Precipitation, evaporation, and transpiration are all terms that
sound familiar, yet may not mean much to you. They are all part
of the water cycle, a complex process that not only gives us
water to drink, fish to eat, but also weather patterns that help
grow our crops. Water is an integral part of life on this
planet. It is an odorless, tasteless, substance that covers more
than three-fourths of the Earth's surface. Most of the water on
Earth, 97% to be exact, is salt water found in the oceans. We
can not drink salt water or use it for crops because of the salt
content. We can remove salt from ocean water, but the process is
very expensive. Only about 3% of Earth's water is fresh. Two
percent of the Earth's water (about 66% of all fresh water) is
in solid form, found in ice caps and glaciers. Because it is
frozen and so far away, the fresh water in ice caps is not
available for use by people or plants. That leaves about 1% of
all the Earth's water in a form useable to humans and land
animals. This fresh wate