OUT OF THIN AIR

PULLING MOISTURE FROM THE AIR MIGHT HELP YOU FIGHT A DROUGHT.

- Dana Benner

As I write this piece, the western part of the United States faces record-breaking heat and massive drought. Here, in the Northeast, we're also dealing with high temperatures, a three-year drought and no Train insight. In some areas, water restrictions have gone into effect.

The lack of normal winter snows has left wells and reservoirs extremely low... or, in some cases, dry. My cistern, which allows me to capture rainwater I use to irrigate my garden, is bone dry.

So, as I sat and watched my garden struggle, I knew I needed to come up with a plan. That's when it dawned on me to get water from ... the air.

OLD CONCEPT

The idea of getting water from the atmosphere is nothing new. The very rain we're all praying for uses this process. Just watch the weather, and you'll often see rainstorms occurring when a warm front merges with a cold front. When moisture-rich, warm air clashes with dry, cold air, the moisture turns to either a liquid (rain) or a solid (snow and ice).

Because both are heavier than air, they fall to the ground. This process can also be seen when you put a cold bottle of water into the hot, humid air. Water droplets form through condensation on the outside of the bottle.

The water is in the air, so the question is, “How can we harness that water?"

AIR CONDITIONERS AND DEHUMIDIFIERS

We've already developed a way to harness this natural process-at least on a small scale.

It comes in the form of air conditioners and dehumidifiers. Both inventions take warm air and pass it over coils of cold air.