During the 1960s~1970s, neighborhood children were playing in the streets, never too concerned about finding water. There was never any shortage – mountain valleys, wells and pumps were always accessible. Besides, every time it rained, they could simply look up at the sky, open their mouths and catch the rainwater! But what do children today do when it rains? They run inside, thinking of their parents’ warnings, “Don’t stay out in the rain! Rainwater is filled with pollutants … it might make you turn bald!” Well, why don’t we picture something else? Think of a family picnic in the park. Groups of people sitting on the grass, having lunch with their bottles of water. As bottled water goes through a ‘purifying process’, people assume it is the safest form of drinking water.
But what if I ask them to drink rainwater? Whilst they might think it a strange idea, there is evidence to show that the bottled water they are drinking actually started life as rainwater. The bottled water that we consider to be the purest form of water actually comes from rainwater. In fact, this does not just apply to rainwater; all water, including water from taps, valleys and rivers stems from rainwater.
Rainfall is important for a number of reasons. It brings down the pollution from the air. More rain means healthier vegetation – more oxygen produced, more plants and vegetables are watered naturally, more water to be used for animals as well as plants The food chain will also become healthierHealthier food chain – rain > plants grow > animals eat plants > animals eat animals > humans eat animals. Precipitation, especially rain, has a dramatic effect on agriculture. All plants need at least some water to survive, therefore rain (being the most effective means of watering) is important to agriculture. While a regular rain pattern is usually vital to healthy plants, too much or too little rainfall can be harmful, even devastating to crops. Mains water is a precious resource due to increases in demand from our ever growing population. Changes in rainfall patterns in the UK have seen both drought conditions and flooding. Rainwater harvesting can provide around 50 per cent of a family’s water needs. This not only saves water, but saves money and reduces our impact on the environment. Cultural attitudes towards rain differ across the world. In temperate climates, people tend to be more stressed when the weather is unstable or cloudy, with its impact greater on men than women.[124] Rain can also bring joy, as some consider it to be soothing or enjoy the aesthetic appeal of it. In dry places, such as India,[125] or during periods of drought,[126] rain lifts people’s moods. In Botswana, the Setswana word for rain, “pula”, is used as the name of the national currency, in recognition of the economic importance of rain in this desert country.[127] Several cultures have developed means of dealing with rain and have developed numerous protection devices such as umbrellas and raincoats, and diversion devices such as gutters and storm drains that lead rains to sewers.[128] Many people find the scent during and immediately after rain pleasant or distinctive. The source of this scent is petrichor, an oil produced by plants, then absorbed by rocks and soil, and later released into the air during rainfall.
Fresh Water Rainwater provides an environment with fresh water. Rain is necessary to keep water moving around, replenishing lakes, rivers and oceans and moving nutrients along via runoff. Rain becomes part of groundwater that keeps ecosystems in check.
A Precious Resource It is highly likely that there will come a point where mains water supply will no longer be able to meet the needs of our growing population. .
Water Conservation According to the United Nations Environment Programme, many countries suffering from water shortage benefit from rainwater harvesting projects. Rainwater is harvested to provide people with water for drinking and agricultural uses. Water Cycle Rainwater is an important part of how water cycles itself on Earth. Water from oceans travels around and is evaporated into the atmosphere. After enough water is stored in the sky, it eventually comes back down to Earth as rain, feeding plants, animals and people.
When we look at the circulation of water in the natural world, the position of rainwater is at the top of the cycle. It is possible, therefore, for us to drink untreated rainwater. This is because rainwater is pure, distilled water evaporated from the sun - nothing else. Through the Rain Cycle, water, no matter how polluted, is purified by evaporation, becomes water vapour, rises in the sky to form rain clouds, and comes back down to Earth as clean drinkable rain water. The Rain Cycle is a Miracle of God. The Rain Cycle makes water a renewable resource on Earth. It never rains on Mars, or on Jupiter, or on Saturn. Therefore there cannot be life on Mars, or on Jupiter.
Extended periods of time without rain, or droughts, can have very serious, detrimental effects. It can cause widespread hunger and famine due to the inability to grow crops. Thirst is a major issue as people and many other living organisms can only survive days without water.
Without water, hygiene and sanitation becomes more difficult to maintain and disease can spread. Wildfires become more prevalent as flora dries up. Social conflict and war can result as people fight for limited water resources, and migration and relocation can happen in major waves as populations abandon arid regions.
If there was no rain there would be loads of droughts. The animals and creatures would have nothing to eat or drink as the There are many, many ways that we use our Common household uses consume a lot of grass and plants need water to live so the water, and that is partly why it is so impor- water. It may take between 30 and 40 gallons animals would die, giving us nothing to tant that we conserve our water. Water is our for one bath. The average toilet uses about 5 eat. Eventually our species and all animals most precious resource. Water is vital to life. gallons of water per flush. It takes 20-40 galwould become extinct. Humans, plants, and animals are made up of lons of water for one shower. Washing mamostly water. All living things would die if it chines use an average of 25 gallons per load. weren’t for water. We use water for drinking, The kitchen sink takes roughly 20 gallons per washing, cleaning, cooking, and growing day for preparing food and washing dishes. our food as well as many, many other things. The bathroom sink, used for washing hands, The average American uses around 150-250 shaving and brushing teeth, requires about gallons of water daily. Even more water is 15 gallons per day. These numbers are estiused by industries to generate electricity, mated for the average household in Amermanufacture things, and transport people ica. and goods.
If you’re motivated to save a little water and re-distribute it on your lawns or plants or even use it for laundry, dishes or other interior needs — collecting rainwater from your gutters’ downspouts is a no-brainer.
Beyond the benefits to individual homeowners, rainwater harvesting can also be good for the local community, as it reduces the erosion, flooding and pollution runoff associated with heavy rainfall, and lessens reliance on public water supplies, alleviating some of the burden on utilities.
Using rainwater for plumbing uses can also extend the life of pipes and water heaters, since the salts added to tap water faciitate corrosion..
The lack of minerals in rainwater actually makes it more effective than tap water for shampooing or doing dishes.
Extended periods of time without rain, or droughts, can have very serious, detrimental effects. It can cause widespread hunger and famine due to the inability to grow crops. Thirst is a major issue as people and many other living organisms can only survive days without water.
Without water, hygiene and sanitation becomes more difficult to maintain and disease can spread. Wildfires become more prevalent as flora dries up. Social conflict and war can result as people fight for limited water resources, and migration and relocation can happen in major waves as populations abandon arid regions.
If there was no rain there would be loads of droughts. The animals and creatures would have nothing to eat or drink as the grass and plants need water to live so the animals would die, giving us nothing to eat. Eventually our species and all animals would become extinct.
The Rain Cycle is a miracle of God. The Rain Cycle makes water a renewable source on Earth. It never rains on Mars, or on Jupiter or on Saturn, so you can say we’re pretty unique.