Water makes life possible -- it's one of the most important compounds on earth. We owe our beings to the particular arrangement of two hydrogen atoms around a single oxygen atom that form a molecule of water. Water alters the landscape through erosion, it breaks down mountains through the process of freezing and thawing, and it provides critical habitat for a host of plants and animals. Water can be violent as it surges down steep slopes or swells during storm events as a raging river. Water can also be tranquil as a high mountain lake in the early morning as sunlight strikes a mist rising from the quiet water's surface. In this sense, water mirrors the nature of human life and society.