Archive for category: Water

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Top Factors that Lead to Poverty

Poverty
People in this world understand what poverty is and how devastating it is for individuals and communities. However, the factors that lead to poverty are not as clear as the way in which poverty affects people. The question of why does poverty exists has been asked many times yet the ultimate solution continues to evade the world due to the multifaceted issues of this problem. These are the top factors that lead to poverty today.

Top Factors that Lead to Poverty

  1. One of the obvious factors that lead to poverty is the lack of clean water. There are many people in the world who take access to clean water for granted. However, 2.1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe, readily available water and 4.5 billion people lack safely managed sanitation. This factor is crucial to poverty because not only does inadequate sanitation and lack of clean water leads to preventable diseases like diarrhea or something more serious like typhoid but the cost of mitigating this issue is increased as time goes by. The efforts to survive through these illnesses can ultimately force the individual to be stuck in poverty for a longer term. This happens because these people spend little money they have on transportation to a clinic and to medical costs. Considering that it is nearly impossible to live without water, many people are spending precious hours and energy to reach a water collection point. People in poverty in rural communities have the greatest risk for falling into this vicious circle.
  2. Poor education is also one of the key factors that can lead to poverty. This is because education is one of the greatest assets a person can have, and poor or no education often leads to poverty. Education provides protection against poverty in a way that it acts as a great equalizer. Being educated provides people with the means to reach for more ambitious career and life goals. For instance, 35 percent of people who have the educational attainment of less than a high school are likely to be impoverished, compared to 5 percent of people with a bachelor’s degree or higher. UNESCO estimates that 171 million people could escape poverty if they had basic literacy skills.
  3. Another factor that leads to poverty is the unreliable labor market. Extreme poverty is defined as the situation in which someone is surviving on less than $1.90 a day. Sadly, about 11 percent of the world’s population is classified as living in these conditions. The reason why these people are troubled is directly related to the conditions of the jobs that they have and job opportunities. The unreliable availability of jobs and the insufficient wages make it difficult for people to take themselves out of poverty. This also relates to the factor of the education, as people who do not have specific skills or experience have a hard time to secure themselves with a stable and high-paid job.
  4. The unequal distribution of the wealth in the world also contributes to poverty. In 2005, it was estimated that the wealthiest 10 percent of the world accounted for 59 percent of a total private consumption. Meanwhile, the poorest 10 percent consumed only 0.5 percent. The people who are struggling in poverty have little and consume little. This pattern will continue endlessly unless this distribution is equalized to some extent. An example of this inequality can be seen in the net worth of different individuals. In 2006, the 497 billionaires in the world had a net worth of $3.5 trillion. This is nearly triple the net worth of low-income countries that have 2.4 billion people and net worth of $1.6 trillion.
  5. Poor infrastructure is also a large factor of poverty. Impoverished people generally live in isolated communities in rural areas. This means that these people do not have easy access to electricity, water, roads and reliable transportation. For example, more than 85 percent of the population in the Central African Republic lacks electricity and connectivity. As a result, isolation is limiting the ability to education or work opportunities.

Many factors that affect poverty are not mentioned above. Poverty is not only an issue for people affected but it impacts the entire world. It can come as a result of many other factors, therefore, it is difficult to truly eliminate it. This requires the international cooperation and understanding on how to overcome these factors.

– Jenny S. Park
Photo: Flickr

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5 Factors That Lead to Poverty

Contributory Factors That Lead to Poverty

The issue of global poverty has been around for a long time and it gets more serious every day. Today, individuals are not only suffering from global poverty but also from the contributory factors that lead to poverty.

Approaching the issue with numbers, it can be seen that approximately half of the people in the world today are surviving on nothing more than $2.5 per day. By looking deeper, it can also be seen that more than 1.3 billion people live in extreme poverty, which corresponds to nothing more than $1.25 per day.

In order to take action on the issue of global poverty, one must analyze the issue from all aspects because the existence of poverty has its very own contributory factors. Understanding the factors that lead to poverty may enable the prevention of the issue before its existence in the future. 

5 Factors That Lead to Poverty

  1. One of the many factors leading to global poverty is having no access to clean drinking water. More than 750 million people do not have the access to clean water, which can cause a number of illnesses such as Diarrhea. In this regard, the fair distribution of clean water is crucial in order to improve the sanitation and health of the population.
  2. There are also some political factors that lead to poverty. The idea of equal distribution on what is taken from the planet is not exactly equal between countries. There are two crucial facts to highlight this very issue. One is that the world could put every child into school if only one percent of what is spent on weapons were spent on those in need.
  3. The other heartbreaking fact is that the world’s richest seven people combined are wealthier than the GDP of 41 poor countries combined. These two facts should highlight one solution that would eliminate the factors that lead to poverty: the stronger countries should help those in need. Greed and apathy are two of the most wounding contributory factors of global poverty
  4. Having no access to earn a proper living or livelihood is another contributing factor. The idea here is simple, without a proper job, one has no other way to earn money. It can be argued that finding a job or at least a way of making money is not the hardest thing out there and depends heavily on the individual, yet the case is not similar in every country. There are numerous countries out there facing serious conflicts that inhibit access to a normal life where one can have a job and make money. Overpopulation, war and climate change are factors that can have a serious impact on the issue of global poverty.
  5. Lack of infrastructure is another contributing factor. An entire population cannot live in the city, and sometimes getting from one place to another can be a serious issue. Going to school or work from more rural areas depends heavily on infrastructure. The issue of infrastructure is also highlighted as an issue of resource availability and proper governmental control since rural areas often lack basic necessities like electricity and clean water. This can be a large part of the factors that lead to poverty.

The process of any country or community falling into poverty is not immediate. There are numerous factors that lead to poverty, and those factors can be used as indicators of what is yet to come in developing countries. It is important to approach the issue of global poverty from several angles to eliminate it sustainably and start working to erase the factors that lead to it. Only then can the issue of global poverty be solved.

– Orçun Doğmazer

Photo: Pixabay

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Cape Town: Can ‘Day Zero’ Be Avoided?

Cape Town water
Cape Town, South Africa has experienced a drought for the last three years, leading up to what officials are calling ‘Day Zero,’ or the day the city will turn off a large portion of its tap water and turn to rationing the remaining water among citizens. However, water shortage issues began as early as 1995 with little action from the city to remedy the situation.

Water Crisis

What happened in 1995 that caused a crisis over two decades later? The population of Cape Town began increasing and has steadily increased by over three-quarters of its previous population. Fortunately, this multiplication alone was not the cause of the water crisis; rather, it was population growth paired with little increase in water storage.

The city failed to compensate a growing population to its water usage, and while this has made a significant impact on the amount of water in Cape Town, the city has still been able to maintain reasonable water levels despite a lack of added water storage facilities.

This success is primarily due to plentiful rainfall during the monsoon seasons, which may also be why Cape Town has previously failed to increase its water storage for so many years.

Restrictions and Rations

Unfortunately, a drought began in South Africa in 2015 that severely limited the amount of water available to citizens, especially those in Cape Town.

The drought brought to light the water storage issue for Cape Town officials who began urging citizens to conserve the remaining water. They initially asked that each citizen use approximately 87 liters of water before decreasing the amount to a mere 50 liters, or just over 13 gallons, daily.  

The South African government has created a rationing system to be implemented when the water levels decrease to a low enough level. The day this occurs is the day referred to as ‘Day Zero.’ However, in the meantime, the most energy is being placed into reminding citizens to continue to reduce their water usage.

Applications and Online Services

In light of the water crisis, the University of Cape Town has developed a series of cell phone applications that will aid in water conservation. The first is a free application called ‘DropDrop.’

DropDrop allows users to track water usage in real time, helping citizens ensure that they are staying within the city’s new water restrictions. The app is especially useful in areas where regular access to the internet does not exist due to the application’s offline nature after initial download.

Among the services created for Capetonians during the water crisis is an organization, Picup. The group started with the goal of quickly shipping water to Cape Town residents, and now allows Capetonians to order bottled water and receive it to one’s home within 24 hours.

The water can be purchased in two order sizes, with the smallest being 30 liters with an affordable price tag of around 176 Rands, or approximately $13.

City Initiatives

Among the initiatives implemented to conserve water in Cape Town is the initiative started by Cape Town officials that monitors household water usage. The initiative also awards certificates and name recognition on the city website for households showing a 10 percent or higher decrease in water usage.

The city also gives daily updates on water levels for surrounding dams in order to encourage Capetonians in their conservation efforts.

Moving Forwards

Despite the outstanding circumstances Cape Town has faced over the last few years, the future looks bright. With a strong community making huge lifestyle changes to conserve water, the city’s water basins are filling back up and allowing citizens to be a part of a community survival story.

The water crisis in Cape Town has proved the city’s growing wisdom and trendsetting environmental responsibility. This growth has not only set an example for the world to follow, but it has also been the first to prove that any inescapability, even one as drastic as ‘Day Zero,’ can be overcome.  

– Alexandra Ferrigno
Photo: Flickr

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Innovation in Safe Drinking Water

polyglu
Over the course of the last 25 years, Somalia has suffered a series of devastating droughts. In the most recent one, spanning through 2016 and 2017 there was an absence of rain for three seasons in a row. This drought was particularly devastating in its effects: food scarcity, malnutrition, and the spread of cholera and other diseases.

In 2017 alone, approximately 1.2 million people were acutely malnourished, 80,000 children could no longer attend school and 120,000 children were at risk of dropping out. The crisis in Somalia highlights how the effects of drought and inaccessibility to safe drinking water affects all facets of society.

Access to Safe Drinking Water

Lack of access to safe water is a striking feature in almost all parts of Somalia. Only 45% of Somalis have access to improved water sources and this fact increases the risk of outbreaks of waterborne diseases. Cholera is endemic and claims hundreds of lives annually, particularly in densely populated areas. Increasing access to safe water must be accompanied by efforts to ensure the quality of drinking water. Water quality monitoring and house-water treatment, as well as safe storage, are critical in reducing the risk of contamination of water supplies.

Addressing the Problem

Fortunately, a solution is in sight. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Somalia is using a coagulant called Polyglu to treat drinking water in Somalia and to assist those affected by the recent drought. IOM helps to protect migrants, refugees and those displaced within their country.

From November 2016 to March 2017, over 600,000 people were displaced within Somalia. Many were forced to leave their homes and livelihoods behind in search of food and water. A startling 8,000 people are being displaced every day. Since safe drinking water is at the center of their displacement, Polyglu offers an effective and innovative solution that could help hundreds of thousands of people, in Somalia but in other countries as well.

About Polyglu

Polyglu is a powder, primarily composed of a coagulant made from fermented soybeans, which serves to quicken the clotting of impurities found in water. Polyglu is unique in that is a safe and environmentally friendly purifying agent that has been successfully applied in the food and industrial equipment industries.

One gram of the Polyglu powder is capable of treating up to five liters of polluted water, which makes this powder very effective. It has been successfully deployed in India, Bangladesh, Somalia and Tanzania. In collaboration with IOM and the Internally Displaced Person camps in Mogadishu Somalia has used Polyglu to address water-borne diseases and water scarcity. According to locals in Mogadishu, Polyglu has contributed to lowering the rate of diarrhea and other illnesses among Somali children plagued by all kinds of shortages and war.

Moving Forward

While Polyglu has made significant strides in combating water scarcity and water-borne disease in developing countries, much can still be done to ensure safe drinking water in these regions. Although Polyglu can remove many of the pollutants found in water, it cannot completely purify waste water. Thus, it is imperative to allocate more resources to affordable and accessible means of purifying water.

As droughts continue to plague developing countries, Polyglu is just one tool that can be used to ensure access to safe drinking water.

– McAfee Sheehan
Photo: Flickr

Five Most Water-Scarce Countries in the World

Most Water-Scarce Countries
Water is one of the most vital ingredients for all life, yet many people across the globe still live without the assurance of safe & clean water. Here are the five most water-scarce countries, and five groups working to help them.

Yemen

As conflict in Yemen has escalated to bombings, ground fighting and fuel shortages, 19.3 million citizens have been left without access to water. This has caused an outbreak of diseases such as cholera and Acute Watery Diarrhea, especially in the country’s capital, Sana’a. As people continue to be cut off from basic necessities by the conflict, the need for water becomes increasingly dire.

Who’s Helping: UNICEF.
In response to the crisis in Yemen, UNICEF has increased its efforts within the country’s borders. The organization has provided fuel to local water corporations in order to reestablish the water reserve. Additionally, UNICEF is also providing fuel to assist in ridding the streets of waste and creating more sanitary cities. If that were not enough, toilets and water points have also been repaired at over 300 schools. Water tanks and temporary toilets have been constructed in the most rural areas of Yemen, giving communities and numerous displaced families the vital resources they so desperately need.

Libya

As a nation consumed by the desert, water in Libya is continually scarce making it one of the most water-scarce countries in the world. The country sees very little rainfall each year and is forced to rely on an ever-dwindling supply of groundwater to both irrigate the land and nourish citizens.

As demand for water grows, groundwater supplies cannot last, especially as many coastal aquifers are infiltrated by seawater and become salinized.

Who’s Helping: The Great Man-Made River Project.
To combat this problem, the Libyan government launched The Great Man-Made River Project in 1984. This endeavor is an enormous engineering project designed to supply water from desert aquifers to more populated coastal regions. Although construction is ongoing, the project has already had a massive impact on the country as people in need can now access water. However, the life of the project is unknowable (as it depends entirely on how quickly the water is pumped) and the aquifer is a non-renewable source of water.

Jordan

It is no surprise that Jordan is one of the most water-scarce countries on the planet, as it has one of the lowest levels of water availability on earth.

The nation has struggled for years to provide water to its citizens, and as the Syrian crisis has now caused an influx of refugees, there is not enough water to sustain the dramatically enlarged population. As an agrarian society, the lack of water causes all aspects of life in Jordan to come to a screeching halt.

Who’s Helping: USAID in partnership with the government of Jordan.
Since 2000, USAID has invested over $700 million towards restoring Jordan’s water supply. The initiatives put in place assist the Jordanian government in developing a more advanced water infrastructure, decreasing water loss and conserving the little water available.

Western Sahara

Situated on the northwest coast of Africa, Western Sahara is officially considered a non-self governing territory, though Morocco has laid claim to the land. The hot, dry desert land sees infrequent rainfall, and water is increasingly sparse.

Due to the fact that the land is continually plagued with sovereignty issues and Western Sahara is not an established nation, there is little infrastructure that would improve water supply.

Who’s Helping: The Mission for a Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).
MINURSO was established in April of 1991 with a purpose of monitoring a ceasefire with Morocco and allowing Western Sahara to choose to be integrated into Morocco or become independent. Western Sahara and Morocco have failed to come to an agreement yet, but MINURSO still persists.

The group has implemented various measures to improve water and sanitation in the area and continues to monitor the security of the region. However, as conflict between natives and Moroccans persist, safety concerns keep other organizations that can help from entering the territory.

Djibouti

Djibouti is another one of the most water-scarce countries in the world and — not unlike the other countries on this list — is an arid desert. With only 0.3 cubic kilometers of renewable water resources in the entire country, Djibouti is unable to irrigate the majority of the land or provide adequately for citizens.

Ironically, the country also suffers from severe flooding that has caused millions of dollars in damages. What little structure the country has for maintaining water supplies is destroyed by the intense floods.

Who’s Helping: World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GDFRR).
Since 2007, both the World Bank and GDFRR have helped Djibouti create and sustain a water infrastructure. A donation of $3 million was used to establish a project that manages water resources in rural areas. Additionally, the groups seek to help Djibouti better prepare for disasters by improving weather monitoring systems, updating emergency plans and establishing early warning systems for both floods and droughts.

As the most water-scarce countries on the planet continue to fight for a basic necessity, these five groups will continue to make lives better through the power of clean water.

– Sarah Dean

Photo: Flickr

Improving the Water Supply in Karakalpakstan

Water Supply in Karakalpakstan
The autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan occupies the entire northwestern end of the country of Uzbekistan. With a poverty rate of 32 percent, this region is considered one of the poorest in Uzbekistan.

The Necessity of Water

Because most of this nation’s produce comes from agricultural production, water is an essential resource for the people of Karakalpakstan. The economy is supported through the production of cotton, melons and livestock, making extensive irrigation systems critical for the smooth execution of farming practices and water management.

Water is essential to life in Karakalpakstan; more than 30,000 hectares of land have been abandoned because of the lack of water. Since the shortage of water in the region often results from farmers using water inefficiently, new and effective water-saving technologies are in high demand.

Improving irrigation systems would help these impoverished farmers move out of poverty. Effective water management can reduce the cost of supplying and storing water, which would inevitably increase the farmers’ yields and enable them to cultivate more crops. With a steady and reliable source of water supply in Karakalpakstan, the region’s farmers can be assured that they will be able to tend to their crops and rely on them for financial support.

The Project to Improve Water Supply in Karakalpakstan

In response to the ongoing water crisis, the World Bank initiated a project that aims to help 1,500 private farms and 40,000 small farming households secure access to water in Karakalpakstan.

The South Karakalpakstan Water Resources Management Improvement Project (SKWRMIP) for Uzbekistan focuses on the restoration of irrigation systems and improvements in water management. With 80 percent of its resources aimed at irrigation and drainage, the project aims to build a sustainable water distribution system and a financially stable community of farmers.

“Better water management and irrigation will lead to increased farm productivity, and thus help farmers in South Karakalpakstan build their assets and improve their living standards,” said Saroj Kumar Jha, the World Bank Regional Director for Central Asia. “We estimate that 41,000 water users will be provided with new or improved irrigation and drainage services under this project.”

Financial Benefits of the Project

This project would replace the 1950s water infrastructure in Uzbekistan, which is experiencing many complications due to age. The deteriorating infrastructure and poor water management of the 1950s system is estimated to cost Uzbekistani government $1.7 billion USD annually. However, the SKWRMIP proposal comes with a total annual energy cost of $2.4 million USD, saving the government a significant amount.  It also relieves much of the burden on rural farmers paying operation and distribution fees, allowing them the freedom to save the money for themselves.

“Our firm is planning to complete the civil works along the Buston channel this year. Thousands of farmers in several districts of South Karakalpakstan will be able to receive water for the irrigation of their lands,” said Islombek Ismatov, a SKWRMIP construction manager. “Lack of water in this region makes it more valuable than gold.”

In regions like Karakalpakstan, water is extremely valuable for livelihood. Water supply has been erratic and fleeting over the past few decades in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, but the SKWRMIP works to build and maintain a functional and accessible source of water supply in the region.

– Jenny S Park
Photo: Google

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Safe Water Network & Innovative Clean Water Solutions

Safe Water Network
At the intersection of an assortment of key poverty-related issues lies the struggle for clean water. Roughly 80 percent of illnesses in developing nations are linked to limited access to clean water and proper sanitation. This spread of illnesses impacts child mortality rates, and reduces the competency of a nation’s workforce.

Children, particularly girls, are impacted disproportionately by reduced access to clean water. Girls under the age of 15 are twice as likely as boys to be responsible for fetching water in rural environments. This halves a population’s access to education, as the girls are too busy trekking for water to participate in school. Thus without clean water access, developing nations are hindered in multiple ways and pushed back to square one.  

The United Nations’ Aid Efforts

In 2015, the U.N. convened to reestablish a series of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By design, these goals were created to be met by 2030. In response to the global clean water crisis, global access to clean water was established as a primary goal for this initiative.

The U.N.’s commitment to channeling resources and attention towards the global clean water crisis serves as a reminder that this issue remains at the forefront of humanitarian work. Clearly, the challenge of clean water access is not commitment, awareness or resources; rather, it is the effective implementation of filtration systems and stations.

How to Establish Clean Water Access

The mainstay approach to establishing clean water access, the deployment of filtration stations or wells, is rife with challenges. These stations are typically deployed in low-income areas, and are not supported by an effective contingency plan that extends past their build date. They are oftentimes left in unforgiving environments without technicians or significant financial support. Due to this, 30 percent to 60 percent of clean water stations fail within the first three years of existence.

Safe Water Network, a clean water focused NGO founded in 2006 by philanthropist Paul Newman, employs a unique model that responds to these challenges. Much like any clean water NGO, Safe Water Network deploys water stations across both India and Ghana with the aid of philanthropic capital. Rather than leaving these stations alone, though, the organization diverts funding into the community to train local technicians and operators. With the help of these technicians and operators, the station remains in good condition.

Station By Station

The station then produces affordably priced clean water that is typically much cheaper than the bottled water in the area. The majority of the stations penetrate 80 percent of the local populace, meaning that the revenue funnels back into the clean water station to ensure long-term, high-quality maintenance. By tapping into the local economic ecosystem, these stations become sewn into the community fabric of the respective regions.

In fact, Poonam Sewak, the Vice President of India programs for Safe Water Network, stated: “I would like to say whoever comes to work in clean water should come with a vision that it has to be sustainable. If you are not creating and leaving behind two things: technicians with access to spare parts, and second, training to the people to own and manage their own product then you have done a disservice to the money which you had.” 

Sewak also emphasized the program’s goal to instill autonomy, entrepreneurship and confidence in the communities in addition to providing essential & sustainable clean water access. 

Clean Water Toolkit

Global long-term cooperative efforts are another component of the organization’s strategy. Safe Water Network aims to build a database platform of their collective clean water knowledge derived from each of their stations. This database draws on digital monitoring systems installed at a majority of the sites. By monitoring water outputs and other technical details, Safe Water Network is better able to understand which approaches are most effective in conjunction with their market-based methodology.

In India, Safe Water Network has already provided this collective knowledge to the Ministry of Clean Water and the Ministry of Urban Planning so that they are better able to respond to the challenge of managing sanitation in urban environments. In the future, the organization hopes to expand this database so that it can be accessed by other initiatives and NGOs who aim to create their own sustainable safe water stations. Essentially, Safe Water Network is building a new clean water toolkit for the future.

Global Goals

While the challenge of creating global clean water access by 2030 per the U.N.’s SDGs still looms ahead, Safe Water Network serves as an example of the effectiveness of innovation in the face of adversity.

Safe Water Network has already reached 300 communities, providing long-term clean water access to about one million people. As their network of governments, charities and NGOs expands with the aid of the clean water toolkit, their positive impact will surely be multiplied.    

– Ian Greenwood
Photo: Flickr

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Make It Rain! Cloud Seeding Benefits and Concerns

Cloud Seeding
The World Wildlife Fund predicts that in 7 years, two-thirds of the world’s population will face a water shortage. This hypothesis is due to a number of reasons such as higher birth rates and longer lives as a result of improved healthcare, pollution as a result of oil, chemicals, trash disposal and fecal waste, poor management of resources and conflict.

Human Trajectory

Such an outcome is further exasperated by changes in climate, particularly in the form of an increase in the number of droughts and the melting of glacial mountains. If this continues, humanity will face a number of issues. For starters, health will decline and disease susceptibility will increase as more individuals lose access to clean drinking water and proper sanitation.

If these changes occur, then the financial security as individuals will also be affected as people become unable to function properly for work and school. Overall, the efforts of poverty reduction will be for naught if climate change continues to deplete water resources. In order to help combat these effects of climate change, scientists have been working towards enhancing a process called cloud seeding.

Cloud Seeding

Cloud seeding is the process of adding chemicals — like dry ice, silver iodide, etc. — to clouds to increase rainfall. Typically, these chemicals are shot or released into the sky by machines or small jets. Since its discovery in the 1940s, this system has been used to generate snow, and to try to stop hurricanes, or extend monsoon seasons. However, it wasn’t until 2017 that the hypothesis for the methodology was confirmed to be true and, thanks to this significant finding, scientists determined a range of potential effects/uses of cloud seeding.

Of these proposals, the potential effect cloud seeding can have on agriculture and the food security problem is one of the most notable. Cloud seeding is believed to support healthy growing seasons as it has the potential to combat droughts by boosting the amount of precipitation in a given area by 5 to 15 percent.

If cloud seeding is implemented, there will be increased harvesting and more food available from a wide variety of crops for the ever-growing human population. The process also has the potential to improve biomes, allow for more fertility and create more farming land and land that could be used to build better homes. Such effects can then indirectly create jobs and contribute to financial security for people living in poverty-stricken countries.

Realistic Expectations

Due to the potential benefits, many developing countries are starting to fund their own cloud seeding program, but without considering the potential drawbacks. Some of the downsides of this technology include the safety of continued exposure to silver iodide and other chemicals, which some studies have reported can cause skin discoloration and be carcinogenic.

Another setback is the economic and technological availability. There are countries like Dubai and China where they have the economic sufficiency but lack the technology and basic geographical set up to manage the precipitation. The amount and length of precipitation is also difficult to control, as can be seen in 2009 Beijing and the 2017 flooding  in Dubai.

The bottom-line is: cloud seeding is uncharted waters. There are variables that need to be taken into consideration before introducing nationwide cloud seeding programs in developing countries, especially in the case of long-term use. However, once addressed, cloud seeding has the potential to bring the seemingly achievable dream of eradicating global poverty a step closer to reality.

– Stephanie Singh
Photo: Flickr

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Puralytics: The Eco-Friendly Water Solution

Puralytics
Water is necessary for life, and the poor quality of just one water reserve can undermine the health of farmers’ crops and the people in a whole community. To counteract the spread of harmful chemicals and preventable diseases, Puralytics has brought water purifying innovation to developing countries. Through LilyPads that float on pond surfaces to get rid of farm waste, and SolarBags that bring clean drinking water to households, the company’s impact will go global as they expand production.

Puralytics’ Global Impact

Puralytics’ products are known for harnessing the power of natural light to rid water of pollutants and pathogens. It’s all done by the mesh covering that disinfects water so bacteria and viruses cannot transfer to the people drinking it. Other water treatments concentrate farm run-off and pesticides, but with Puralytics, these contaminants are destroyed. Heavy metals combined with molecules of these broken-down chemicals adhere to the mesh material, and thus clean water in a way that’s kind to the environment.

This company’s products are sustainable and, unlike other water treatment technology, do not use Mercury lamps that can break and put out more hazardous waste. The company doesn’t use chemicals in the purification process either; all they need is an occasional cartridge replacement. In particular, the LilyPad reduces water usage by providing farmers with more efficient watering methods.

SolarBags and LilyPads

SolarBags brought clean water to 114 people in the Southern Moshi region of Tanzania for a case study. After interviewing some of the community members, 79 percent of respondents said they enjoyed the water’s taste while the rest were neutral. Some community members even reported less sickness caused by waterborne diseases.

SolarBags were also highly effective in Tesoco, Mexico where desire for them grew beyond the case study group. Soda, also a contributor to obesity, commonly replaced water due to lack of sanitation. After introducing the bags, participants drank between 50 to 100 percent more water and cut back on the sugary beverages.

The LilyPads have also already begun to show promise for a better future. In fact, there has been an 80 percent reduction of chemicals and pathogens in water reserves using this product — a LilyPad that’s one square meter can treat one cubic meter of pond water in a day. Plus, their sleek design is non-intrusive and only takes up one percent of the space on a farm.

LilyPads affect more people than just agricultural communities. Some farmers sell their produce through international markets, extending the positive effects of clean water to other countries. During the 2015 Global Forum in Agriculture, Mark Owen, founder and CEO of Puralytics, discussed his company’s partnership with Aneberries. This distributor based in Mexico has then used LilyPads on their farm plots and help provide half the berries shipped to the United States.

Treat Water, Treat the World

Puralytics’ LilyPad was named one of USAID’s 17 award-winning innovations through the Securing Water for Food Grand Challenge for Development program. As a result, the company will receive a grant to help fund their efforts of expanding production and finding more partnerships across Latin America.

So many factors depend on clean water: crops, livestock, community members, people in other countries, the environment and more. Owen told forum participants that when people treat one water source, it’s also treating the entire world, and no truer words could be said.

– Sabrina Dubbert
Photo: Flickr

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A New Solar Power: UV Water Filtration System

UV Water Filtration System
Today, nearly 850 million people live without access to clean water. Clean water, while a basic necessity and right, has become nearly unobtainable for those living in poverty around the world. In places where unsafe water is the only water available and used for washing clothes and dishes, bathing, drinking and in food preparation, it’s negative effects permeate nearly every aspect of life.

Unsafe Drinking Water In Developing Countries

Approximately 75 percent of diseases in developing countries occur from polluted drinking water. In developing countries, waterborne diseases such as diarrhea account for over 800,000 deaths per year for children under the age of 5. They also create ripple effects throughout the community, placing additional economic stresses on people already living in extreme poverty.

The need for clean water has been the target of governmental aid in many developing countries for years. However, more could be done for individual communities, particularly in rural areas, as they are often without access to the clean water systems available to more populated and typically wealthy areas.

UV Waterworks

In 1996, physicist Dr. Ashok Gagdil created a UV water filtration system known as the UV Waterworks (UVW) to supply small communities in developing countries with safe drinking water. Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and private foundations, Gagdil was able to design a device capable of delivering clean water to a village of 2000 for a year for under $2 per person.

This UV water filtration system is as small as a microwave oven, weighs just 15 pounds and can treat approximately 15 liters of contaminated water per minute. The contraption works simply by exposing the water to UV light, which eliminates bacterial and viral DNA and other organic particles that make the water unsafe for human consumption.

While UV water filtration systems had been in use prior to Gagdil’s UVW, the innovations involved in his creation made for a more affordable, reliable and efficient UV water filtration system for developing countries. The system was licensed in 2010 to WaterHealth International, a company focused on providing affordable, safe water to communities in need. The UVW is now used in WaterHealth International’s standard filtration system.

How It Works

In Gagdil’s UV water filtration system, the UV lamp is positioned above the tanks of water, reducing residue in the water supply, and the water flows evenly without a need for a pump system — an expensive and temperamental part of many UV water filtration systems. This process then exposes the water to more UV rays for maximum decontamination.

The UVW system addresses the needs of rural communities disconnected to grid power by using a 12 V car battery or a photovoltaic solar panel as system’s power source. These two power sources were tested with support from the US Department of Energy in locations without access to grid power with great success.

Other UV Water Filtration Systems

At an even smaller scale, there are UV water filtration systems that operate without power sources all together and are tailored for personal or family use. The SteriPen is a UV water filtration wand capable of cleaning up to 32 ounces of water in 90 seconds. This wand is popular among those traveling in areas where clean water is scarce, as is it light, portable and lasts for 100 treatments before requiring new batteries.

Similar to the SteriPen, the Pure Water Bottle filters a small amount of water for the individual. Relying on a dual process of mesh filtration and UV water filtration for cleaning water, the entire process of the Pure Water Bottle takes 2 minutes and removes 99.9 percent of contaminants. Water is collected and filtered to remove particles larger that 4 microns before being sterilized by a hand-crank-powered UV bulb.   

A Filtered Future

While the SteriPen and Pure Water Bottle are more expensive UV water filtration systems suited for smaller scale family or individual use rather than village scale, they can help address the needs of families in urban areas, or with somewhat better economic means. This group, while not suffering the most extreme poverty, is still a large and growing number in developing countries such as China, India, Brazil and others.

By providing a number of options with a range of costs and applications, innovations in small scale UV water filtration systems are helping to address one of the most pressing needs of the world’s poor.

– Anna Lally

Photo: Flickr