A new current.com video is making the rounds on the web, and it reveals shocking statistics about our water usage in developed countries. Europeans use an average of 200 liters of water each day, while those in the U.S. use double that amount, 400 liters! However, people in the developing world average just 10 liters a day, and many of them do not have access to a consistent and clean water source.
Current correspondent Paulina Tervo challenged herself to cut down her usage to the level of most developing countries, living for an entire week on 10 liters per day. The video details her experience and highlights some of the problems faced by those without access to clean, sanitary water.
Aid organizations and entrepreneurs alike are answering the call for clean water around the globe. Most famously, perhaps, is the inventor of the Segway, Dean Kamen. His company, DEKA Research, has been working on a portable water purification system called the Slingshot. This easy-to-use, efficient technology could bring clean water to people living anywhere on the planet.
The Slingshot has been years in the making, and it was inspired by DEKA’s work on dialysis machines, which require purified water. Back in 2006, Kamen told CNN Money, “Eighty percent of all the diseases you could name would be wiped out if you just gave people clean water…Not required are engineers, pipelines, epidemiologists, or microbiologists. You don’t need any -ologists. You don’t need any building permits, bribery, or bureaucracies.”
The high-tech machine, approximately the size of a dishwasher, can take in any form of water, even highly contaminated water. Even raw sewage can be poured into the Slingshot, vaporized, and come out as pure, fresh water. Kamen said, “The water purifier makes 1,000 liters of clean water a day, and we don’t care what goes into it.” DEKA has tested the Slingshot in locations around the globe with great success. The system is powered by a generator which can use any local fuel, such as firewood or even animal dung. Locals will be trained how to use and maintain the technology.
The next step for rolling out the Slingshot will be the cost. Prototypes of the remarkable machine reportedly cost as much as $100,000 to build, but obviously this is not practical for global use just yet. The goal is to produce the water purification technology at a cost of $1000 to $2000 each.
Clean, fresh, and accessible water is something most of us take for granted, and technology solutions like the Slingshot will provide this luxury to the developing world. Reports like the one above can bring a level of exposure to environmental problems around the world, and those with good ideas like Kamen will have the information they need to take on major problems like clean water.