Solar-Powered Water ATMs Provide Clean Drinking Water To The Thirsty | Hacker News Reader

Solar-Powered Water ATMs Provide Clean Drinking Water To The Thirsty

fastcompany.com

8 pointsGarbage8 comments

Small semantic note: isn't this really a type of "vending machine", rather than an "automated teller"? Seems it's really a drink dispenser, and not a money dispenser. The idea just doesn't seem very revolutionary, and is maybe reaching for a "high-tech" metaphor to gain some tech-cred.

This is such a bad idea.

a) $3 per month for a family in India is quite expensive.

b) It adds artificial scarcity and dependency on the "water dealers".

Sounds like Rango to me.

No one is forcing anyone to use this water. The villagers can either use the cleaner water, something which they had no way to get before, or continue to get water their old way. How is it a bad thing to provide a better product to someone for a price?

It's not a "product". It's a survival essential. Everyone should be entitled to clean water, not at a price.

Sure, everyone needs water. But, "there's no such thing as a free lunch", and this seems to be a reasonable way to get water to people who need it right now.

update, when I had a chance to look at some data: As for affordability, it seems 5% of monthly income is typically used as the threshold [1]. This would mean that someone would have to earn $2 dollars per day to have affordable water through this solution. You're right: for many below the poverty line in India, this does not meet the affordability standard [2].

However, I would argue that any way of increasing access is an improvement, simply judging by how available water currently is [3]. As was said earlier, you're not making people any poorer by giving them another option to attain water.

[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supply_and_sanitation_in_... [2]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_India [3]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supply_and_sanitation_in_...

But when you make the most profitable way the preferred way, you shift the power from the people to a controlling party, at which point, the price goes up to suit the "investors".

It's an unfortunate part of human nature.

There are some seriously fucked up selfish capitalist bastards on this site who believe they are entitled to screw anyone for anything.

It's disgusting.

It's not just a bad idea. It's a cynical idea.

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