Chapter 1 History Clean Water Environmentalism is a big word But its meaning is simple Practicing environmentalism means being a friend of Earth and all its creatures Environmentalists want to keep our air healthy our land clean and our water fresh They want to take care of our plants and animals by making sure our planet remains a safe place to live Some environmentalists focus on encouraging people to stop polluting Others encourage people to recycle One of the most important environmental jobs is to get everyone access to clean water The Story of Clean Water Ninety-eight percent of Earth’s water is salt water We can’t drink salt water Animals can’t drink salt water We can’t water
The ocean covers about 71 percent of Earth plants with salt water This is why civilizations have always been built around fresh water sources such as lakes and rivers All living things animals plants and people need fresh water to survive Without fresh water we couldn’t fight off diseases go to the bathroom or digest our food Fresh water is our most important natural resource It is a renewable resource because of rain This means there is an unlimited amount But we don’t take care of it the way we should Beginning in the 18th century we started using machines and factories to make things These factories dumped waste directly
