Bintaro Lama Video

We went to the Bintaro Lama Kampung on November 12 and we learned how to make their water more potable. Enjoy!!

Water Questions 2

1) List the main reasons for water scarcity.

Because variations in climate, land degradation, population growth and water pollution

2) What is a drought? What type of hardships do you think that a drought could cause if you were living in a village in a poor country such as Ethiopia?

A drought is a period of time when no rain falls. Some hardships could occur could be shortage of food (because we need rain to make the crops grow) human death, animal death, and ecosystem reduction.

3) How does land degradation affect the supply of fresh water?

Land degradation can affect the supply of fresh water because when land is paved over, the water doesn't sink in, it runs off the cement. Then there is no way to collect it.

4) What is El Nino? Why does El Nino often cause drought in Australia?

El Nino in a heating of the ocean that happens every 3-5 years in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Peru. Warm, wet air is being blown across the Pacific off their normal course. But air pressure is built across the Pacific and brings high pressure over Australia. So Australia doesn't get a lot of moist air, and as a result, forms droughts.

5) Observe the map showing the global effects of El Nino in 1928-83

What effects does El Nino have on availability of fresh water?

Name the countries and describe the problems that arose from decreased rainfall caused by El Nino.

El Nino's effects to the fresh water supply are smaller water rations in the poorer countries, animal and human deaths, and crop reduction.

In the Philippines, a low rice harvest occurred followed by a drought. In Indonesia, the air pollution levels were high followed by forest fires. In Papua New Guinea, a severe crop failure occurred due to drought and soon after a famine struck. In China, the farming land was under threat from drought in the northern regions and flooding in the southern reasons. In Africa, there was a reduced corn crop in the sub-Saharan region.

Bintaro Lama Kampung Writing

We went to the Bintaro Lama Kampung on November 12, and we saw how the locals cleaned their water enough to make it drinkable.

We went to Station 6 first. There they added AquaTaps and Air RahMat to the water (special chlorine tablets and liquid) to make it potable. The AquaTaps are small chlorine tablets that dissolve in the water if you wait 30 minutes. 1 tablet will normally clean 10-20 liters of water (depending on the condition.) The Air RahMat is a special chlorine that acts like the AquaTaps. You add the chlorine into the water, seal the jug (make sure there is no air in it), and shake it for 30 seconds. Then you leave it to sit for 30 minutes.

Next we went to Station 2. The "Little Mosque" is where WatSan Action members come and teach the children about water hygiene and safety. They showed us the for major ways to stop disease transmission: 

1) Wash Your Hands!!

a) Use CLEAN water

        b) scrub with soap

        c) rinse with CLEAN water

        d) dry with towel

2) Make A Toilet With A Septic Tank!!

3) Cover Your Food!!

4) Use Air RahMat and AquaTaps!! After that, they sang a song in Bahasa to us about washing your hands.

Lastly, we went to Station 4. Here the WatSan Action members showed us how to filter the water. First, they added Alum to the water. Alum is a special powder that makes the dirt particles stick together. Once there were a lot of clumps, called floc, they stirred the water gently with a stick. Next, they waited until the floc settled onto the bottom of the container. After that, we watched as a WatSan Action member poured the water through a clay pot to get most of the sediment out.

Going to the Kampung was a very interesting experience. We realized that they use the same steps that they use in the Water Treatment Plant, but on a house hold scale. Going there reminded us about how lucky we are to have freshwater at our fingertips. When we are thirsty, we go and get some water without thinking about where it came from or how it got cleaned. Once you realize the time it takes, it makes a difference.

Water Questions 1

1. What percentage of the world's supply of water is fresh water?

2.5 percent is fresh water of all the water on earth.

2. Where is the world's supply of fresh water found?
2 percent in ice on land, 0.49 percent is ground water, and 0.01 is in the air, rivers, and lakes

3. Even though the supply of fresh water is abundant it is still a problem. Why?
Water is a problem because it isn't spread out evenly.

4. Observe the map of world average annual precipitation (opposite)

a) Describe the changes in rainfall that occur as you move from the southern to the northern tip of Africa.

b) Describe the changes in rainfall that occur as you move from the western to the eastern tip of Australia along the Tropic of Capricorn.

Near the bottom of Africa, it is pretty dry. As we move closer to the equator, we get more rainfall. On the equator, we get the most yet. Then as we move away, it becomes more dry.

Near the eastern coast of Australia, it is really really dry. As we move inland, it doesn't change that much. But as we approach the west coast, we get the most rain yet.

5. Observe the map above of water availability per person.
Which parts of the world appear to have a large amount of water available per person?
Which parts of the world appear to have a small amount of water per person?

 Central Africa, Northern and Central South America, Northern Europe and Asia, Northern Australia

Central and East Asia, USA, most of Europe, Northern, Western and Southern Africa

6. Observe the diagram of water use.
What are the main uses of water?

Which uses have increased the most over the last century?

Agricultural and Industrial

Agricultural

Water Transformation

Chlorine Basins

Cholera Bacteria

Water Transformation

We went to the Water Treatment Plant for a field trip last Thursday and saw the steps that the treatment plant took to transform filthy river water into drinkable “good” water. 

Under the city roads, the river churned and swished. It was brought into the plant where two big metal screens filtered out all the big pieces of trash. Sadly, not all of this trash was from nature. We observed a lot of human waste being stopped at the screens like trash bags and plastic food containers. They raised the screens and removed all of the build up every hour or so. Next came a smaller screen to catch and other pieces of trash that got through. Most but not all garbage was cleared out.

Next the water went through a machine that swirled the water around. This transferred oxygen to all parts of the water so that way it would be easier to treat.

After that, we went to a station where workers added alum to the river water. Alum is a substance that is very similar to a magnet. It is used to make dirt particles clump together. When the particles clump, it’s called floc. When most of the dirt has turned to floc, we transfer the water to a new station.

Then we moved to the sedimentation station. This station is where we let the floc settle to the bottom of the water. The water sits there in these individual compartments and sat there for a few hours. When all of the dirt has settled on the bottom, we move to the following station. 

Now we moved to the sand filters. Once the water travels through the channels, it comes into this big basin. Here we pour the water over special sand and it traps all of the remaining bits of dirt and junk. It should come out free of anything other than water.

The last step is adding chlorine and testing the water to make sure that it is free of any color and bacteria. The chlorine makes sure that the water is clear and free of any germs or diseases. But to be on the safe side, they test it very carefully to make sure it is clean enough for us to drink and use in our daily lives. 

I found this field trip to be very informational and interesting. Us humans litter all the time and don’t notice all the effort that is put into making our water clean. So now that we know, let’s keep it that way. 

Sick Day Trick (Poem)

I didn't want to go to school

and so I played a trick.

I coughed and wheezed and blew my nose

so my mom thought I was sick.

I slowly walked downstairs and lay

across the kitchen table.

When my mom said "Sit up straight!"

I sighed, "If I were able."

She looked at me a bit suprised

but felt my cheeks and head.

I told her I'd feel better

If i read a book in bed.

Mom sort of laughed but kept me home

Hooray!

But there's one thing that I forgot -

Today is Saturday!

Sick Day Trick (Video)

This poem because I wanted to show how far little kids will go to make something they want happen, but get a different result. I really like this poem because it is really creative and shows us that we need to stop and think. Enjoy!!

CREDITS

Producer - Maya Petersen

Editor - Maya Petersen

Narrator - Maya Petersen

Filmer - Nora Trapp

Presented to you by Blogger

Water Cycle

Evaporation

Evaporation is when water goes

out of its liquid state into water vapor.

You can almost see the water vapor

in the sun here.

Condensation

Condensation is when water vapor 

becomes cool enough to become liquid water.

In the picture, you can see that water 

has condensed on the glass.

Precipitation

Precipitation (otherwise known as rain)

is water vapor that has cooled enough 

and become heavy enough to fall from

the sky. This picture shows rain on a street.

Infiltration

Infiltration is when water sinks

into the earth. This picture shows

a garden hose spraying a plant. 

The water is soaking into the ground 

in the process.