Water scarcity has left 1 billion people in the developing world without access to clean, safe drinking water. Science Daily defines water scarcity as the lack of sufficient available water resources to meet the demands of water usage within a region.
“Today, 1 in 9 people lack access to safe water; 1 in 3 people lack access to a toilet. More people have a mobile phone than a toilet. We can change this. Let’s work together to make the power of water available to all.” – Water.org
Water scarcity is both a natural and human occurrence. While there is enough freshwater on the planet for billions of people it is distributed unevenly, wasted, polluted and unsustainably managed. This dilemma affects every continent.
“Water scarcity can mean scarcity in availability due to physical shortage, or scarcity in access due to the failure of institutions to ensure a regular supply or due to a lack of adequate infrastructure.” – United Nations
Water scarcity is a health crisis. Without access to clean, safe water communities are susceptible to disease and poor overall health. Women and girls spend up to 6 hours every day collecting water. Access to clean water allows women to spend more time pursuing education and other activities. This also goes for children. Water.org shares that 1/3 of all schools lack access to essential water and sanitation. When children are responsible collecting water, it takes away from school and play-time.
Time lost collecting water and sickness due to poor sanitation has economic impacts. This time loss takes away from time spent on education and work. When people are forced to spend the majority of their time merely surviving, they cannot break the cycle of poverty.
A Potential Solution
Aldelano Solar Cold Chain Solutions seeks to aid non-profit and government organizations in the effort to provide clean, safe water to those in need. Aldelano’s Solar WaterMaker extracts water right from the air! The WaterMaker offers fresh, clean water that is independent of any power grid or water system. Different models can create 30 gallons to 1,000 gallons of clean water per day and up to 2,300 lbs. of ice.
The Solar WaterMaker does not rely on a power grid or any mass scale system. This solution can start providing clean, fresh water through solar, atmospheric generation in regions that are arid and even those with substantial rain seasons.
There is no global water shortage, but countries must tackle the dire issues caused by water stress. Water stress occurs when there is a higher demand for water that is available. The UN estimates that by 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living with absolute water scarcity, and two-thirds of the world’s population could be living under water-stressed conditions.
We believe our Solar WaterMaker offers non-profits immediate solutions that can be used in even the most remote regions of the world.
Citations:
Global Water Shortage: Water Scarcity & The Importance of Water. The Water Project, 2017, thewaterproject.org/water-scarcity/.
“Scarcity.” UN-Water, United Nations, 2017, www.unwater.org/water-facts/scarcity/.
“Scarcity, Decade, Water for Life, 2015, UN-Water, United Nations, MDG, Water, Sanitation, Financing, Gender, IWRM, Human Right, Transboundary, Cities, Quality, Food Security.” United Nations, United Nations, 2017, www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/scarcity.shtml.