Nanotech, Water, and the Developing World
Thesis: Nanotechnology holds great promise for the global poor by reducing the cost and improving the quality of basic sources of well being such as water, food, and power.
A flurry of recent articles have discussed one of nanotech's most inspiring potential near-term contributions to the world--an abundant, clean water supply. Nanofiltration systems could render water sources as unclean as raw sewage into potable water, and desalinization could soon become economically feasible. This may not sound like big news to those of us with decent drinking water always on tap, but one of the biggest problems in the world is inadequate drinking water. With the world population and water consumption per capita rapidly increasing, the demand for fresh water is growing at an unsustainable pace. Furthermore, a large percentage of disease is a result of unclean drinking water, with over 2 million children dying from such illness every year. Nanotech has promise to solve this dilemma facing all man-kind.
More broadly, the nanotech revolution has the ability to help reduce the global disparity in living standards. Improvements such as the development of cost efficient photovoltaic cells and fuel cells will help lift up the developing world. As discussed in another [post], the nanotech revolution will be different from other revolutions, at least in the near-term, because it's all about building better products at lower costs. Unlike the transportation revolution with the automobile and the aircraft, or the information revolution with the computer and the internet, nanotech promises few pervasive, novel luxury goods (at least in the short-term). Rather, nanotechnology will have a major impact in the next one to two decades on the quality, cost, and accessibility of certain basic sources of well-being, such as water, power, medical diagnostics, medication, agricultural tools, and food transport and storage. Never before has science and technology held so much promise for all people of the world, and as globalization continues to transform the way we do business, travel and live, a more democratic era of wealth distribution may be at hand.
Top 10 Nanotech Improvements for the Developing World
A flurry of recent articles have discussed one of nanotech's most inspiring potential near-term contributions to the world--an abundant, clean water supply. Nanofiltration systems could render water sources as unclean as raw sewage into potable water, and desalinization could soon become economically feasible. This may not sound like big news to those of us with decent drinking water always on tap, but one of the biggest problems in the world is inadequate drinking water. With the world population and water consumption per capita rapidly increasing, the demand for fresh water is growing at an unsustainable pace. Furthermore, a large percentage of disease is a result of unclean drinking water, with over 2 million children dying from such illness every year. Nanotech has promise to solve this dilemma facing all man-kind.
More broadly, the nanotech revolution has the ability to help reduce the global disparity in living standards. Improvements such as the development of cost efficient photovoltaic cells and fuel cells will help lift up the developing world. As discussed in another [post], the nanotech revolution will be different from other revolutions, at least in the near-term, because it's all about building better products at lower costs. Unlike the transportation revolution with the automobile and the aircraft, or the information revolution with the computer and the internet, nanotech promises few pervasive, novel luxury goods (at least in the short-term). Rather, nanotechnology will have a major impact in the next one to two decades on the quality, cost, and accessibility of certain basic sources of well-being, such as water, power, medical diagnostics, medication, agricultural tools, and food transport and storage. Never before has science and technology held so much promise for all people of the world, and as globalization continues to transform the way we do business, travel and live, a more democratic era of wealth distribution may be at hand.
Top 10 Nanotech Improvements for the Developing World
posted by Clayton at 4:24 PM
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