91–100 of 246 posts
I really wish it wasn't Google, the spyware company that open sourced this. But rather a different company without all the bad and toxic disgusting ethics that Google has.
So you're saying you wish Google concentrated on evil and didn't have any redeeming qualities at all?
All Google has concentrated on is evil.
Hell, this project could be the aftermath of a Google PM gutting a team.
Estimated $150 price point. Requires an electric motor to circulate air. What is the intersection of people who a) can afford an expenditure of $150, b) have reliable access to electricity and can pay for it, and c) can't get their hands on five liters of clean water a day?
I really wish it wasn't Google, the spyware company that open sourced this. But rather a different company without all the bad and toxic disgusting ethics that Google has.
The phrase "don't throw the baby out with the bath water" comes to mind. Just because some of the practices of this large company are bad, it doesn't mean everything to come from it is. Keep the good stuff, ditch the rest.
It is like Facebook and Internet.org, we keep allowing these tech companies to continue to build these trojan horses.
Estimated $150 price point. Requires an electric motor to circulate air. What is the intersection of people who a) can afford an expenditure of $150, b) have reliable access to electricity and can pay for it, and c) can't get their hands on five liters of clean water a day?
Those people probably cannot afford $150, but the goal of the project wasn't $150, it was lower.
The unit is supposed to be solar powered, so access to electricity isn't strictly necessary, in the sense of being able to connect to the grid. They just need sunlight.
There is a sweet spot of cost, where those who need it can't afford it, but nonprofits, billionaire philanthropists, and local governments can afford to purchase and distribute such devices where necessary. In cases where the need for clean water greatly outweighs the supply, such entities see a good return on investment, simply by improving the health of those people there.
Furthermore, X is a moonshot program at Google. They attempt solutions for big problems with high likeihood of failure. Are you suggesting they shouldn't do this with their money printing ad machine? It seems like any good that comes out of that company should be celebrated, and in this case they are sharing a bunch of work on solving what will be an increasing large problem for the entire world.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
My question was more, how does this help individuals without access to clean water, not a dystopian 'how can it be co-opted by corporations for business ends', but I appreciate the varying definitions of "practical" people have.
People need DCs too, not just corporations.
What exactly is a data center by your definition? What individuals (that are entirely disconnected from corporations) need them? How many individuals have personal data centers of such a scale that they would need to produce liquid water on-site for their computing needs?
I genuinely believe you’ve described an entirely theoretical person that doesn’t reside in this universe.
Fixed the title for you: Google "deprecates" solar atmospheric water generator.
I want to make an orchard on a hill in the maritime pacific northwest. Its a somewhat odd climate where the time that gets hottest is when it also tends to be dryest (east coast tends to be wetter when hotter). I wonder if something like this (possibly with less focus on "clean" water - it's rural and breezy, so I don' think raw output would harm trees...) could be suitable for generating summer water for tree irriga…
Orchard on the coast is tricky. I don't know specifically where you're located, but on the Oregon coast the only fruit trees OSU says will grow are apple and cherry (and sometimes pear). I've had better luck going with native bushes where you don't need to worry as much about supplemental water: huckleberry, salal berry, salmonberry, blackberry if you can maintain them, etc. Work with the environment rather than try…
I'm hoping heavy woodchip mulching can get me enough water retention to keep trees happy (we certainly get plenty of water the other ~9 months of the year!), but some supplemental water during the hot dry summer would probably significantly expand species and variety options.
Have a small well that should be able to help some... but looking at permaculture techniques (hugelkulture, swales etc) and possibly moisture farming as a potential way to improve moisture conditions in a 'greener' way then energy intensive pumping. Might try to build a pond high up on the hill to filter down over the dry season.
Kind of a paradoxical region, because plants want lots of water when there's lots of sun, and here we generally get one or the other :-/
Saving the planet one artificial intelligence at a time.
An open source dehumidifier ? Haven’t there been umpteen attempts at this? I thought there’s not that much water in the air. The volume of air to move must be crazy. Maybe I should read TFA