Water, Water Everywhere: Santa Monica Celebrates World Water Day
The machine is an innocuous-looking thing. No larger than a water cooler, it stands against a wall in a small conference room in Santa Monica College (SMC), thrumming like an overworked air conditioner. A group of people crowd around the machine, snapping pictures and filming on their phones. Polite interest has given way to excitement and anticipation.
This machine makes water out of air, and everyone wants a taste.
March 22 is World Water Day (WWD), a United Nations (UN) day of observance, which aims to advocate awareness for water sustainability. In honor of WWD, Global Village, which is an international environmental club started in Los Angeles, hosted an event Friday, March 22. Led by SMC professor Marlea Welton, the event featured a guest speaker, tips on how to conserve water, and a demonstration from Skywell, a Santa Monica-based company that manufactures machines capable of making water from air.
The theme of this year's WWD was "Leaving No One Behind." According to the UN, this is in reference to their Agenda of Sustainable Development, whose goal is "to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water for all by 2030."
Guest speaker Mansour Jafarian is a former consultant for the UN. He spoke at length about water scarcity, focusing primarily on Iran. Jafarian explained that although the planet is 70% water, most of it is seawater. Although desalination technology is available, it is expensive.
"That's why you don't see so many countries use that technology yet," Jafarian said.
Less than one percent of the water on Earth is freshwater that can be used for human consumption. This scarcity has been exacerbated by climate change, population increase, water management, and inefficient water consumption. Jafarian cited a 2015 study, which found that more than two billion people lack access to safe drinking water.
While these facts are alarming, the purpose of the evening was not to demoralize attendees. Rather, Global Village seeks to offer solutions and hope for the future. Skywell purports to be one of these solutions. Welton introduced Cindy Kujat and Isaac Taylor from Skywell.
The stainless steel, water cooler-like machine is dubbed the Skywell 5T. Taylor explained that the machine mimics the water cycle by taking in air, filtering it, and then condensing it on a cool surface to make water. The Skywell 5T has a five gallon capacity and can make about a cup of water per hour.
"We are really hoping that this technology will be in a lot of homes and offices, just as much as you see iPhones," Kujat said.
Skywell's larger 100-gallon model is geared toward humanitarian efforts.
"A lot of people take for granted that water access or drinking water is the first thing to go in a calamity," Kujat explained. Skywell has partnered with Reach Out Worldwide, a non-profit disaster relief organization, to provide clean water to disaster zones without adding to the plastic pollution problem.
The company also provided hydration stations for the recent Skid Row Carnival of Love. Over 6,000 people attended, but there were zero single-use plastic bottles used.
Skywell hopes to replicate this in Santa Monica. "We have plans to maybe setup [hydration] stations in Santa Monica, working with the city," Taylor said. Their hope is to reduce, and potentially eliminate, plastic bottle use.
Skywell does have its drawbacks. Most notably, it relies on humidity in the atmosphere, meaning it won't work in arid climates or on days when humidity is low.
To address this, Skywell has developed a hybrid version, which relies on municipal water when there isn't enough humidity in the air to generate its own water.
The evening exemplified Global Village's efforts to address environmental issues in a more positive matter. Instead of acting on the existential fear of planetary decimation, Global Village wants to encourage people to help the environment out of the hope and joy that comes from knowing that every small action matters.
"When people have hope," Welton said, "they feel empowered."