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Remember those sweltering summer days when the air was so muggy you could practically drink it? A new home appliance is promising to make that possible by converting outdoor air into nearly 13 quarts of fresh water every day.
Originally envisioned as an antidote to the shortage of clean drinking water in the world, the WaterMill has the look of a futuristic air conditioner and the ability to condense, filter and sterilize water for about 3 cents per quart.
At $1,299, the 45-pound device doesn’t come cheap, and it is neither the first nor the biggest machine to enter the fast-growing field of atmospheric water generators. But by targeting individual households with a self-cleaning, environmentally friendly alternative to bottled water, Kelowna, British Columbia-based Element Four is hoping its WaterMill will become the new must-have appliance of 2009.
“The idea is making this thing intelligent,” said Jonathan Ritchey, inventor of the original WaterMill prototype and president of Element Four. “So what happens is the machine knows where it is. If you put it in a rainforest, it will sample that environment every three minutes, and it will adapt.” Ditto for a desert. That adaptation, he said during a November preview at Manhattan’s WIRED Store, is critical for energy efficiency.
Cooling the machine’s condensation chamber to just below the dew point, or the temperature at which the air becomes saturated with water vapor and begins to condense, is central to the process.
“If I have a dumb machine, it might bring the air down to just three degrees above dew point and I wouldn’t get any water,” Ritchey said.
“If I take the air way below the dew point, I’m using what’s called latent heat. It’s sort of like taking an ice cube and trying to freeze it some more. You’re just wasting your energy.”
The unit’s activated carbon filter offers another feature not found on most appliances.
“We’ve actually designed a system that knows when the filter is spent and will tell you, the consumer, ‘Time to change the filter, time to change the filter,’ Ritchey said. “And then if you don’t, we’ve got it dummy-proofed. It will shut itself down. Either you change the filter, and it makes pure water, or it doesn’t make water at all.”
Microbes are another big concern in water coolers, hot water tanks, industrial-sized air conditioning units and other places where water vapor can become contaminated.
The WaterMill was designed to overcome that issue with a self-sterilizing condensation chamber that boasts a reflective wall surrounding its condensation coil. During the machine’s daily sterilization cycle, UV light ricochets off the wall and efficiently sterilizes both the front and back sides of the coil.
Tapping a hidden reservoir
Most environments around the world have plenty of water vapor that can be converted into liquid water. In fact, if you could wring out all the water in the air around the world and pour it into a lake, its volume would equal about 3,095 cubic miles, or more than that of Lake Superior, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Element Four estimates that its machine can convert between 10 percent and 40 percent of vapor into liquid water, depending on the relative humidity.
In 91 degree heat with 69 percent relative humidity, the machine tops out at a little less than 13 quarts per day. And because water vapor is continually replenished though the planet’s water cycle, removing it from the air could continue indefinitely without disrupting local ecosystems.
Ritchey said his company decided on the 13-quart capacity to maximize efficiency. Marketing data suggested that the typical family uses about half that amount of drinking water per day. But based on public perceptions that 6.5 quarts wouldn’t be enough, the company doubled the amount.
Other companies have begun producing upright units for indoor use or scaled-up outdoor units supported by fans and compressors that are capable of producing hundreds or even thousands of gallons of water per day. Miami Beach, Fla.-based Air Water Corporation, for example, can produce more than 1,000 gallons of water from a 3.5-ton mobile unit that resembles a small trailer.
Michael Zwebner, the company’s president and CEO, said 13 Air Water machines were deployed to Thailand and Sri Lanka after the 2004 tsunami. A camouflaged version is specifically aimed at the military, and units are already in use by the U.S. Marines, Indian Border Police and South African military, among other worldwide clients.
An even larger version in development can theoretically make as much as half a million liters of water a day (132,000 gallons). Later this month, the company expects to inaugurate an air-to-water facility that will give a remote Indian village its own water supply.
“The idea being that the 600 people in this village will not need to send their children many miles a day to collect water in buckets on their heads,” Zwebner said.
Likewise, Ritchey also had Third World applications in mind when he began tinkering with the WaterMill prototype in his basement nearly a decade ago.
With a model that runs on 110 volts AC and consumes about 300 watts of electricity, or the equivalent of 3,100-watt light bulbs, the company plans to branch out with a more portable unit that can operate on 12 volt DC power supplies. That modification would allow the unit to run on car batteries, photovoltaic panels, windmills or other sources of alternative energy.
More water, less energy
Greg Kail, spokesman for the American Water Works Association (AWWA), a nonprofit society focused on improving the quality and supply of drinking water, said he wasn’t familiar enough with the technology of atmospheric water generators to evaluate specific claims.
But he agreed that looming water shortages will require technological innovations, as well as more efficient devices in the home, better management at the utility level and smarter long-term planning.
Despite steady improvements in the technology that can provide fresh drinking water for about a penny per gallon in Air Water’s biggest units, according to Zwebner, that rate is still about 3.5 times more expensive than tap water production, based on the AWWA’s 2006 survey of 230 utilities throughout the U.S.
As for the WaterMill’s energy-efficient strategy, Ritchey said the unit can slow the airflow through the condenser if it needs to be cooled to a lower temperature to reach the dew point, meaning it would linger in a drier environment.
Even the WaterMill has its limits, though. Getting water when the relative humidity is less than 30 percent or 35 percent is “really pushing it,” he said.
Unlike most upright units that suck air from within a home or building, Ritchey said the WaterMill mounts on an exterior wall and uses outdoor air that is typically cleaner and more humid than indoor air.
Environmental Protection Agency-cited research suggests that the air within homes and offices can be far more polluted than outdoor air, with sources ranging from tobacco smoke and wet carpeting to cleaning products and pets.
Ritchey hopes his company’s commercial success will smooth the way for next year’s arrival of a humanitarian application called the WaterWall, essentially a stripped-down version of the WaterMill.
Within the “wall,” interconnected water condenser units can be individually engaged or disengaged as needed to overcome the problem of intermittent power in developing countries while providing a steady stream of water.
“We have a mandate as a company to do more than just make money,” he said. “We want to do some good in the world as well.”
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 | The machine creating water out of thin air ? | CNN | Sun Dec 7 | 13 |
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{"commentId":4341796,"authorDomain":"jeremiah-yang"}
That. Is. Awesome. Nerds FTW.
{"commentId":4341796,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"jeremiah-yang"}
- 1 vote
#1 - Mon Dec 8, 2008 10:29 AM EST{"commentId":4342022,"authorDomain":"jameseg"}
This is an interesting concept. I do question whether removing so much water from the air might affect the air quality outdoors.
For example, would a lower amount of water vapor in the air affect our breathing or plants' absorption of water into leaves? I know I especially enjoy breathing the clean, pure air right after a rain.
Even if water vapor is constantly being added to the air, if it is being removed by the machine at a comparable rate or greater, the amount of water vapor in the air would be lowered. I'm not a scientist, so this is just a thought, not an expert's opinion.
{"commentId":4342022,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"jameseg"}
- 2 votes
#2 - Mon Dec 8, 2008 10:45 AM EST{"commentId":4342338,"authorDomain":"highlands"}
This crossed my mind as well. It certainly needs to be explained in detail.
And because water vapor is continually replenished though the planet’s water cycle, removing it from the air could continue indefinitely without disrupting local ecosystems.
This isn't very reassuring is it? I'd like to see some information on this, because it does seem that if this is the 'must have appliance of 2009', so much vapor removal certainly will be an effect on the local/global environment(s).
{"commentId":4342338,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"highlands"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":4345887,"authorDomain":"bdnelson-1"}
Hi, this is Bryn, the author. I imagine that if a great many of the largest air-to-water units were being used simultaneously in a drier region (like those of Air Water Corp.), theoretically there could be a local effect on the atmosphere. But I'm not aware of any research that has addressed this yet, probably because the industrial versions of these machines have only recently been significantly scaled up in size or deployed in any significant number. And another commenter is right that these machines just don't work below 30 or 35 percent RH.
One detail I didn't have room for in the article, however: Above the lower 48 states of the U.S., the atmosphere stores about 36.5 cubic miles of water vapor every day, according to the National Weather Service, so there is quite a bit of daily, naturally-occurring turnover.
{"commentId":4345887,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"bdnelson-1"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":4346499,"authorDomain":"stu226566"}
How would this affect Rain say in the southwest ? if the moister is pulled out of the atmosphere there is always a "Ying/Yang "affect ?
{"commentId":4346499,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"stu226566"}
{"commentId":4346786,"authorDomain":"dajoker93"}
I'd be curious to see the power requirements for a few of these puppies. Is this something you could feasibly install at a plot of land you own in the countryside, and have it all work by solar power? That would be a huge benefit rather than rigging all kinds of systems and such.
{"commentId":4346786,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"dajoker93"}
{"commentId":4347969,"authorDomain":"jameseg"}
Bryn,
Thanks for the additional information!
{"commentId":4347969,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"jameseg"}
{"commentId":4342239,"authorDomain":"highlands"}
This is awesome. I like this quote here:
We have a mandate as a company to do more than just make money, he said. We want to do some good in the world as well.
{"commentId":4342239,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"highlands"}
- 2 votes
#3 - Mon Dec 8, 2008 10:59 AM EST{"commentId":4343663,"authorDomain":"foxbriar20"}
Isn't it just an air conditioner that collects the water that condenses on the evaporator coil when the refrigerant cools? Groundbreaking technology? No. Innovative repurposing? Yes. Plus, the side benefit of refrigerated air, either for comfort or for food preservation.
Why not just collect the water that drips off all the cooling coils that already exist in humid environments? The trick would be to keep the collection system from cultivating micro-organisms. The water would initially be just distilled water. Keeping the coils and reservoir clean is the main thing it looks like this thing does.
It would seem that getting the water in a humid environment is not the problem. Keeping it clean is. I would predict that one could purify water from existing sources for far less expense.
There does seem to be a niche for this gadget, but at first blush seems to be limited as an answer for the world's clean drinking water problem.
{"commentId":4343663,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"foxbriar20"}
#4 - Mon Dec 8, 2008 12:20 PM EST{"commentId":4539529,"authorDomain":"traffic99eng"}
Agree...this process is already there in the normal A/C. And all it needs is to improve the collection of the condensate to keep it clean.
But this doesn't mean that what they have done is not beneficial.
{"commentId":4539529,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"traffic99eng"}
{"commentId":4343796,"authorDomain":"foxbriar20"}
BTW, this unit doesn't work in DRY environments. And as for affecting the outdoor air quality, I suspect that it would take many many many of these things to make a dent in outdoor humidity. Possible, but not likely.
Also, as for the quality of the article, the writer is thin on the nuts and bolts of how the item works. Seems pertinant.
{"commentId":4343796,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"foxbriar20"}
#5 - Mon Dec 8, 2008 12:27 PM EST{"commentId":4346177,"authorDomain":"flickerwi"}
Of course, a few of these machines would have no effect on local/regional/global air moisture patterns. But, what if millions are sold? 3 cents per quart or 12 cents per gallon of fresh water is very cheap, so the answer is no, you cannot purify natural sources of water for cheaper than that. You say that water vapor is replenished constantly. True, but from where? It doesn't just get there magically. So, millions of these units would decrease air humidity in a region, causing increased evaporation from everything from plants, to local wetlands, man-made lakes, natural lakes... And, what happens to local weather patterns? Creating a giant air vapor sink in one area could effect cloud cover and perhaps the chance for rainfall in another area. Could it effect wind patterns on a local scale? If Canada put up huge water vapor collection machines along the great lakes, would that be against the current agreements for taking water from the great lakes? There are a ton of questions that come up with a large-scale use of these devices. People have a tendency to look at the small-scale and ignore the large-scale, to their own detriment.
{"commentId":4346177,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"flickerwi"}
- 2 votes
#6 - Mon Dec 8, 2008 2:47 PM EST{"commentId":4539567,"authorDomain":"traffic99eng"}
so...let's make more use of the existing A/C as I'd mentioned above.
{"commentId":4539567,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"traffic99eng"}
{"commentId":4346389,"authorDomain":"stu226566"}
years ago in a discussion I asked if I could save the water that went down the drainfrom my A/C unit and water my plants? Now sone one has answered it
{"commentId":4346389,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"stu226566"}
- 1 vote
#7 - Mon Dec 8, 2008 3:01 PM EST{"commentId":4346415,"authorDomain":"stu226566"}
American innovation will save the world again
{"commentId":4346415,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"stu226566"}
- 1 vote
#8 - Mon Dec 8, 2008 3:02 PM EST{"commentId":4539590,"authorDomain":"traffic99eng"}
I have been collecting water from under my A/C for years to refill my car battery!
And I am not an American either!
{"commentId":4539590,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"traffic99eng"}
{"commentId":4346588,"authorDomain":"bigrock-pemco"}
Cool! Remember Luke Skywalker working on the Condenser Units on his Uncle's farm...?
Add a solar unit to power it and Viola! Put it next to an ocean and desalinization plants may be obsolete without having to suck in millions of gallons or producing excess briny water that could be harmful to oceanic ecosystems.
{"commentId":4346588,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"bigrock-pemco"}
- 1 vote
#9 - Mon Dec 8, 2008 3:13 PM EST{"commentId":4346761,"authorDomain":"dajoker93"}
Amazing - I thought the same thing. "Moisture Vaporaters" is the term you're looking for - in fact, I texted my brother with that exact phrase as I read this story. This is one of those "Damn, SERIOUSLY? COOL!" type things that I enjoy reading about... instead of having a huge desalinization plant, you could feasibly throw some of these together to get the water going. It'd be interesting to compare the electricity needs of the two.
{"commentId":4346761,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"dajoker93"}
{"commentId":4346867,"authorDomain":"bdnelson-1"}
This is Bryn, the article's author, again. One more comment: I too would like to see research on the large-scale implications of machines such as these. But at the cost of $1299 per unit, these are unlikely to be as ubiquitous as iPods, at least until the price drops significantly. Right now, the cost of tap water is still 3.5 times cheaper than the very largest of these machines (trailer-sized units that produce 5,000 liters per day and are billed primarily as military/humanitarian devices), so for most people in developed countries, a smaller home unit wouldn't make economic sense unless utility is available or there are real concerns about the quality of the local water source.
A few more notes on the actual process for the WaterMill: the unit first filters incoming air to catch pollen and other particles, then directs the flow into a cylindrical condensation chamber that features a coil bathed in ultraviolet light (this the self-sterilization chamber I refer to in the story). The byproduct, drier air, is used to help cool the rest of the system, while the condensed water is collected in a tube and pumped through an activated carbon filter before being sterilized with a second ultraviolet light-based system. The processed water can be directed to whatever end-point the consumer wants, typically a kitchen tap.
{"commentId":4346867,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"bdnelson-1"}
#10 - Mon Dec 8, 2008 3:30 PM EST{"commentId":4347068,"authorDomain":"dajoker93"}
So what you're saying is that it is not only a "water-producer," but has air-conditioning properties as well? Although it sounds like it should go hand in hand, I can't see me hooking a unit up to my A/C condensor, as much as I'd like to. I still see this as much more useful hooking up to a solar power source and putting it on a plot of land for hunting/camping/vacationing needs.
{"commentId":4347068,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"dajoker93"}
{"commentId":4539625,"authorDomain":"traffic99eng"}
With a little improvement on the normal A/C units already in used around the world, as I'd mentioned above, the cost can be greatly reduced. And you then can have the best of both worlds!!
{"commentId":4539625,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"traffic99eng"}
{"commentId":4348658,"authorDomain":"dragon1"}
This sounds like another one of those "hydro-fueled" technology devices. The hydro car should be scary enough for people but now there's more. We can only take so much hydrogen from the air before the system globally fails. We cannot improve the planet by robbing it of one of it's key sources of survival. As for the comment of there not being enough usage of these kind of things for any enviromental harm, I'm sure Mr. Ford thought that too while he drove is first model truck for all to see.
{"commentId":4348658,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"dragon1"}
#11 - Mon Dec 8, 2008 5:33 PM EST{"commentId":4351511,"authorDomain":"dajoker93"}
Um, er, ah, how do I say this gently?
The planet is fine. The global ecosystem is fine. The Earth IS FINE.
Humans aren't. We could destroy the "planet" 10 times over with nuclear weapons, and guess what? The Earth will still BE FINE.
I guess that's why I get a kick out of the hypocrisy of the tree-huggers - the EARTH DOESN'T CARE WHAT WE DO, it will go on.
Humans? Not so much.
{"commentId":4351511,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"dajoker93"}
{"commentId":4352886,"authorDomain":"danwill2"}
Umm Terri, I see a rather large dose of scientific ignorance on your part.
disregarding fratty's remarks(easy enough to do, as it has its own ignorant statements in it, namely "wishful thinking") let's look at your own comment .
1) Their is NO "hydrogen in the air",(at least not in any meaningful quantity) to take out of the air, NONE. Any free hydrogen will quickly react with the oxygen in the air to create (drumroll here) WATER (Hydrogen2 Oxygen, H2O). So your comment about taking non-existant hydrogen out of the air, and causing the "global system to fail" is meaningless.
2) You are also confused about the difference between hydrogen-powered vehicles and removing already existing water from the air. Actually, a hydrogen powered vehicle would ADD water to the air, which is what these units are removing from the air. furthermore, the water consumed from this unit would end up BACK in the air through natural processes like breathing, sweating, and others.
3) the hydrogen to fuel a "hydro-car" (Which is wrong, because that implies water-powered), comes from either using electricity or heat to convert WATER to HYDROGEN and OXYGEN. (there are a couple of other ways, but I don't want to confuse you.).
Is hydrogen necessary for life? YES, but it is entirely bound into the chemicals that comprise all living things including water, sugars, starches, proteins, fats, etc. And using the hydrogen to make WATER is NOT going to hurt ANYTHING.
{"commentId":4352886,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"danwill2"}
{"commentId":4356033,"authorDomain":"tonytrotter"}
Danwill,
Well said sir . . . Amen!
but . . . Fratty,
Ummm . . . . although technically true. . . Aren't you kinda making a pointless point.
{"commentId":4356033,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"tonytrotter"}
{"commentId":4360539,"authorDomain":"dajoker93"}
Under -
Yes, yes, I am! I'm glad someone got the intended point... pointless as it was.
{"commentId":4360539,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"dajoker93"}
{"commentId":4350340,"authorDomain":"spanky-mcfarland2007"}
Let me know when there's a machine that makes good Belgian ale out of air!
{"commentId":4350340,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"spanky-mcfarland2007"}
- 1 vote
#12 - Mon Dec 8, 2008 7:48 PM EST{"commentId":4350367,"authorDomain":"spanky-mcfarland2007"}
This sounds like another one of those "hydro-fueled" technology devices. The hydro car should be scary enough for people but now there's more. We can only take so much hydrogen from the air before the system globally fails. We cannot improve the planet by robbing it of one of it's key sources of survival. As for the comment of there not being enough usage of these kind of things for any enviromental harm, I'm sure Mr. Ford thought that too while he drove is first model truck for all to see
The sky is falling, the sky is falling. H is a building block in our overall chemistry. It does not go away. It remains in one form or another. Sheesh!
{"commentId":4350367,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"spanky-mcfarland2007"}
#13 - Mon Dec 8, 2008 7:50 PM EST{"commentId":4352466,"authorDomain":"pnganly"}
This thing produces distilled water or have I missed something? somewhere along the line does it add the necessary mineral nutreints to make this water drinkible? I still think that this gadget can not work economically inspite of what they say. I feel, that just like a window air conditioner, this gadget burns up a hell of a lot of electrical energy to produce a small amount of drinking water.......
{"commentId":4352466,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"pnganly"}
#14 - Mon Dec 8, 2008 11:33 PM EST{"commentId":4352952,"authorDomain":"danwill2"}
In many parts of the world, one of the most difficult things to get is a clean, reliable source of water. the "necessary mineral nutrients(mostly salts)" are far easier to transport in the required quantities(tiny) than clean water is. When the solar version comes out this thing (or something similar) could be very helpful to those living in tropical, or humid climates, with contaminated water supplies. It would not be of so much help to those living in the desert.
{"commentId":4352952,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"danwill2"}
{"commentId":4355637,"authorDomain":"tonytrotter"}
I like hearing all the skepticism in these comments! It's about time people start asking questions about what any given product will do to the world we live in. This particular product however, may just be one of those products that will be critical in our not-so-far off future.
Remember that our planet is about 3/5ths water and that the sun is the engine that provides us energy. That energy converts water into it's gaseous form (water vapor). The atmosphere is capable of holding a very large amount of water vapor but it is dependent upon many factors such as temperature, liquid water proximity, land topology, etc. The point that I am making here is that based on these factors, the atmosphere will hold only so much moisture and no more. There is a threshold at which it will not hold more and that it sill strive to achieve. If I have a machine that removes moisture from the air, nature will rapidly replace that moisture because I have taken the moisture level below what it is capable of holding (the threshold or dew point). I do not see how these machines could have any lasting effect on the atmosphere at all beyond a very localized and very, very temporary local drying effect (if it happens at all). Could many very large machines affect local weather . . . . possibly, but the whole point of rain is to collect fresh potable water. Rain falls randomly wherever conditions favor it. This machine gathers moisture where it is needed 100% of the time and that will be critical in the near future for all of us.
This machine is working with natures own water cycle. It is simply capturing water vapor that has been captured and stored by the atmosphere. My only question is wether or not this is a publically held company because I want to invest early!!
{"commentId":4355637,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"tonytrotter"}
#15 - Tue Dec 9, 2008 10:18 AM EST{"commentId":4355797,"authorDomain":"tonytrotter"}
"In many parts of the world, one of the most difficult things to get is a clean, reliable source of water. the "necessary mineral nutrients(mostly salts)" are far easier to transport in the required quantities(tiny) than clean water is. When the solar version comes out this thing (or something similar) could be very helpful to those living in tropical, or humid climates, with contaminated water supplies. It would not be of so much help to those living in the desert."
By definition, moisture is limited in desert regions BUT . . . there is still some moisture in the air. The problem is that it will not condense back out in the areas that it is needed. This machine may have some use to desert homes as well because even some water is better than no water.
{"commentId":4355797,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"tonytrotter"}
#16 - Tue Dec 9, 2008 10:26 AM EST{"commentId":4364014,"authorDomain":"danwill2"}
For that statement I was relying on the manufacturer's own disclaimer that the unit did not work very well when the rel. humidity was below 35%, a fairly frequent occurrence in the deserts I'm familiar with. Although there are days when the rel. humidity can go well above that mark, in which case the unit would work fine.
{"commentId":4364014,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"danwill2"}
{"commentId":4355965,"authorDomain":"tonytrotter"}
.
{"commentId":4355965,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"tonytrotter"}
#17 - Tue Dec 9, 2008 10:37 AM EST{"commentId":4539699,"authorDomain":"traffic99eng"}
I agree with you, Under-whelmed!!
{"commentId":4539699,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"traffic99eng"}
{"commentId":4360925,"authorDomain":"tomterwilliger"}
I wonder how economical and/or efficient this clever machine is in drier climates such as Colorado and Arizona? What would be the daily water output with such a low dew point?
{"commentId":4360925,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"tomterwilliger"}
#18 - Tue Dec 9, 2008 3:19 PM EST{"commentId":4365930,"authorDomain":"bccrane"}
Just a comment on how the water vapor is replenished in the possible vicinities of the machine: Transpiration from plants, evaporation from the sun or air movement, passing car exhaust, the sweaty jogger running by, flagelance, breathing, the local dairy farm with sweaty cows, hot manure and urine, and burping, and steam rising from the local landfill. Just a little humor, this is still just distilled water anyways.
{"commentId":4365930,"threadId":"438061","contentId":"2190951","authorDomain":"bccrane"}
#19 - Tue Dec 9, 2008 9:49 PM EST{"commentId":4366247,"authorDomain":"jufmamca-1"}
Since rain results from the over-accumulation of Water Vapor in The Clouds obtained by The Earth's Sun Causing evaporation of surface water-say From the Worlds Oceans.
What Impact Will Mass-Production of WaterMill have on The reduction/supply of Water Vapor in The Earth's Atmosphere, that falls back to Earth as Rain...???
In The Movie Trilogy-Terminator-Sky Net Deployment Causes The Wholesale Destruction of All Human Life-Due to Man's overenthusastic Development of Computerized Artifical Intelligence being given Command & Control of Our Defense Strategy, Implimentation & Functioning...which determines That Humanity is Threat--That Must Be eliminated...!!!
Quite naturally, Once Humanity gives over its Protection to Machines--Machines become Superior...though at present, Said Machines are Incapable of Determining Right from Wrong or Exhibiting a Moral Code....once those hurdles are Breached--Human's Cease To Be Necessary-vital and in a sense Redundant & Obsolete...on account we are lowly Carbon Based Units...requiring Food and Water To Exsist...!!!
Furthermore, where others have Lauded the Quickening Pace of Automation-My Positions is that this very same push towards Wholesale Societal Automation--Will aultimately Lead To Humanity's Unparalled Destruction..!!!
Case in point, This Destruction will not come from: Bombs, Guns, Biologoical or Chemical Agents-but from Earth's Decreased Food Producing Ability, on account of Nonstopped Exponential POPULATION GROWTH...!!!
Even at present, with The Earth's Population nearing 7 Billion Souls, and Widespread Sporatic Food Shortages Occuring in Frequency & Severity--How will a Earth's Population of 9 , 10 Billion or more Souls be Fed-Clothed and Housed in 2100 AD...???
On account of Global Warming/Cooling Issues, Environmental Polutants along with Decreasing Nonpoluted Water Availibility concerns...Our Future and Our Children's Future looks increasingly Bleak...???
In The Wake of November's Half-Million American Jobs Disappearing, Just Today in President Elect BHO Home State of Illinois-The Illinois Office of The FBI unsealed a Complaint against its Governor: Rod R. Blagojevich and His Chief of Staff John Harris Arresting Them on Federal Corruption Charges-alledgely stemming from Its Governor attempting to "Auction Off" BHO Vacated Senatiorial Seat to The Highest Bidder...!!!
However, as Appalling as this may be, Please remember Illinois was the State in Which The Deceased Yet Infamous Al Capone plyed His Crimnal "RICO" Trade-with Impunity...!!!
Furthermore, During Americas' Depression, FBI agents Receive a Tip Which Led J.Edger Hoover's "G" Men to the fatal theater Entrance in Chicago where the Career of infamous Criminal John Dillinger was Brought To An End...!!!
Dan Rostenkowski (D-IL) Former House Ways and Means Committe Chairman 1981-1994-Once Billed as One of The Most Powerful Men in Washington, D.C. He was a United States representative from Illnois for 36 years-Is Brought Low and Humbled By FBI Documents Charging Him 17 times with Embezzlement & Wire Fraud in His Use of Federal Monies-and is Sentenced to 15 months in Prison...!!!
Coupled with today's FBI announcement-The Special Agent in Charge provided America with a Possible Insightful Reaction of Former President Mr. Abraham Lincoln-saying "He Is Rolling Over In His Grave"...as a Result of His Home State of Illinois: Governor being Indicted by The FBI...!!!
I certainly don't believe that I'm alone in asking: What Has Happened in Politics and To Politicans Haling From Illinois since Mr. Abraham Lincoln's Time...???
Furthermore, I don't believe That any other US State Can Claim That It Has Had More Bad Breaks-- Than Illinois...Has...citing The Lincoln Assassination, and The 1871 Great Chicago Fire...which in One Swell Stroke erased The Old and Raised A New Chicago-Full Of Promise-Yet To Be Realised...But nevertheless-Still Hoped For...!!!
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#20 - Tue Dec 9, 2008 10:18 PM EST{"commentId":4374667,"authorDomain":"danwill2"}
????
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{"commentId":4539874,"authorDomain":"traffic99eng"}
He must have had too much contaminated water in his system!!
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