How Dean Kamen's Magical Water Machine Could Save the World

This IS different than the below article, and EVERYONE should read it (the original article). It is fascinating.

The "sling" is Lord Dumpling's revolutionary new version of the Stirling engine, a no-emission power source that engineers have been trying to perfect for almost two hundred years. Instead of the tiny explosions that drive the pistons of a standard internal-combustion engine, the Stirling drives its piston by forcing gas from one chamber to another in a perfectly closed system. He's pretty much got it nailed, aside from a few tweaks and a few niggling questions about who will pay for it. The "shot" is his equally revolutionary vapor-compression water distiller, which can make pure medicinal-grade water out of anything that's wet, even urine or toxic waste -- water so clean you could inject it into your arm. Together, the sling and the shot could save millions of lives. That's why he spent $50 million of his own money developing the prototypes and testing them in Third World villages, and they work, and we have to get the word out because 50 percent of all human illness is caused by waterborne pathogens.

He really can't. There's just too much he wants to do. When he proved that FIRST worked, he was sure it would be in every school in the country the next year. Same with the Segway. It's 100 percent more efficient than cars, those metal boxes designed for the open road when 50 percent of the people alive live in cities. It's just stupid. It's lunacy. And someday, the Slingshot will go into production, too. And one of the kids from FIRST will win the Nobel prize or cure cancer. But it takes time for an innovation to become a commodity. Because the Wright brothers flew a plane and it was a long time before frequent-flier miles. You have to be patient, give the world time to catch up.

Entire Article: http://www.esquire.com/features/dean-kamen-1208

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Water Out of Thin Air

Element Four has developed a machine that it hopes will become the first mainstream household appliance to have been invented since the microwave. Their creation, the WaterMill, uses the electricity of about three light bulbs to condense moisture from the air and purify it into clean drinking water.

It works by drawing air through filters to remove dust and particles, then cooling it to just below the temperature at which dew forms. The condensed water is passed through a self-sterilising chamber that uses microbe-busting UV light to eradicate any possibility of Legionnaires' disease or other infections. Finally, it is filtered and passed through a pipe to the owner's fridge or kitchen tap.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/nov/23/water-mill-eco-invention

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Proposed Recycling Survey

Here is the recycling survey that I have drafted and hope to send to students living in the residence halls in the next couple of weeks. Right now the main objective of the survey is to assess how many residents want an all-hall recycling program and if they would be willing to pay for one. The survey would go out to about 500 randomly selected residents. Please leave comments with suggestions about how to rephrase questions currently on the survey (they need to be unbiased), about adding additional questions, or if you think any are irrelevant and should be removed.

Residence Hall Recycling Survey

Survey Description

This survey is being conducted by Students for Environmental Action to assess the current level of recycling and waste output in the residence halls as well as to determine the desire of residents to have an all hall recycling program.

Opening Instructions

Please answer the following questions.

Page 1

Question 1

What is your year in school?

	Freshman
	Sophomore
	Junior
	Senior
	Graduate Student

Question 2

What residence hall are you staying in?

	Boyd
	Ford
	Goodnow
	Haymaker
	Marlatt
	Moore
	Putnam
	Smurthwaite
	Van Zile
	West

Question 3

Do you currently recycle?

	Yes
	No

Question 4

Which drop off points would you recycle at? (select all that apply)

	Every trash room
	Odd floor trash rooms
	Your residence hall's basement
	Your residence hall's lobby
	Outdoor bins
	I would not recycle if facilities were available

Question 5

How many of each item do you throw away per week in your residence? (Select the appropriate range)

1 - 0-3 of item | 2 - 4-7 of item | 3 - 8-11 of item
4 - 12 or more of item

	1	2	3	4
5.1 Newspaper
5.2 Magazines
5.3 Computer/Office/Notebook Paper
5.4 Aluminum Cans
5.5 Plastic Bottles
5.6 Cardboard

Question 6

Select the appropriate level of importance.

1 - Extremely Important | 2 - Important | 3 - Unimportant
4 - Extremely Unimportant

	1	2	3	4
6.1 How important is recycling to you?

Question 7

Select the appropriate range.

1 - $0 | 2 - $1-$10 | 3 - $11-$20 | 4 - $21-$30 | 5 - $31-$40

	1	2	3	4	5
7.1 How much extra money would you be willing to pay per year in your housing bill for a recycling program?

Closing Message

Thank you for taking time to voice your opinion.

- End of Survey -

© 2008 Axio Learning. All Rights Reserved.

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