How Much Water Is Enough

Survive on less water than you think

- Paul G. Weir

Described by planetary explorers as a Goldilocks planet, our solitary blue dot is just the right distance away from the sun — not too far and not too close — so that water is present in liquid form on its surface. No other planet in our solar system has the traits necessary to hold water in liquid form; most are way too cold, such as Neptune and Uranus, while the inner planets, such as Mercury and Venus, are much too hot. However, Earth does this in a big way, as 70 percent of its surface is covered in liquid water, trillions and trillions of gallons of it. Without it, life on this planet would not be possible, as human beings are composed mostly of water, and we need it daily to livelife comfortably.

The big problem with the vast majority of the water on the planet is that it is not potable; only 3 percent of the water found in liquid form on this planet is drinkable. And most of that is in underground aquifers and inaccessible to humans, while the rest is saltwater. It is a terrible irony that the majority of people stranded in the great expanse of the world’s oceans after a plane crash or a boat catastrophe usually die from lack of water… not drowning or exhaustion or starvation.

DROUGHT AND DEHYDRATION

While a human can survive without food for three weeks or more, an individual can go without water for only a few days to a week, and that’s under ideal conditions. Add into the situation an increase in temperature, an increase in activity, and the level of salt in his or her diet (if any), and the level of liquid reserves in the body can be drastically reduced.