With more than 100 countries participating and 7 million expected visitors, the Expo 2008 in Zaragoza is definitely the biggest water festival on earth. The architecture of the World's Fair is not less impressive as it forms a big part of Expo's "Water and Sustainability" message.We are going to take you on a virtual tour of the Expo area - watch this Video! Image Source: Expo Zaragoza 2008

Water is precious, water is vital and it’s becoming more and more scarce. In Third World countries, expensive wastewater treatment plants are supposed to guarantee water supply – but in rural regions of Africa or India, some spend hours each day just to reach water and the social and economic costs are enormous. The BMW Designer Stephan Augustin has invented a mobile solution that could be a part of the answer: A solar powered water de-salinator called the “Watercone”! For this, Augustine will receive the EnergyGlobe Award at the European Parliament in Brussels next week, but before this, he answered our questions. Check out the Watercone Video, too!
Mr. Stephan Augustin, congratulations for the big success of your Watercone. Would you imagine celebrating your EnergyGlobe Award with a glass of desalinated water?Oh, yes! Of course. In the western world we are used to consuming all kinds of food and beverages every day without a thought. But in being aware of the situation where pure water is a luxury for one billion people in the world every day, a glass of fresh desalinated water would be just the right symbol to celebrate this success.How does the water from the Watercone taste?

Well, the taste is not like premium mineral water, to be honest it tastes boring. But it is clean and safe to drink and this was the main goal of the project.How did you get the idea for the Watercone?

Sitting on the beach on a vacation in Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands, I had the idea to think up the impossible: What if one could actually and easily convert the abundant sea water from the oceans of the world into a daily ration of drinking water. This idea, toghether with my professional background as an industrial designer, was a challenge to me.

As we can see in the Watercone video, the principle of the Watercone is as brilliant as it is simple. How does it work exactly?

Pour salty or brackish water into pan. Then float the Watercone on top. The black pan absorbs the sunlight and heats up the water to support evaporation. The evaporated water condenses in the form of droplets on the inner wall of the cone. These droplets trickle down the inner wall into a circular trough at the inner base of the cone. By unscrewing the cap at the tip of the cone and turning the cone upside down, one can empty the potable water gathered in the trough directly into a drinking device.How much solar power do you need to run the Watercone?As described before, the Watercone is a solar powered desalinator. The condensation runs only with sunlight. The longer and hotter, the better.

In which regions in the world could the Watercone help to solve the problem of water shortage?For millions of people who are living in oceanic and coastal regions throughout Africa, Asia and South America, there would be what one can mildly describe as a shift in paradigms: The sea, an unlimited yet untouchable enemy of thirst, would become a friend, a helper, a thirst quencher to common man. For the first time in human history.Watercone Designer Stephan Augustin

With a Watercone, you can produce 6 or 7 glasses of fresh water a day. How could you create an area-wide solution out of the Watercone-idea?The design of the Watercone is based on the minimum individual supply for one child or two Watercones for an adult person. The philosophy of this innovation is, that many small units will ensure a better supply of freshwater than one single big generator. If the big one fails, there is no water for the village. If a small one fails, the other ones still work.Who is interested in utilizing the Watercone so far?

I have collected more than 1000 requests from individuals to worldwide operating organizations and companiess who are interested to sell and distribute the Watercone. With my new production partner we will have a good starting position.

Could the Watercone be used for other purposes, for example at camping sites?

No! This product is designed for people in need and not the ones who want to relax.Where can you buy a Watercone? How expensive is it?

A new production tool and distributor is set up at the moment and I hope to start production at the end of this year. This is the reason why I cannot say anything about the final price but it will definitely be much cheaper than before.The Watercone is shown on display, where exactly can you see it?The Watercone will be exhibited to the public at the EXPO in Zaragossa and at the Achitecture Biennale in Venice Italy this year in September. Mr. Augustin, thank you very much for the interview!

Placido Domingo spoke with us during our interview about the shrinking coasts in Mexico. Domingo was born in 1941 in Madrid, Spain, and moved with about eight years of age to this country. Where they used to have about 20 meters of beach he says, nowadays the beach is gone, shrunk. The singer assumes this is due to climate change.Domingo was quite concerned about the impacts of environmental misbehavior during our talk; he named historical buildings that survived centuries and seem to be endangered due to air pollution. Domingo who is frequently singing in all the Major Opera Houses of the World - amongst them treasures of architectural history like the Teatro alla Scala in Milan and the Vienna State Opera- loves these buildings.

Domingo has also talked about the air pollution in Beijing which challenge the Olympic Games next year. The city of Beijing is like many others over-polluted and stuck with traffic. The government now has to call to action (We reported).Sustainabiliyt is a topic among the opera singers and artists Domingo knows. He however has to fly which concerns him. Apart from that he tries to save energy and water. During the Salzburg Festival Domingo had the chance to talk with his colleagues and friends about the Hydrogen 7 limousine which he was driven in during the Festival. He liked the car he said during the interview and he expressed the hope that soon a hydrogen infrastructure will be established. Having in mind that he needs to fly a lot from concert to concert he added the wish that even airplanes will work with hydrogen one day.The Opera singer who is of an excellent health and voice is one ambassador of Hear the World, an institution that cares for hearing. In the Mission Statement they say: "By 2015, an estimated 700 million people will be hearing impaired, the equivalent of people using the internet today."
Pollution destroys historical buildings and the natural surrounding. He tested the Hydrogen 7 and said he enjoed this expierience. "Thump up", he says for new kinds of mobility.

For the first time Pope Benedict XVI. asked for climate protection and a sustainable kind of living. The occassion was a conference held in the Vatican about climate preservation: 80 scientists from more than 20 countries met in the heart of Rome. The Pope asked to not forget the poorest in the so called Third World who will suffer the most if climate change impacts will come true as predicted. He further said humans do have to respect nature.
The statement of the head of the Roman Catholic Church came also after newspapers predicted droughts for this year in Italy. Farmers are afraid of loosing their harvest. The riverbed of the river Po for instance is almost ran dry at the moment - a rare view for this time of the year.

At the moments the fountains are still running in St. Peter's Square in Rome - if the summer gets as hot as predicted water will be short in the Eternal City.

The groundwater table in Beijing drops a half-meter per day. China and India have to import grain because there is not enough water for crop cultivation. In the grain fields of Punjab agriculturists have to drill 270 meters into the earth in order to find water – ten years ago it was only 90 meters. These numbers clearly demonstrate the decrease in water resources. Water, like oil, is a non-regenerative element of life. How long humankind will have petroleum at its disposal is estimated at a maximum of 135 years. Such estimations for water can only be provisional since daily water use depends on consumer habits and the rate of population growth. The average person uses around 50 liters per day for drinking and personal hygiene; add to that around 8000 liters of water needed for the manufacture of his or her daily food. Enormous amounts of water are necessary for the production of biofuel. One liter of ethanol requires approximately 4500 liters of water. That makes production expensive and leads to increasing prices for staple foods. The price for one ton of corn (maize) has already risen from 128 to 135 dollars. Agriculture is the leading water consumer. It uses about 90 percent of the freshwater, but does not use it efficiently enough. In poorer, mostly warmer countries the water flows through aboveground channels. The result: Much too much water evaporates. Access to water is a human right. It is now regulated by law in South Africa that every person has the right to 25 liters of water per day free of charge. Whoever needs more must pay for it.

The city of Hasankeyf has seen many emperors come and go. In the neolithic period it saw the first human settlement, the Romans were there, the city was part of the reign of Byzantium. Its inhabitants were Christian and are Muslim today. All this history shall be washed away for a new embankment dam.The plan of the Turkish government to build this dam does not amuse the people of the city who fear for their precious inheritage. The founded an initiative to save their home. The wall of the to be technical monument would be 135 meter high. The dam would be the first on the river Tigris.The Turkish government hopes for development in the southeast of the country. Critics say Ankara wants to put under controll the water that at the moment runs deliberately into Syria.The major of Hasankeyf, Abdülvahap Kusen, cannot think about leaving his 10 000 year old hometown. His prophecy about the politicians who will decide most probably in favor of the project: "History will judge them".

Well, we certainly aren’t almighty and there is nothing comparable to the wonders described in the bible – but, wow, if the newest project described in the National Geographic becomes reality, I would say we are pretty close to a human miracle. That’s the idea:Scientists try to find out how to split water molecules, mimicking the chemical reactions in biological photosynthesis. In this chemical reaction sunlight or better the sun’s energy is used by plants to split water into its two components: oxygen and hydrogen. The so produced hydrogen could be used as fuel by itself or alternatively for combining it with carbon compounds to produce fuels – exactly what a plant does when it grows. The trick is to understand which components, or better enzyme is responsible for the splitting reaction and makes it possible after all. Now, scientists state that they recently found the component, what they were looking for. Understanding the structure of it may help scientists to replicate the enzyme artificially.That's one first step into the direction of turning water into energy.Just imagine... an almost endless resource of energy – we only have to take care that we don’t use up all water sources until scientists discovered the whole mechanism, or learn how to produce water!
Foto: Anke Herder