An Australian, Edward Linacre, has developed a way to harvest water in dry air conditions by studying and mimicking the Namib beetle. His concept and prototype is a low tech alternative to current solutions on the market. For his efforts he has won the James Dyson Award.
This is really a brilliant solution to a very common problem. Think worldwide how much land is not farmed because the conditions are not right. The beauty of capitalism is that humans are always developing ways to improve our own lives and improve society.
It’s small solutions like these that are made everyday to help humans advance. Worldwide we are reaching the 7 billion human mark and you will see a lot of pundits and populists talk about population control – Warren Buffett being one of those people. The growth of human population is actually a sign of human improvement, and it should be encouraged.
As populations grow and new challenges are faced, entrepreneurs develop resources to help solve those issues. This invention by Ed Linacre can ultimately increase the arable land by millions of acres. The thing is not every invention will get on the front page of Reddit or highlighted in the media, but it is happening everyday. As long as there is a profit motive (ie capitalism) there will be a drive to solve solutions.
Photo via James Dyson Foundation
Article via Australian Popular Science
November 9, 2011 at 9:53 am
Holy cow this is brilliant! It just goes to show you never know what someone might come up with. I see stuff like this all the time and I never cease to be amazed. The answers to many of mans problems are pent up in the hidden potential of the human mind. Our minds wont be perfect until our DNA is perfect which will be a great day!
November 9, 2011 at 12:22 pm
I can’t image our DNA will ever be perfect because our environment is constantly evolving. I read somewhere that the human genome is actually evolving faster than it has in the past – which is counter-intuitive to what I would have thought. With longer life cycles and what not.
I guess with globalization that helps with evolution.