Water Filtering Bike! (post located at: http://www.ecospace.cc/water/water-filtering-bike-0108.htm)
Clean water from our taps is something that many of us take for granted. In some parts of the world, the collection of water, is a daily task that requires a great deal of effort and resources - and often the water still isn’t fit to drink. The award winning Aquaduct bike seeks to improve water transportation and safety for people faced with such challenges.
Over 1.1 billion people don’t have access to clean water and in excess of 5,000 children die each day due to water related diseases. A family of four needs around 20 gallons of water a day to meet basic needs - drinking, cooking, washing and cleaning.
For people in the developing world, this could mean a daily walk of 3 miles or more to collect the water. 20 gallons of water weighs around 160 pounds - it’s a lot to carry. For those who have mechanized transport, the load may be lighter; but often the vehicles used are in poor condition and heavy on emissions.
Additionally, the water often needs to be sterilized through boiling - this is usually done on wood fires that contribute to airborne pollution and deforestation.
The Aquaduct is a pedal powered vehicle that stores, filters and transports water; aimed for use in the developing world. It consists of a storage tank, filter, peristaltic pump, clean tank and clutch.
As the person peddles the peristaltic pump draws the water from the storage tank, through a filter to a 2 gallon clean tank. That tank can be removed and taken indoors. When more water is needed, the tank is replaced, the clutch engaged and the person then peddles while remaining stationary.
The Aquaduct is the winner of the Innovate or Die Pedal Powered Machine competition. Entries surpassed expectations and in just 3 months, over a hundred inventions were invented - all based on the simple mechanics of a bicycle! The Aquaduct looks like a wonderful invention that could improve the lives of thousands and I sincerely hope it the team behind it finds the financial backing needed to get the invention to where it’s needed most.
Posted by michael on 22 January 2008
Claire and Cristhian in Quito on bicycle con los jovenes de Sol de Primavera
The Tour and the Objective
On this trans-national bike tour, we will travel more than
Our goal is to do research and collect stories on bike cultures and movements in order disperse them and help the cross-fertilization of various movements by creating resources of information and promoting networking between towns, cities and countries.
jueves, 24 de enero de 2008
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