WorldView: LifeSaver Bottle
So heading into the second full week of January 2010 leaves no excuses for not blogging. Over the holidays a few things dropped that I am looking to write about...but one thing at a time here. Today I want to cover something I read about on the tiny house blog.
Michael Pritchard, CEO of life saver systems created a waterbottle system that turns the most polluted of water into clean drinking water.
I realize that this isn't really "art" or photography but there was a moment in his TED presentation where he talked about sacrificing years to make this a reality. I felt a connection as many artists work their whole lives to change and contribute to the communities they live in, sometimes without very much success, and I felt that I could relate to that statement a bit. And as it goes, I really don't know if there is a difference between engineers and artists as it is so onward...
The TED talk is really good. Check it out if you have 10 min. or keep reading.
This talk struck me for two reasons....first, I just spent time in Europe where I actually did carry a water purifying water bottle. I totally understand that for the most part all the water I drank was safe and I had no need for a water bottle but it was nice to have. I was able to drink from anywhere fearlessly. That was pretty cool.
The second thing that stuck me was the difference between mine and the life water bottle. With mine you have to squeeze it with a tremendous force to get the water to come out. I thought on several occasions that if I was injured or slightly older there would be no way that I could actually squeeze it to get the water the to come out. In the lifesaver bottle all you have to do is pump it and it creates pressure that will force the water to come out. I thought that was an interesting solution to the problem.
from the tiny house blog
I realize that this is one more mission critical "breakable" part that if it were to fail it would be useless but the benefits might out weigh that risk. I also noted the banter that was on the the tiny house blog about it's coast and how (I don't know if these numbers are accurate) it costs 250 dollars in Sudan for a well and this bottle costs 150 dollars (I'm also assuming that's both American). The application of a the bottle in destroyed regions of the world like Sudan might offer a different application that would justify that cost. That being most of the people who would need this bottle would be refugees and those displaced. Assuming that these people are now in war ravaged camps and not in a permanent living situation it makes no sense to build a well where the people living "there" won't be there forever - they will eventually leave. And in the case of Sudan where it just cannot get it's self on it's feet for any number of reasons...people are always suffering from displacement.
I feel that's one of the more intriguing applications. There is also a nice segment in the TED lecture where he uses a developed country, for example the US, and how we deal with a disaster like Hurricane Katrina. Turns out we're not too much better at dealing with disasters than anyone else.
Anyway, it's some food for thought as we bring about a new week in a "newish" year. Who knows...it might lead to some big things but while a lot of talk seems to be in between terrorist attacks, financial woes and the apple tablet changing computer again, this might be some welcome news on the global front.
More to come.
Michael Pritchard, CEO of life saver systems created a waterbottle system that turns the most polluted of water into clean drinking water.
I realize that this isn't really "art" or photography but there was a moment in his TED presentation where he talked about sacrificing years to make this a reality. I felt a connection as many artists work their whole lives to change and contribute to the communities they live in, sometimes without very much success, and I felt that I could relate to that statement a bit. And as it goes, I really don't know if there is a difference between engineers and artists as it is so onward...
The TED talk is really good. Check it out if you have 10 min. or keep reading.
This talk struck me for two reasons....first, I just spent time in Europe where I actually did carry a water purifying water bottle. I totally understand that for the most part all the water I drank was safe and I had no need for a water bottle but it was nice to have. I was able to drink from anywhere fearlessly. That was pretty cool.
The second thing that stuck me was the difference between mine and the life water bottle. With mine you have to squeeze it with a tremendous force to get the water to come out. I thought on several occasions that if I was injured or slightly older there would be no way that I could actually squeeze it to get the water the to come out. In the lifesaver bottle all you have to do is pump it and it creates pressure that will force the water to come out. I thought that was an interesting solution to the problem.
from the tiny house blog
I realize that this is one more mission critical "breakable" part that if it were to fail it would be useless but the benefits might out weigh that risk. I also noted the banter that was on the the tiny house blog about it's coast and how (I don't know if these numbers are accurate) it costs 250 dollars in Sudan for a well and this bottle costs 150 dollars (I'm also assuming that's both American). The application of a the bottle in destroyed regions of the world like Sudan might offer a different application that would justify that cost. That being most of the people who would need this bottle would be refugees and those displaced. Assuming that these people are now in war ravaged camps and not in a permanent living situation it makes no sense to build a well where the people living "there" won't be there forever - they will eventually leave. And in the case of Sudan where it just cannot get it's self on it's feet for any number of reasons...people are always suffering from displacement.
I feel that's one of the more intriguing applications. There is also a nice segment in the TED lecture where he uses a developed country, for example the US, and how we deal with a disaster like Hurricane Katrina. Turns out we're not too much better at dealing with disasters than anyone else.
Anyway, it's some food for thought as we bring about a new week in a "newish" year. Who knows...it might lead to some big things but while a lot of talk seems to be in between terrorist attacks, financial woes and the apple tablet changing computer again, this might be some welcome news on the global front.
More to come.
posted by Nater at
11.1.10
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