, Europe and Russia.
Two major hydroelectric projects are at present under way in the Dominican Republic. In the central part of the country is being constructed the Tavera complex at an estimated cost of sixty million pesos, while in the south another twenty-two million are being spent on the Valdesia project. Besides providing water for extensive irrigation, it is expected that by 1974 the completion of these projects will make electricity available at reasonable cost in all parts of the Republic.
Earth and Its Water
God made water that we might live on this earth. We need it to live. It also adds enjoyment to life. Have you ever sat by a lake in the cool of the evening and watched the beauty of the setting sun reflected deep in the mirrorlike waters? Have you ever paddled a canoe in a shimmering path of moonlight across a quiet bay? Have you witnessed the breathtaking wonder of a waterfall tumbling down, down over the rocks to plunge into the white foam below? Have you ever listened to the mighty roar of powerful ocean waves pounding against a rocky shore? All of these are included in the Creator’s gift to man.
As we enjoy a cool drink we may not realize that this gift from our Creator is itself unusual. This is because water is the only common substance on our earth that exists naturally in three different forms: as a liquid, a gas (water vapor) and a solid (ice). Unusual too is water in that when it freezes, it expands instead of contracting as almost all other substances do. Thus ice floats on the heavier liquid. If ice did not float, the earth could become a lifeless arctic desert. Eventually all water would become solid ice, with perhaps just a thin layer of water in the summer.
There are some simple organisms that may exist without air, but none can survive without water, since they depend on water to dissolve whatever they feed on. You might be able to live a month or so without food, but without water you could not expect to live more than from five to ten days. It is as simple as that: no water, no life.
Refreshed now by the waters of the tumbling stream, we continued our journey. Our hearts are full of appreciation for the Creator’s wisdom and goodness. Yes, Jehovah certainly displayed these qualities when he gave man the marvelous gift of water.