Does water form naturally?

I been wondering about this for a while and it may be a really stupid question but:
When people consume water it is 'lost'. Does nature 're-create' water through
some sort of natural process?

Yes, it does. But a correction on "when people consume water it is 'lost'". No, it's not lost (not if you're talking about biological consumption). The only way you're not drinking somebody else's treated urine is if you're living at the North Pole or the South Pole - otherwise, everything's running toward the equator and we're all in the same "streams".

Where do you think water goes when people consume it? What do you mean, its "lost"?

Its just sweated and urinated out ... the majority of it, surely over 90% (dont quote me on that!), isnt reacted or broken down it just leaves the body in the same chemical configuration that it came in.

Maybe some numbers may help put things in perspective for you.

Our bodies are about 72% water, 8% chemicals and 20% bone and solid tissue(which are mainly carbon and calcium).

An average person sweats out about 0.5 to 1.5 liters a day.
Taking a 15 minute sauna averages at about 1 liter of water sweated out.
The average adult pees about 1.5 liters a day.

So you see that our bodies dispose of 2 to 3 liters of water a day trough sweating and peeing.

When you do sports, this page shows a nice average for how much you sweat per exersize:
www.ausport.gov.au...

From that page: A 10km run at 19 to 24°C ambient will result in about 1.5 to 1.8 liters of sweat lost, depending if your female or male.

Between foods and drinks you need to take in 2 to 3 liters of water a day before your body mass starts loosing water.

[edit on 30/7/06 by thematrix]

I agree on the motabolism comments and would like to add:
The fundamental elements are hydogen and oxygen. We have a lot of free oxygen floating around in the form of O2 (breathable) and some O3 (ozone). Hydrogen is mostly locked up in other compounds due to the climate conditions and density of the planet but thats better left for another thread. It just happens that these two elements are passed around abundantly uncluding the H2O form (water) and H20+ compounds (water just blended with other chemicals). Water goes into solution with so many other compounds and is why it's so escential to life. We don't destroy it but use is in thousands of ways. We drink it and eat it (that thick juicy steak is loaded with water compunds, natuarally hydroginated). We use it as a coolant through respiration, perspiration and circulatory. Water aids in digestion, procreation, synthesizing compunds in the body used to sustain life and to carry off waste products. Water also acts as a lubricant in the joints with other chemicals that raise it's viscosity to make the joint bend easily. This is why it's so important to drink lots of it in it's natural form. Teas, Colas, Coffee and Milk all require the body to purify the solution before use. This may have gone off subject but it's one example as to how it's used but not destroyed, only polluted.

Water can be destroyed through electrolisys but it takes a good bit of energy to break the bonds of these 2 elements. This is why hydrogen cars have eluded us. This bond is also a benifit where these elements bond easily and put out a lot of energy when they do come together. (Energy comes from the fact that extra electrons are shed when they combine and flow off into the nearest object).

[edit on 30-7-2006 by AlabamaCajun]