Water Crisis: Clean Tech to the Rescue?
Water shortages are on the rise, from Mexico to the Andes, northern China to southern India, and Spain to Pakistan. Drought, soaring populations and population densities, changing diets, and increasing living standards are all factors. Is this an issue that technology can fix?
Judging by investors’ responses, the answer seems to be yes. FourWinds will invest up to $4.7 billion in water treatment and desalinization and companies that make meters, pumps, and pipes.
BlueWater Bio is a player in the wastewater and sludge treatment arena. Their claim to fame is a treatment technology called Hybrid Bacillus Activated Sludge (HYBACS). It uses proprietary bacteria that eats waste, saving on chemicals. The high quality treatment effluent has reuse potential for commercial or industrial applications, but I wouldn’t recommend drinking it.
Monsanto’s top 20 experts have been examining how climate science will affect the company, with drought being the leading problem to solve. New drought-resistant crops are being created.
“The most advanced of these is now a drought-tolerant corn product … commercializable within several years,” said Monsanto’s head of technology strategy and development David Fischhoff . “We expect this to be the first generation of an ongoing stream.”
Monsanto is currently trading at nearly 39 times its forecasted earnings for the year to August, 2008. Investors seem confident that such products will be increasingly needed and used, especially with the anticipated effects of climate change.
Although technology can come to the rescue and potentially take the edge off of the water crisis, there are some obstacles that will be hard to overcome.
Water consumption spikes as the “standard of living” increases. Americans use twice the water of their European counterparts. Many water-efficient fixtures are being developed, from faucets to simple gray water systems that reduce water consumption. Agriculture uses a lot of water. One kg of beef requires 1600 liters of water, which can cause problems as the apetite for meat increases around the globe.
Economic inequality, not surprisingly, plays a role in who will have the best access to water and associated technologies. Rural areas in developing countries may be the hardest hit.
“The technologies exist,” said Merrill Lynch analyst Robert Miller-Bakewell. “You and I and the World Bank and everyone else can identify the need. The big problem all along is about who’s going to pay for it all.”
As climate change alters the weather, disrupting condensation patterns and droughts are in the forecast. A multi-faceted approach is ultimately the required response.
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April 11th, 2008 at 8:54 am
Leaders who adopted the Millennium Development Goals in 2000 envisioned halving the proportion of people living without access to basic sanitation by the year 2015 – but we are nowhere near on pace to achieve that goal. Experts predict that by 2015, 2.1 billion people will still lack basic sanitation. At the present rate, sub-Saharan Africa will not reach the target until 2076.
If we take up the challenge, the positive impact will reverberate far beyond better access to clean water. Every dollar invested in water and sanitation yields an estimated seven dollars worth of productive activity. And that comes on top of the immeasurable gains in cutting poverty, improving health and raising living standards.
This will help all you people on this blog to do something along with the United Nations in your locality.
Check this
http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=47234928
May 18th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
[...] is also the possibility of harvesting potable water from the ocean, but desalination plants are expensive and use large amounts of [...]
June 7th, 2008 at 6:26 am
Gerhard LASCHOBER
Austria, Europe, e-mail: gml@aon.at
Comment to the discussion watercrisis
An innovated concept for the production of drinking water using the “perpetuum mobile” technique utilizing atmospheric chilling for condensation of water
To relieve the challenges of water shortages, we have invented an innovated device that can produce sweet water in warm regions lacking water, and have submitted a patent application.
An exaggerated and not quite technically proper term “Perpetuum mobile for water production” is used to visually demonstrate its function, and is based on an explanation of its principal. It is based on the natural pattern where chilled air gravitates down while warm air rises up which means that the free atmospheric air from cool heights flows down to a condensing device to supply it with an inexpensive cooling energy which when in its heated state separately flows into a warm air balloon and acts as an inexpensive carrier gas.
The process mechanism:
In a water condensing device of a simple construction type, drinking water is produced by the surrounding air condensation on the condensing surfaces whereas the air is drawn from higher, cooler air levels (between 2500 to 4000 meters above sea level).
The cold air from high levels flows through lightweight piping made of textile cloth materials complete with cold insulation, onto condensing surfaces on the device to be cooled down. Through the heat/cold exchange process taking its course during the condensation, the previously cold air is warmed up and changing its density.
The now warm air is flowing through the textile piping made of lightweight cloth, absorbing heat from its surroundings and sun rays, until it reaches the warm air balloon with its equipment and devices. The warm air balloon carries the lightweight piping and keeps it in an upright floatation.
Warm air flowing into the insides of the warm air balloon serves as a carrier gas which keeps the balloon at the desired height of 2500-4000 meters above sea level in place.
The free floating warm air balloon is fastened to a cable which is anchored to the earth surface and is also bearing the textile piping with its location determined by the cable length.
Redundant service air acquired from the warm air balloon is disposed of with the help of disposal air balloon. This new invention will be more mobile and basically will provide daily water production of over 80.000 litres per day at 50% air humidity and 28°C surrounding temperature.
Much more quantity of water production is planned in “Air-Water-Transformations-Base”.
The essentials at the fact are that several warm air balloons of the described kind of single textile roads carry which form combinable linkedly a pipe with very big diameter which permits the transport of big col’s amounts from above down and thereby allows big amounts production of condensed water.
The first step – development up to the internal patent sequel phase has been done by myself as a private person. Until the next step of practical implementation is achieved, I would like to research the manufacturing and marketing conditions or clarify the option of sales of my patent rights.
All constructive questions and feedback are welcomed!
Gerhard Laschober
P.S. This description of the new development can be published any time – at no kost to me!
See also “Shipping water” http://www.patent-de.com/20030417/DE10146890A1.html-23k-
http://www.innovamar.org-descargas-N1%…………...
August 10th, 2008 at 12:44 am
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February 18th, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Great post, very thorough discussion of the topic. Does anybody know where can find additional info on this subject? Thanks for any input.