Drinkable Water Scarcity
Water scarcity is an
abstract concept for most of us. But what if you woke up one morning and your
faucet wouldn’t turn on? Instead, you had to walk 4 miles to the nearest water
source.
According to the UN, 783
million people do not have access to clean water. Every 90 seconds a child dies
from a water-related disease. 70% of the world is covered by water, of that
only 2.5% of water is fresh, and just 1% of our freshwater is available to
drink. That’s only .007% of the planet’s water available for 7.5 billion
people. In much of the developing world obtaining access to clean safe water is
a laborious task.
In efforts to alleviate
this strain on communities, Michael Prichard invented a filtration system
called the lifesaver bottle. Before the lifesaver bottle, the best hand
filtration had 200 nanometer pores. The smallest bacteria are about 200nm wide
and the smallest virus is about 25nm wide. His filtration system’s pores are
15nm wide, so bacteria and viruses are unable to get through.
This system allows communities
to filter the polluted water they have access to and turn it into safe clean
drinkable water. These filters are usable for up to 6,000 liters. Once it has
expired it will shut off protecting the user. He has also made a family size jerry
can that would last a family of four for three years. Because the filters need to be replaced this
is not a permanent solution to the problem, but it is certainly a step in the
right direction.
For more information on the lifesaver bottle, see the video below.
Resources:
Comments
Post a Comment
Let your knowledge, ideas, and innovation be heard. Tell us what you think and know about this topic.