A personal anecdote from Aqueous Solutions’ director on the occasion of the first anniversary.
I’m hopelessly addicted to distance running. As addictions go, however, it’s not such a bad one. Most people who run, run for the benefits to the body. I run for the mind, as a kind of meditation. As I settle into the rhythm of the pace, my mind cartwheels away across the far reaches of the universe, and, as often as not, reels off the screenplay of one wild fantasy or another. I’ve had entire conversations with friends, family, romantic partners, US Presidents – to name only a few – during the course of a sixty-minute run. I’ve written deeply inspired philosophical treatises on a multitude of topics. I’ve planned trips to exotic locales in vivid detail. And I’ve hatched all manner of crazy schemes for activism, muckraking, and general good-natured chicanery.
Most of the time, when I finish the run, stretch, shower, and grab a bite to eat, my wild imaginings begin to seem a little outlandish, and I reckon I won’t really have that conversation with that person, at least not in the ostentatious way it unfolded in my head; I’ll probably put off writing that particular philosophical treatise – surely the world isn’t ready for it anyway. And all those crazy schemes? Well, to be honest, after more reasoned reflection they begin to seem, well, a little embarrassing and perhaps a bit ill conceived.
Sometimes, though, I wonder if I’ve hit on something that might just be the slightest bit legitimately brilliant. The idea for Aqueous Solutions (dorky name and all) came to me one evening in June 2007 while running on the fire trail that climbs steeply out of Claremont Canyon into the eucalyptus covered hills that make up the border of Berkeley and Oakland, California. I’d spent plenty of hours crisscrossing those rugged dirt tracks over the years of my tenure as a graduate student at UC Berkeley, and they have provided the verdant backdrop for countless wild musings, those both acted upon and not. The run last June was a nostalgia-soaked homecoming, as I’d just returned from a ten-month stint in “experiential learning,” tramping around the US and Asia getting a big dose of hands-on education in “sustainability science.” Read the rest of this entry »
Aqueous Solutions has partnered with the North Carolina State University Chapter of Engineers Without Borders and Save the Children-Canada to develop and implement various techniques for potable water systems in the highlands of Bolivia in the villages of Alto Beniand Asanquiri.
The village of Asanquiri is a high Andean community in the Potosi region of Bolivia. The region is one of the poorest in Bolivia, where large portion of the population in the area does not have basic services such as water, electricity, sanitary services or telecommunications. Nutrition is often poor, and clothing is sometimes insufficient for the cold weather in the area.
Getting to the Alto Beni is an adventure in itself. The drive from the city of La Paz ascends a 14,000 ft pass on a windy and precarious road that drops down into a majestic sea of clouds making the bright green peaks look like islands in the sky. Eight hours and several passes later, one arrives in a lush tropical valley known as the Alto Beni. Since the 1960´s this area has provided hope for poor families fleeing the harsh conditions and unstable economy of the Altiplano, a high plane on the dry eastern side of the Andes.
A recent article in Grist Magazine linked pesticides in drinking water to lower sperm counts in Midwest states. Check it out.
“Surrounded by agriculture powerhouses Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, and Illinois, Missouri sits at the southern edge of the heartland.
“Are the region’s titanic annual lashings of agrichemicals — synthetic and mined fertilizers, as well as poisons designed to kill bugs, weeds, and mold — leaching into drinking water and doing creepy things to the state’s citizens? And what about manure from the stunning concentration of concentrated-animal feedlot operations (CAFOs) that have sprung up in Iowa, et al, over the past 15 years? ”
A transcript with slides of Aqueous Solutions’ recent presentation to the Lindbergh Foundation Board of Directors is now online and available for download from the Resources page.
Polluters dump about 240 million pounds of toxins into our waterways each year, and the long-term effects on human health and the environment could be disastrous. Thirty five years after the Clean Water Act became law, ANP explores why our fish are changing sex and our water contains rocket fuel, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals.
Saturday May 31 - Town of Apex, North Carolina Conservation Days
Information and workshops on sustainable energy, local food systems and organic gardening, and conserving land and water resources. Josh Kearns will make a presentation on Aqueous Solutions’ research and projects, and demonstrate how to make a five-gallon bucket filter for potable rooftop harvested rainwater.
These small units are great if you want to drink harvested rainwater but are concerned about contamination from air pollution or roofing materials such as asphalt shingles.
The paper is written so that you can just print it out and take it to the hardware store. All the parts and tools you need are listed along with photographs and approximate costs. You should be able to get everything from the hardware store except perhaps the charcoal - there you might need to go to an aquarium supply shop, or order filter carbon in bulk over the internet.
This design should cost less than $90 to build, and will provide sufficient drinking water to a household of 5 people for up to 6 months (or about 500 gallons).
Aqueous Solutions Technology Removes Chemicals From Drinking Water
By Tim Patterson, Director of Outreach
The presence of dangerous chemicals in drinking water is a serious health problem in many parts of the world, especially in countries like Thailand, where heavy use of toxic pesticides is commonplace and regulations are lax.
For the residents of Pun Pun Farm, a sustainability center in the North of Thailand, the problem of chemical contamination of local water supplies is acute. Pun Pun strives to function as a living example of sustainability, and has attracted international renown for programs in natural building, organic farming and local self-reliance.
Sadly, although a stream runs through Pun Pun’s property, the stream water is contaminated with a carcinogenic cocktail of pesticide run-off from other farms.
For years, Pun Pun residents were forced to buy clean water that was trucked to the farm in plastic jugs – an unsustainable and financially burdensome solution to an intractable problem. Read the rest of this entry »
The Causes application on Facebook and MySpace allows people to support their favorite organizations, through tax-deductible contributions, or simply through joining the Cause.
Let your online friends and colleagues know that you support the science of self-reliance on Facebook and MySpace.
Aqueous Solutions has partnered with the North Carolina State University Chapter of Engineers Without Borders and Save the Children-Canada to develop and implement various techniques for potable water systems in the highlands of Bolivia in the villages of Alto Beni and Asanquiri.
These small units are great if you want to drink harvested rainwater but are concerned about contamination from air pollution or roofing materials such as asphalt shingles.
The presence of dangerous chemicals in drinking water is a serious health problem in many parts of the world, especially in countries like Thailand, where heavy use of toxic pesticides is commonplace and regulations are lax.
