The Australian Scientists Turning Air Into Drinking Water, With Renewable Energy.
Manufacturing 2,000 litres of drinkable water, extracted from the air (using renewable energy), at a cost of less than two cents per litre.
That’s the challenge set to those entering the Water Abundance XPRIZE, where 98 teams from 25 countries will compete for the $1.75 million.
Professor Moghtaderi is also leading team "Hydro Harvest Operation (H20)" in the competition.
"We’ve been working in areas related to energy, energy efficiency and water for some time and some of the technologies we’ve been working on have actually become commercialised and are now on the market," Professor Professor Moghtaderi says.
The first one, GRANEX heat engine, is an engine for waste heat recovery, the second, Infratech Energyon demand, is an advanced thermochemical energy storage system, and the third, VAMCO, is a chemical oxidiser for abatement of ventilation air methane.
"In a moment of serendipity, we came across the Water Abundance XPRIZE and thought, well we’ve been working in this area, so why not give it a shot!
", Professor Moghtaderi says.
Professor Moghtaderi says this competition is important, because air and moisture are resources accessible anywhere.
The two-year competition will look to announce up to five finalist teams in February 2018 and will then embark on final testing through July 2018.

Security Council 7959th Meeting (PM) Spotlighting the scarcity of Earth’s most precious resource, the United Nations Secretary-General today urged world leaders to invest in water security, amid increasing demand and the burgeoning effects of climate change.
Council members must commit to investing in water security to ensure durable peace and security for all communities and nations.
Government agreements must underscore the need to sustainability manage transboundary water resources.
Beyond recognizing the link between water, peace and security and the need to prevent related conflicts, the goal should be sharing experiences of cooperation and success stories.
Water management could also serve as a building block for sustainable development, peace and security.
Water should be a tool for cooperation, development and security.
While there was no standard approach to resolving water disputes, increasing the capacity of Member States would help them engage better in the transboundary management of the resource.
Meanwhile, the United Nations and international community must continue to respect national sovereignty.
Riparian States had negotiated the Nile River Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement for almost 13 years, and it was now signed by six States and ratified by three others.
As conflicts were best resolved locally or regionally, river basin governance efforts should be supported.

Security Council 7959th Meeting (PM) Spotlighting the scarcity of Earth’s most precious resource, the United Nations Secretary-General today urged world leaders to invest in water security, amid increasing demand and the burgeoning effects of climate change.
Council members must commit to investing in water security to ensure durable peace and security for all communities and nations.
Government agreements must underscore the need to sustainability manage transboundary water resources.
Beyond recognizing the link between water, peace and security and the need to prevent related conflicts, the goal should be sharing experiences of cooperation and success stories.
Water management could also serve as a building block for sustainable development, peace and security.
Water should be a tool for cooperation, development and security.
While there was no standard approach to resolving water disputes, increasing the capacity of Member States would help them engage better in the transboundary management of the resource.
Meanwhile, the United Nations and international community must continue to respect national sovereignty.
Riparian States had negotiated the Nile River Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement for almost 13 years, and it was now signed by six States and ratified by three others.
As conflicts were best resolved locally or regionally, river basin governance efforts should be supported.

A group of Grade 7 students in Calgary is calling on all levels of government to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday by giving First Nations communities across the country the gift of clean water.
Denise Hammond and her humanities classmates at Ian Bazalgette junior high school have spent almost the entire school year researching, writing letters to government officials and fundraising for their cause, which they’re calling the Clean Water Birthday Project.
WATCH: New report says federal government not doing enough to address First Nations water crisis “Our mission is to try to get awareness out about the more than 100 First Nations communities in Canada that do not have access to clean drinking water,” Hammond said.
It’s already been going on for some places more than 20 years, so we’re hoping that if we get enough awareness out there that the government will actually take action and get it resolved by the end of 2017.” Getting the project started It all started after Hammond showed her students two short documentaries highlighting the lack of access to clean water on First Nations.
They wrote the exact same thing to everyone, and it was pretty off topic,” Jordan Milligan, one of the students involved, said.
“I think what’s going to happen is [the kids are] going to look differently at bad situations,” Winslow added.
READ MORE: Many First Nations communities without access to clean drinking water Hammond admits her students have been discouraged at times, but that despite the failures, the kids continue to work towards their goal.
Like someone sharing our stuff on Facebook, or getting 10 more people clicking one of our links – these are still successes,” Hammond said.
So we can try.” Hope for the future The school year is almost over for the students, but their teacher is planning on keeping the project going.
“I hope [people] consider that others don’t have clean drinking water, and do something about it.

UN chief warns of serious clean water shortages by 2050.
He told the Security Council that "strains on water access are already rising in all regions," noting that three-quarters of the 193 U.N. member states share rivers or lake basins with their neighbors.
"Water, peace and security are inextricably linked," Guterres said.
The secretary-general said the United Nations is ready to engage in preventive diplomacy to keep the competition for water from sparking conflicts.
"Our planet, the human family and life in all its myriad forms on Earth are in the throes of a water crisis that will only get worse over the coming decades," he said.
"If current patterns of consumption continue unabated, two-thirds of the world’s population will be facing water shortages as a daily reality by 2025," Morales added.
Right now, he said, more than 800 million people lack access to safe drinking water and more than 2.5 billion don’t have basic sanitation.
He said the world currently is not on track to meet U.N. goals for 2030 calling for improved water security, access to drinking water and sanitation, as well as stronger management of water resources shared by countries.
Rycroft said Britain has provided $30 million over the past five years to support a regional approach to "identify and resolve challenges affecting these transboundary waters."
"The cooperation between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan and the signing of the Declaration of Principles by the leaders of the three countries is also another manifestation of regional cooperation that needs to be enhanced further," he said.

UN chief warns of serious clean water shortages by 2050.
He told the Security Council that "strains on water access are already rising in all regions," noting that three-quarters of the 193 U.N. member states share rivers or lake basins with their neighbors.
"Water, peace and security are inextricably linked," Guterres said.
The secretary-general said the United Nations is ready to engage in preventive diplomacy to keep the competition for water from sparking conflicts.
"Our planet, the human family and life in all its myriad forms on Earth are in the throes of a water crisis that will only get worse over the coming decades," he said.
"If current patterns of consumption continue unabated, two-thirds of the world’s population will be facing water shortages as a daily reality by 2025," Morales added.
Right now, he said, more than 800 million people lack access to safe drinking water and more than 2.5 billion don’t have basic sanitation.
He said the world currently is not on track to meet U.N. goals for 2030 calling for improved water security, access to drinking water and sanitation, as well as stronger management of water resources shared by countries.
Rycroft said Britain has provided $30 million over the past five years to support a regional approach to "identify and resolve challenges affecting these transboundary waters."
"The cooperation between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan and the signing of the Declaration of Principles by the leaders of the three countries is also another manifestation of regional cooperation that needs to be enhanced further," he said.

We can and should solve water poverty.
During the California drought, every American suffered from lack of water.
In countries with water poverty, what is the use of education for those dying of thirst?
Should we solve education, disease, famine or water poverty first?
The facts are that no problem of world poverty can be solved until we resolve the fundamental problem.
Despite this great news, we must end the water poverty crisis.
With a trickle of effort and a drop of money, we can save millions from suffering and death.
I am not suggesting this; we should continue donating as we do, but with a commitment to resolve a problem that can be solved within our lifetimes.
We have in our power the ability to save our world from a problem that it has had since pre-history.
Tell everyone the importance of solving water poverty, just maybe not over a cup of coffee.

Unless we change the way we live, consume and produce, there won’t be enough clean water to sustain all of us in the future.
At the Watershed Conference, I spoke to three deeply intertwined aspects of water: · The first is Ecological.
We need to learn much better how to share this finite resource amongst ourselves, as well as with all other species on Earth.
· Spiritual, cultural and social.
Water is also central to the flourishing of all human cultures.
And finally, water is the common currency that connects all sectors of the economy and most of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
We then need to translate ‘shared value for water’ into water management systems that can deliver efficient, affordable, sustainable and inclusive services, while at the same time safeguard the ecological integrity of the resource.
At the end of a very long day, I reaffirmed our commitment to advancing this global dialogue on the value of water on behalf of the World Bank.
In two weeks, on April 20, we will also be cohosting the 2017 Sanitation and Water for All High Level Meetings, during the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings.
Finance Ministers, global thought leaders and civil society representatives will come together to search for solutions to close the financing gap for universal access to water and sanitation, which is estimated to be $114 billion per year until 2030.

Man walks so others can have access to clean water.
MARINE CITY — James Leitner is walking for water.
"I’m pulling 10 gallons of water every day," he said.
Leitner said the length of his journey — 3,200 miles — is what the average person in Tanzania will walk in a year to get water.
There also is a place on the website where people can donate to the Philadelphia Serengeti Alliance to help fund clean water projects in Tanzania.
According to the website, there are 307 broken wells in the Mara region of Tanzania that could provide clean water if they are repaired.
Most people have been friendly and supportive of his trek, Leitner said.
Leitner said he has done other water awareness events, including running 12 marathons while carrying about 45 pounds of water.
How to help James Leitner is walking 3,200 miles across North America from Princeton, New Jersey to San Francisco, California to raise awareness and money for clean water projects in the Mara region of Tanzania.
People can find out more about his cross country trek at http://missioncleanwater.com.

His day starts at 4:30 am every day, but instead of doing yoga or going out for morning walk, he gets into his specially modified car and starts his journey to delver water around the capital. Alag Natarajan (68) takes an hour an a half to fill at least 60 matkas, he has placed in and around south Delhi so that thirsty people can get access to clean drinking water. According to a Times of India report, it is due to his efforts that he has earned the epithet, the ‘matkaman’ of Delhi. Natarajan, a retired engineer had returned to India in 2005 after…