Ah, water. Another one of the luxuries of modern living we take for granted. In most of the western world we turn on the tap and out flows clean, fresh water. We use it for cooking, bathing, and drinking. And we waste a shocking amount of it watering our flower beds and lawns, and washing our cars, sidewalks and a hundred other things that could be cleaned just as well with non-potable water.
Scarcity increases a commodity’s value, and when you’re without water, it becomes very valuable very quickly. Sailors in the early navy learned this as soon as the land slipped below the horizon.
Even though Barnaby Slush could claim, “liquor is the very cement that keeps the mariner’s body and soul together,” water was far more important to his well being at sea. “Seamen,” as one doctor commented, “in consequence of their salt diet, drink a great quantity of water, unless on an allowance.”[1] David Porter, in command of USS Essex during a long sea voyage, understood the importance of fresh water when surrounded by an ocean of salt: READ THE FULL STORY ON LOG LINES
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