Tech aimed at battling climate change and even pumping fresh water out of thin air attracted crowds as the annual CES gadget extravaganza showed its green side.
With calls to fight climate change escalating, technology firms are finding ways to help, according to organizers of the Consumer Electronics Show, which wraps up in Las Vegas on Friday.
Genesis Systems was on the show floor with a first of its kind WaterCube — about the size of a central air conditioning unit — that pumps water from the air so effectively it could supply all the water needed by a home.
In places where wells and aquifers have dried up, WaterCube can extract water from the air
“Our first mission is to sustainably solve global water scarcity,” said David Stuckenberg, who founded Genesis with his wife, Shannon.
“Once you have this plugged into your house…you can turn yourself off (from) the city water.”
In places where wells and aquifers have dried up, WaterCube can extract water from the air using its unique process, he explained.
WaterCube pumps water from the air so effectively it could supply all the water needed by a home
The decision to become a “water entrepreneur” sprang from hearing farmers complain of wells running dry and from serving in the US military in the Middle East as nations there sought new sources of precious water, according to Stuckenberg.
“One of the challenges that we’re facing in terms of making humanity sustainable is the stuff we need for life,” he told AFP.
“Next to air, water is the most important thing.”
Trillions of tons of untapped water are in the air, and one of the effects of a warming planet is more water vapor in the atmosphere, Stuckenberg said.
Water in the air is quickly replenished, creating “an infinite water source” that WaterCube taps into at scale, he explained.
“We’re democratizing the water supply,” Stuckenberg said.
His Florida-based company is also looking to incorporate carbon-capturing features into WaterCube, since a step in that process already includes drying out the air stream, he said.
