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$204/year is approximately equal to the average GDP per capita for Burundi.
by thematrixturtle 4y ago
$204/year is approximately equal to the average GDP per capita for Burundi.
- avierax 4y agoIt may cost $4 in the economy where the study was conducted, it may end up costing more in less developed regions.
- eurasiantiger 4y agoClean water and sanitation access in Burundi is rapidly improving thanks to many international aid programmes, so perhaps this invention is not needed there—the country is bordered by freshwater lakes, after all. Your point still stands, but the $4 wouldn’t be paid by end users: it would likely be covered by these organisations, which would then be able to provide aid for a much larger population.
- Tepix 4y agoIdeally it would be cheap enough that they can afford it themselves without having to rely on aid programmes.
- wildmanx 4y agoAnd how sustainable is that solution?
- eurasiantiger 4y agoMore sustainable than having a growing population depend on surface water and open air defecation.
- wildmanx 4y agoThat's not an answer to my question. I meant, how sustainable is it to keep depending on foreign aid? Obviously dirty surface water that does not suffice for the whole population is not sustainable. But in the long run, creating new dependencies on aid can't be the solution. Any long-term plan that involves foreign aid is a bad plan.
- eurasiantiger 4y agoInfrastructure is a lot more permanent than ad hoc solutions. Not having the knowledge or equipment for drilling water wells is a problem. Getting the knowledge and the equipment there is another. The result is not a dependency—rather, the alleviation of a dependency.
- wildmanx 4y agoExactly! What we are discussing here is an ad-hoc solution. That $4 device will work for how long? A week? A month? Then we're up for the next one. A continuous stream of aid is necessary to keep this solution going. So, it's not sustainable, assuming we don't consider permanent aid a sustainable solution. (I don't.)
- eurasiantiger 4y agoI agree, it is not a primary solution. However, in a world increasingly plagued by natural disasters, well water can often become unusable, and in those disaster scenarios devices like these can save lives.
- mcherm 4y agoIf the aid programs can easily afford to simply give out the average annual income to each person, then why on earth don't they just do that already?!
- thrown_22 4y agoLook at what happened to the US when people were given free money. Money is ultimately numbers on a piece of paper. It's inherent worth is equal to that of monopoly money. It takes a lot of effort to keep that from happening.
- ClumsyPilot 4y ago> Look at what happened to the US when people were given free money. I like how in this worldview giving money to the capital class of society is fine and dandy, but giving money to labour class is disasterous. Seems suspiciously convenient.
- thrown_22 4y agoGiving money to the capital class means that Manhattan high rises cost more than the average millionaire makes in a decade. Giving money to the working class means that such luxuries as lettuce double in price. The rich have been dealing with ridiculous cost of living inflation since 2000. No one particularly cares because fuck em. But if you think that the middle class can survive the same inflation you're in for a rude shock. 20% interest rates are the best thing that can happen to the economy now.
- dctoedt 4y ago> such luxuries as lettuce double in price. Only if the supply of lettuce doesn't keep up with the increase in the supply of money. https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/4/16/18251646/modern-monetary-theory-new-moment-explained https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/4/16/18251646/modern...
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- coffeeblack 4y agoI get your point, but it’s funny that you used a land locked country as an example.
- capableweb 4y agoAlso because Burundi is bordering the worlds second largest freshwater lake, so not much need of a desalination device.
- 867-5309 4y agolet's not conflate 'freshwater' with 'immediately potable', unless we care little for ingesting sewage and detritus, it will usually need some amount of treatment
- devmor 4y agoWhich has absolutely nothing to do with desalination.
- kbutler 4y agoIt just means that Burundi may have neither potable freshwater, nor available saltwater for desalination, nor sufficient wealth to pay for it. Poverty is hard.
- tomc1985 4y agoBut plenty to do with distillation, which is the mechanism this solar device uses
- coffeeblack 4y agoInteresting point. Would distillation clean water from any contamination or are there common chemicals that would evaporate and then condense at similar temperatures as the water? Boiling water for a few minutes is a common way to get rid of biological contamination.
- cyberlurker 4y ago> It could make enough drinking water for a family of four.
- belter 4y agoBurundi GDP per Capita for 2021 was $237. Your point still stands of course, was just amazed of low it is.
- adenozine 4y agoMaybe if people had access to water in a more convenient way, they’d be more economically productive.
- saargrin 4y agohow much they pay for clean water for a family in burundi though?
- deltree7 4y ago$1 / week / person means for $50* or $400 Billion per year (or 0.4% of World GDP) we solve the water problem. Of course at that scale we may bring the cost down
- adrianN 4y agoYou assume that one of these devices produces enough water for one person.
- grraaaaahhh 4y ago"Researchers from MIT and China have developed a solar desalination device that could provide a family of four with all the drinking water it needs — and it can be made from just $4 worth of materials" My dude, it's the first words in the article.
- adrianN 4y agoPeople need a lot more water than drinking water. Most water is used for agriculture. Each time I flush my toilet I use enough water to keep me alive a week.
- happyopossum 4y agoThere’s no reason your toilet needs to use clean drinkable water - it only does today because that’s what we have the infrastructure to deliver.