Water

Water is the most important liquid in the world. Without water, there would be no life, at least not the way we know it. This source of life makes up about three quarters of the human body. Water contains various minerals - some good for your health, others less so. Explore the different ingredients of bottled waters. Some 70% of the earth is covered with water. But nearly all is unavailable for human consumption without being processed first. The oceans make up for 97% and the polar ice shields hold another 2%. Only about 1% is soft water from lakes rives and underground sources, but even from that tiny amount an increasing part is unsafe for human consumption. Water is of major importance to all living things; in some organisms, up to 90 percent of their body weight comes from water. Up to 60 percent of the human body is water, the brain is composed of 70 percent water, and the lungs are nearly 90 percent water. About 83 percent of our blood is water, which helps digest our food, transport waste, and control body temperature. Each day humans must replace 2.4 liters of water, some through drinking and the rest taken by the body from the foods eaten. The unique qualities and properties of water are what make it so important and basic to life. The cells in our bodies are full of water. The excellent ability of water to dissolve so many substances allows our cells to use valuable nutrients, minerals, and chemicals in biological processes.
About 70 percent of the Earth's surface is water-covered. But water also exists in the air as water vapor and in the ground as soil moisture and in aquifers. Thanks to the water cycle our planet's water supply is constantly moving from one place to another and from one form to another. Things would get pretty stale without the water cycle! Even though you may only notice water on the Earth's surface, there is much more freshwater stored in the ground than there is in liquid form on the surface. In fact, some of the water you see flowing in rivers comes from seepage of ground water into river beds. Humans are happy this happens because people make use of both kinds of water. In the United States in 2000, we used about 323 billion gallons per day of surface water and about 84.5 billion gallons per day of ground water. Although surface water is used more to supply drinking water and to irrigate crops, ground water is vital in that it not only helps to keep rivers and lakes full, it also provides water for people in places where visible water is scarce, such as in the desert towns of the western United States.
Earth's water is always in movement, and the water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle, describes the continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth. Since the water cycle is truly a "cycle," there is no beginning or end. Water can change states among liquid, vapor, and ice at various places in the water cycle, with these processes happening in the blink of an eye and over millions of years. Although the balance of water on Earth remains fairly constant over time, individual water molecules can come and go in a hurry. The water in the apple you ate yesterday may have fallen as rain half-way around the world last year or could have been used 100 million years ago by Dinosaur.


Total water use in the United States for 2000 was determined from estimates of water withdrawals for the eight categories of public supply, domestic, irrigation, livestock, and aquaculture, industrial, mining, and thermoelectric power. Total freshwater and saline-water withdrawals for 2000 were estimated to be 408,000 million gallons per day (Mgal/d), or 457,000 thousand acre-feet per year. Freshwater withdrawals were 85 percent of the total, and the remaining 15 percent was saline water. Estimates of withdrawals by source indicate that for 2000, total surface-water withdrawals were 323,000 Mgal/d, or 79 percent of the total withdrawals for all categories of use. About 81 percent of surface water withdrawn was freshwater. Total ground-water withdrawals were 84,600 Mgal/d, of which 99 percent was freshwater. Nearly all (98 percent) saline-water withdrawals were from surface water.

The top row of cylinders represents where America's water came from (source) in 2000, either from surface water or from ground water. You can see most of the water we use (262,000 million gallons per day (Mgal/d)) came from surface-water sources, such as rivers and lakes. We used about 83,400 Mgal/d of ground water (from wells). The pipes leading out of the blue and brown cylinders on the top row show where the water was sent after being withdrawn from a river, well, etc. For example, the blue pipe coming out of the surface-water cylinder and entering the Public supply grey cylinder shows that 27,300 Mgal/d of water was withdrawn from surface-water sources for public-supply uses. Likewise, the brown pipe shows that public-suppliers withdrew another 16,100 Mgal/d of water from ground-water sources. Each green cylinder represents a category of water use. The Industrial cylinder, for instance, shows how much water the United States used, each day, by industries. In 2000, about 18,500 Mgal/d of water was used for industrial purposes, with about 14,900 Mgal/d coming from surface water and about 3,570 Mgal/d coming from ground water. So, now you maybe see how the two "Source" cylinders on the top row show how much water was withdrawn from the environment, and, for each water-use category (the green cylinders), the water arrives via the pipes

Keep Clicking to Get Fit

Maybe you're looking at your sedentary lifestyle the wrong way.

All of the time in front of a computer, like right now, doesn't have
to work against your fitness regime.

According to a new study, all of the motivation you need is right at
your fingertips.

Web-based intervention programs are just as effective as more
traditional print-based programs in changing the habits of sedentary
adults, a new study published in Monday's issue of the Archives of
Internal Medicine found.

A team of researchers studied 249 healthy, sedentary (less than 90
minutes of physical activity per week) adults. Participants were
divided into three different programs: tailored Internet, standard
Internet and tailored print.

The tailored print and Internet groups had exactly the same features,
including personalized feedback that the standardized group did not
have. The researchers wanted to be sure the tailored groups had
exactly the same features in order to test the method of delivery.

This meant that there were a lot of features that were left out of
the Internet group, such as chat rooms and blogs, because there was
no way to replicate those in a print format.

The standard Internet group, however, accessed what the researchers
felt were the six best physical activity sites available to the
public. Marcus said the American Heart Association' s "Just Move" was
the most popular website.

The other five included Shape Up America, the Mayo Clinic Fitness and
Sports Medicine Center, American Academy of Family Physicians,
American Council on Exercise, and American College of Sports Medicine
Health and Fitness Information.

All three groups kept logs of their activities and filled out monthly
questionnaires.

The tailored Internet group posted the biggest gains in physical
activity after six months, averaging 120 minutes per week. The
tailored print group was not far behind with 112.5 minutes per week,
and the standard Internet group reported 90 minutes.

The difference was not as notable after 12 months, with the groups
reporting 90, 90 and 80 respectively.

The three programs only focused on increasing physical activity, and
did not take eating habits into account. Marcus said many of the
people in the program reported zero activity at the beginning of the
program, making the gains by all groups even more impressive.

The researchers were surprised that the tailored Internet group did
not have stronger gains over the standardized Internet group. They
suspect that the reason may be that while they offered more
personalized feedback to the tailored group, Marcus said it did not
have the "bells and whistles" usually associated with Internet
fitness and weight-loss programs.

This study shows that the Internet is a more cost-effective way to
reach the 55 percent of Americans who do not meet the Surgeon
General's minimum requirement of 150 minutes a week of moderate-
intensity physical exercise.

And since motivation is key, the Internet offers a 24-hour
smorgasbord of options to keep people clicking for more.

If you're the sort of person who occasionally ventures off your couch
to get moving, you may have the smoothest transition into an active
lifestyle. Marcus said for the people in the study who were already
doing something - as long as it is in at least 10 minute intervals -
had the easiest time getting into a regular routine of exercise.

The key to get moving out of your office chair or recliner, Marcus
said, is to take baby steps instead of walking lunges. She
recommended that with low expectations, it is much easier to exceed
those goals.

Starting small is even easier than you think, according to Marcus. If
you're heading out to lunch or dinner, because all this thinking
about activity has you famished, try walking to your dining spot,
carry your lunch to a park, or at least park your car a short walk
away from the restaurant.

12Rules for Marriage

My sister asked me, as part of her wedding ceremony, to Say Something
About Marriage. I've been married for over two years, so obviously I
have way too much insight on this issue than could reasonably be fit
into the middle of an otherwise fairly compact service, but with some
effort, and some help from my wife Bethany, I got the list down to
twelve potentially useful pieces of advice. These probably aren't the
most useful twelve pieces of advice, but I think they're better than
nothing. As delivered at the wedding last weekend:

1. Your world is getting bigger today, not smaller! More history,
more friends, more possibilities. Marriage is not the end of the
search, it's the beginning of all the searches that are more fun to
do together.

2. Be the guardians of each other's solitudes. Not only do you need
to give each other space, you need to make each other space.

3. No difficult conversations after 10pm. Not only is it harder to
solve problems when you're tired, but at least half the time being
tired is the problem.

4. The Dutch principle of Total Soccer means that any player can
attack when there is an opportunity, and any player can defend when
there is a need. In Total Marriage you only have two players, so this
is even more important. Both of you should be able to do everything
your team needs. You'll have your preferences and strengths and
habits, but if one of you goes down, the other one has to be able to
cover.

5. Wedding rings don't really come with magic powers. You will learn
how to take care of each other one insight at a time. And even when
you're not sure how, show up and you'll think of something.

6. Headphones; separate closets.

7. If you aren't already the world's leading experts on each other,
you will be soon. It is thus your responsibility to be not only the
world's biggest fans of each other's best qualities, but also the
world's staunchest fans of each other's weaknesses and flaws.

8. Get pets. By far the easiest way to remember that you have to feed
your shared life together is if part of it comes and stomps on you
every morning.

9. No ultimatums. Ever.

10. Travel. Surprise and challenge yourselves. It's easier to have a
world together if you have a world to compare it to, and part of the
fun of getting to know each other is putting yourselves, together, in
positions where neither of you know what you're going to do
yourself.

11. Committing yourselves to one another is one of the most mature,
responsible, focused decisions you can make. Balance it out by being
immature, irresponsible and playful together as often as possible.

12. When people, especially your relatives, offer you long lists of
marriage advice, just smile politely and nod until they finally shut
up.

Women Driving in Saudi Arabia? Why Not?

Readers who do not know Saudi Arabia well couldn't understand or
appreciate the reasoning against women driving. Saudis and residents
who are familiar with the issue cite logistical and practical
problems and concerns. No one claims the ban is Islamic. In
Prophet's (peace be upon him) time, women rode their horses and
camels. In other Islamic countries, women didn't have to compromise
their modest dress code to drive. And they drive as well as men, if
not better and safer.

Many readers fear that men, especially the young, will harass or
chase female drivers.

This is blaming the victim. If men are the guilty party, then let's
ban them.

Some suspect that if we allow women driving, it will make it much
easier for dating. They say it is bad as it is. Girls pretending to
be out for school and social events go for dates! Give them cars and
see what happens!

I say if they decide to date they will find a way. If you don't
trust your kids, boys or girls, don't give them cars. But if you
brought them up well, trust them. Besides, why do we assume girls
would be less observant and conservative than boys? If both are as
much suspect, then nobody should be allowed to drive. What
difference does it make who sits on the driving seat?

Other arguments focus on practicalities, like traffic jams,
accidents, car breakdowns, driving in remote areas, etc.

I say, we should plan and prepare. We could go gradually, allowing
women over thirty to drive first, and then schedule other age
groups. If they get in trouble they could use their cell phones.
Mobile car service operators would help in case of breakdowns. We
must take extra security measures and harsher punishment for
harassers, like publishing offenders' names and photos in the
papers. They did that in Dubai and it worked.

We have to start by educating the public with media campaigns and
encourage preachers, teachers and parents to contribute and
participate. Solutions are there if we just look for them. As the
Americans say, if there is a will, there is a way.

I like the following e-mail message I received from a Western
teacher in a girls school. It very much sums up the problem from
women's perspective. It says:

I am a female teacher here in the Kingdom and I teach Saudi girls
English. I was pleasantly surprised at the caliber of females I have
come in contact with. I listen to their frustrations on a daily
basis of the restrictions (mainly of not being able to drive) placed
on them. The majority are perfectly capable human beings who just
need their country to stop underestimating them and their abilities
and the possibilities are limitless to what they will be able to
offer this society.

Of course I can also understand the hesitation in allowing women to
drive but I would place the fault of this completely on the men of
this country. I could just imagine a car full of teenage Saudi boys
hitting a woman's car just for flirting purposes and this would make
me personally more apprehensive about driving in this country. The
problems are structural and deep-rooted. You can't just lift the
ban, but on the other hand, the longer you wait the harder it will
get to change it.

A suggestion would be to fill the streets with competent, well-
trained and prepared police, and have them clean up the act on the
streets here. Maybe after a few months of over ticketing and tight
restrictions you may have a situation where women will feel
comfortable driving. You will also have to have driving schools for
women and then, maybe, the country can conceptualize driving for
women.

Another thing that needs to change is the attitude some men have
toward women in this country. If the laws are there to make women
feel more comfortable when in public then they are retroactive.

This can only change when men begin to see women as having a more
independent role in society, for example, by driving. But women
can't drive until this attitude is curbed. What comes first, the
chicken or the egg? It's quite the dilemma. All I can say is the
situation needs to change so better to start now and deal with the
problems head on, rather than just watch things become more
difficult to unravel. Bite the bullet, as we would say.

Why Is It A Good Idea To Study Abroad?

Besides the excitement of travel, one reason to study abroad is that
you will experience new customs, holidays, foods, art, music, and
politics firsthand.
"Obviously, I learned the language and am now fluent, but perhaps
more importantly was how much I learned about cultures, people, and
myself. I learned this from the viewpoint of an active member of the
community and my family, not from the tourist's point of
view," says Andrew, who studied in Poitiers, France.
Another reason for studying abroad is that you'll gain self-
confidence. Christina studied in Caracas, Venezuela, a city of 10
million people and a huge change from her hometown of 35,000!
Christina says she learned how to better stand up for herself and
her beliefs and to express herself in another language. What could
make you more confident than that?
Living away from home can also help you adjust in the transition to
college and adulthood. Matthew says he returned from studying in
Australia with confidence, social savvy, and a genuine interest in
international affairs that really set him apart from his
peers. "After having gone abroad in high school, I found the
transition to college to be a breeze - moving 560 miles from home
didn't seem particularly daunting after having lived thousands of
miles away."
And speaking of college, improving your language skills might help
you get into choice colleges and even land future jobs. Colleges and
employers know that studying abroad provides leadership skills in a
world that is increasingly globally interconnected.
Most of all, it's fun! You're not likely to suffer from sophomore
slump or general boredom while you're studying in a different
learning environment.