Lately, I’ve been doing some research on the world water crisis. Did you know that almost 6000 people die EVERY DAY from drinking contaminated water? Most of these being children. This just blows my mind! That’s over 2 million people a year (mostly children) that will never get to grow up, get a job, have children, drive a car, enjoy life…
As I started to do some research, there were two very interesting products that I found that would help this situation tremendously. Both are low-cost, simple, and can potentially help millions of people.
Device #1 - WaterCone - Changing saltwater to freshwater
I’m so surprised that a solution could be so simple. Here’s how it works.
Turning saltwater into Freshwater
You pour saltwater into a pan. You place the WaterCone over the pan with the cap closed. Place it out into the sun and let the sun heat up the water. Once it starts evaporating, the condensation will drip back down but the cone side is shaped like a “U” and traps the water in. In 24 hours, you get fresh water to drink! Here are some more detailed pictures:
Pour salt water into the pan
Place the cone on top of pan and place in the sun
Water is trapped in the cone and ready to drink in 24 hours!
Absolutely simple and amazing! Once released, it’s suppose to be around $25.
Device #2 LifeStraw - the ability to drink contaminated water
LifeStraw personal is a device that basically works as a straw with filters that allows you to drink contaminated water safely. LifeStraw Personal kills 99.9999% of waterborne bacteria and 98.5% of viruses.
Sip through the straw to drink clean water
This device cost about $3 to make and is in production already. It purifies 700 Liters of water which is enough for one person for one year. The filters in the straw remove viruses, bacteria, and make the water taste better!
LifeStraw Family is a larger version of the LifeStraw and allows should be able to provide drinking water to a whole family for 2-3 years.
LifeStraw for the whole family!
Take a look at this youtube link in which CEO of LifeStraw drinks water mixed with cow crap. Amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycEnu9p1GPE
Conclusion:
It’s nice to see that simple devices are being created and distributed that will help the world water crisis. I’d like to research these products more and find out how I can get more involved.
Posted under Water Crisis
This post was written by Jay on December 4, 2008
