Making Water From Thin Air

clipped from edition.cnn.com As Zimbabwe battles a cholera epidemic that has already killed hundreds, one company thinks it may have found a potential solution to the world water crisis. The compact WaterMill, which goes on sale in the spring, is designed for household use. More crucially for countries such as Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Element Four is also working on another device, the WaterWall, which could potentially supply an entire village in the developing world. "There are some brilliant inventions out there, but they are expensive and difficult to get hold of," says Paul Jawor, an emergency water and sanitation consultant with international aid organization Doctors Without Borders. The WaterMill retails for about $1,300, but Howard estimates that a pared down version -- without the bells and whistle -- for use in places like Africa would cost about $300.

I'm pretty sure there are a lot of corporate types out there who aren't going to like this news. Water is expected to be for the 21st century what oil was for the 20th, so you can imagine that a village-worth of water for 300 bucks is throwing a monkeywrench into a lot of long-range planners long-range plans.