Ronald Connelly Blog: 5 TED-Ed Lessons about water

Access to clean drinking water is a fundamental human right. But just why is it so important? To learn more about how water affects the human body, watch this playlist of original animated videos, curated just for you. Behold, 5 TED-Ed Lessons about water:

1. When is water safe to drink?

Water is refreshing, hydrating, and invaluable to your survival. But clean water remains a precious and often scarce commodity — there are nearly 800 million people who still don’t have regular access to it. Why is that? And how can you tell whether the water you have access to — whether from a tap or otherwise — is drinkable? Mia Nacamulli examines water contamination and treatment. Watch this TED-Ed Lesson below.

2. What would happen if you didn’t drink water?

Water is essentially everywhere in our world, and the average human is composed of between 55 and 60% water. So what role does water play in our bodies, and how much do we actually need to drink to stay healthy? Mia Nacamulli details the health benefits of hydration. Watch this TED-Ed Lesson below.

3. Where we get our fresh water

Fresh water accounts for only 2.5% of Earth’s water, yet it is vital for human civilization. What are our sources of fresh water? In the first of a two part series on fresh water, Christiana Z. Peppard breaks the numbers down and discusses who is using it and to what ends. Watch this TED-Ed Lesson below.

4. Fresh water scarcity: An introduction to the problem

Fresh water is essential for life — and there’s not nearly enough of it for the world right now. Why is that, and what could we do? Christiana Z. Peppard lays out the big questions of our global water problem. And no, shorter showers are not the answer. Watch this TED-Ed Lesson below.

5. Where did Earth’s water come from?

Water covers over 70% of the Earth, cycling from the oceans and rivers to the clouds and back again. It even makes up about 60% of our bodies. But in the rest of the solar system, liquid water is almost impossible to find. So how did our planet end up with so much of this substance? And where did it come from? Zachary Metz outlines the ancient origins of water on Earth. Watch this TED-Ed Lesson below.