Sunday, May 20, 2007
We Will Always Catch Rain
From: David Nyabuto Ogachi
Hi Jack,
Thanks a lot for coming. People are already drinking clean and safe water. They want me to take photos as they drink water and send them to you. I am opening a RainCatcher office at the center where I stay. From here with your help I will make the Bosiango project a model project in Africa you will be proud of. The filters are a miracle, wonderful and perfect. I'm naming my truck RAINCATCHER. This region is wide and has a great potential.
I was born in a poor family 42yrs ago. My father died of amoebic typhoid,a water borne disease. Water diseases are a problem in this place. I'm enrolling for Msc.AGRICULTURAL and RURAL DEVELOPMENT, with an interest in rain water. Rain can be a great tool with which we can develop rural communities and improve lives of our people. You are my mentor. You have taught me alot about rain water. These days I check emails 2x every week. So send me any message directly. You are a wonderful friend. Together we will always catch rain. God bless. Your friend, David.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Dialogue - ''Water for Everyone"
Water for Everyone
the RainCatcher story -
Dialogue between a boy and a girl
somewhere in the U.S.
by Jack Rose
What if the only water we had to drink came out of the LA River?
Or Laguna Creek? or any creek?
What if we lived In Africa and had to walk for hours everyday just to bring water from muddy streams back to our house?
What if we got typhoid or cholera. . . or dysentery?
What if 5 million of us died this year from drinking bad water?
Every year!
What if someone decided this was unacceptable?
What if we started to catch the rain that fell on our school house?
And channeled it through gutters.
And stored it in giant water tanks?
It isn't rocket science, is it?
But NASA wants billions of dollars to look for water on Mars.
And then during recess, instead of walking a mile or two down the canyon to get a drink from that funky stream. . .
We just opened the tap on the tank outside our classroom and took a big gulp of the best water we've ever tasted.
What if all the thirsty kids around the world could do this?
What if the $20 million spent on one military tank was used to buy 40 million water tanks?
Then all the thirsty kids around the world would have fresh rainwater to drink instead of the contaminated stuff.
What if we could make that happen?
We can. My friends and I are helping the RainCatcher project right now in Africa.
How?
It's easy. The people there really want clean water to drink, but they don't have the right rain catching tools.
Water tanks - rain gutters - filters. It's just a matter of hardware.
Yea - so the RainCatcher project is setting up the Global Hardware Store.
What if everyone could do this?
We're working on that.
The goal of RainCatcher is 'Water for Everyone'
I'll drink to that
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Global Envision Article
Below is a RainCatcher story appearing on globalenvision.org - an initiative of Mercy Corps (Click on LEARN then SUCCESS STORIES then WATER FOR EVERYONE)
SUCCESS STORIES
Water for Everyone
How one individuals' simple discovery, the refreshing taste of pure rainwater, is providing solutions in the developing world.
Date Posted on Global Envision: April 03, 2007
In
observance of UN World Water Day on March 22, I talked with an
individual who has made accessible drinking water and water
conservation his life's work. Jack Rose, the "RainCatcher" has been helping catch rainwater for use in African villages since 2004.
The rainwater experiment began in Kauai in the late 1990's. Rose, a native of Southern California, was inspired during an El Niño
winter that dumped constant rain on the island. That's where Jack first
began drinking rainwater and, a couple years later, the rainy coastline
of Mendocino, California became the "laboratory, from which theRainCatcher projects in Africa were born."
Since
that fated time, Mr. Rose has made it a habit to collect and drink
rainwater in his everyday life. He invokes the image of a crazed
scientist, drinking from a stainless steel cup as the rain falls. He
applied this passion for rainwater collection to his career, where he
designs homes in Southern California. Inspired by simple,
cost-effective design ideals, Jack began drafting and modeling
rainwater collection tanks for home use and landscaping.
Imagine the image of a crazed scientist, drinking from a stainless steel cup as the rain falls.
In
2004, Mr. Rose was invited to accompany a project called "Water for
Children Africa" to Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa. He saw the dire
need for drinking water across the areas he visited and found simple
solutions could create extraordinary gains. He used his experience
collecting rainwater at home to set up a rudimentary system in the
villages that he visited usingRainCatcher tents and natural drainage areas. "Maji Ni Maisha
", a Swahili expression for "Water is Life" came to encapsulate Jack's
experience in Africa and reflect the dire importance of water access in
many African villages.
As the RainCatcher vision formed, Jack Rose began a partnership with Kenyan Fred Mango and a company called Kentainers,
which produces water storage tanks for distribution in Africa. They are
now installing their containers at schools across Kenya.
The schools
provide an excellent location for the water tanks. They are generally
at the center of villages and represent a source of pride for many
villagers. Teachers, students and parents are the administrators of the
water system once it is installed and are responsible for the security
and maintenance of the container and distribution of the water. A
complete system consists of a water tank, rain gutters, and a filter.
Each system can be installed in one day and one truckload, carrying
five tanks, can provide rain collection systems for five schools.
For Jack Rose, the RainCatcher
methodology is a simple solution to one of the world's most urgent
problems: "there are many problems in the world that seem unsolvable …
this isn't one of them." The materials necessary to install five
villages with rainwater collection systems cost approximately $4500,
including filters. The filters used are made by the Swiss CompanyKatadyn
and cost around $250 each. The filters are an added expense; rainwater
does not require filtration, but it can filter out contaminants
collected from dust or rooftop surfaces. Additionally, if filters are
installed in the rainwater collection devices, the system can also
provide a source of clean water during the dry season. After the
collected rainfall has been consumed, water from traditional sources
like nearby streams and creeks can be filtered through the tank and
cleaned for human consumption.
"There are many problems in the world that seem unsolvable … this isn't one of them."
It is the RainCatcher's
hope that the next generation across the globe will embrace the earth's
natural abundance of water and use it more efficiently to eradicate the
water problems of today. The biggest obstacle to this task is
awareness. The plight of over one billion people without access to
clean water doesn't receive the attention that is urgently needed to
address the situation. Despite efforts by the United Nations and World
Water Day activities, the frustration of unequal water distribution
remains the fundamental concern for the developing world. In this
struggle, Jack Rose describes himself as the world's waiter, declaring:
"We
are told that we should drink 8 glasses of water a day. Whenever you go
to a restaurant, or sit down for a meal, there is a glass of water
brought to the table. At humanity's table, however, each day we are 8
billion glasses short, I am simply a waiter carrying as many glasses as
I can."
Individuals like Jack Rose are the catalysts of
change. He is planning several projects which will help continue his
work in Africa and raise awareness about the possibilities of rain
collection in both developing and developed countries. One such project
is "Water for Everyone," a film documentary which will tell theRainCatcher story and convey the power of simple solutions globally.
You can read more about RainCatcher projects at RainCatcher.org.
Contributed
by Lindsay Benson, Project Intern at Global Envision. Lindsay has a MA
in International Political Economy from American University and her
research focus is in global food policy.
SUCCESS STORIES
Water for Everyone
How one individuals' simple discovery, the refreshing taste of pure rainwater, is providing solutions in the developing world.
Date Posted on Global Envision: April 03, 2007
In
observance of UN World Water Day on March 22, I talked with an
individual who has made accessible drinking water and water
conservation his life's work. Jack Rose, the "RainCatcher" has been helping catch rainwater for use in African villages since 2004.
The rainwater experiment began in Kauai in the late 1990's. Rose, a native of Southern California, was inspired during an El Niño
winter that dumped constant rain on the island. That's where Jack first
began drinking rainwater and, a couple years later, the rainy coastline
of Mendocino, California became the "laboratory, from which theRainCatcher projects in Africa were born."
Since
that fated time, Mr. Rose has made it a habit to collect and drink
rainwater in his everyday life. He invokes the image of a crazed
scientist, drinking from a stainless steel cup as the rain falls. He
applied this passion for rainwater collection to his career, where he
designs homes in Southern California. Inspired by simple,
cost-effective design ideals, Jack began drafting and modeling
rainwater collection tanks for home use and landscaping.
Imagine the image of a crazed scientist, drinking from a stainless steel cup as the rain falls.
In
2004, Mr. Rose was invited to accompany a project called "Water for
Children Africa" to Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa. He saw the dire
need for drinking water across the areas he visited and found simple
solutions could create extraordinary gains. He used his experience
collecting rainwater at home to set up a rudimentary system in the
villages that he visited usingRainCatcher tents and natural drainage areas. "Maji Ni Maisha
", a Swahili expression for "Water is Life" came to encapsulate Jack's
experience in Africa and reflect the dire importance of water access in
many African villages.
As the RainCatcher vision formed, Jack Rose began a partnership with Kenyan Fred Mango and a company called Kentainers,
which produces water storage tanks for distribution in Africa. They are
now installing their containers at schools across Kenya.
The schools
provide an excellent location for the water tanks. They are generally
at the center of villages and represent a source of pride for many
villagers. Teachers, students and parents are the administrators of the
water system once it is installed and are responsible for the security
and maintenance of the container and distribution of the water. A
complete system consists of a water tank, rain gutters, and a filter.
Each system can be installed in one day and one truckload, carrying
five tanks, can provide rain collection systems for five schools.
For Jack Rose, the RainCatcher
methodology is a simple solution to one of the world's most urgent
problems: "there are many problems in the world that seem unsolvable …
this isn't one of them." The materials necessary to install five
villages with rainwater collection systems cost approximately $4500,
including filters. The filters used are made by the Swiss CompanyKatadyn
and cost around $250 each. The filters are an added expense; rainwater
does not require filtration, but it can filter out contaminants
collected from dust or rooftop surfaces. Additionally, if filters are
installed in the rainwater collection devices, the system can also
provide a source of clean water during the dry season. After the
collected rainfall has been consumed, water from traditional sources
like nearby streams and creeks can be filtered through the tank and
cleaned for human consumption.
"There are many problems in the world that seem unsolvable … this isn't one of them."
It is the RainCatcher's
hope that the next generation across the globe will embrace the earth's
natural abundance of water and use it more efficiently to eradicate the
water problems of today. The biggest obstacle to this task is
awareness. The plight of over one billion people without access to
clean water doesn't receive the attention that is urgently needed to
address the situation. Despite efforts by the United Nations and World
Water Day activities, the frustration of unequal water distribution
remains the fundamental concern for the developing world. In this
struggle, Jack Rose describes himself as the world's waiter, declaring:
"We
are told that we should drink 8 glasses of water a day. Whenever you go
to a restaurant, or sit down for a meal, there is a glass of water
brought to the table. At humanity's table, however, each day we are 8
billion glasses short, I am simply a waiter carrying as many glasses as
I can."
Individuals like Jack Rose are the catalysts of
change. He is planning several projects which will help continue his
work in Africa and raise awareness about the possibilities of rain
collection in both developing and developed countries. One such project
is "Water for Everyone," a film documentary which will tell theRainCatcher story and convey the power of simple solutions globally.
You can read more about RainCatcher projects at RainCatcher.org.
Contributed
by Lindsay Benson, Project Intern at Global Envision. Lindsay has a MA
in International Political Economy from American University and her
research focus is in global food policy.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Water is Life
Malibu Times article - January 18, 2007
An Nov. 10 2006 L.A. Times story cites that dirty water is the second-leading cause of death among children globally.
Jack Rose's RainCatcher.org
waters the world.
By Ben Marcus / Special to The Malibu Times
Malibu resident Jack Rose believes the next worldwide resource battle will be about water. However, if collected properly, there is more than enough water for most of the planet.
Inspired by his travels throughout the world, and for the taste of what he calls a magic elixir, rainwater, Rose is developing systems for capturing and storing rainwater that can be used by future generations of Californians and underdeveloped villages all around the world.
Roe, 58, has been developing what he calls the RainCatcher since the late '90s, when he was inspired to capture rainwater by trips to two of the wettest places on earth: Kauai and Mendocino.
"In the late '90s, I arrived on Kauai in the middle of an El Niño winter," Rose said. "In a rental car wandering around the island, my first response to warm, sparkling tropical rain was to pull the car over, grab a big stainless steel soup pot from our gear and place it on the hood. I continued to catch and drink this elixir all winter. I would stand on the balcony bug-eyed with Einstein hair, raise a glass and toast this bizarre discovery."
In the winter of 2002, Rose was living in Mendocino, which is green and lush like Kauai. "I rigged up rain gutters on a cabin in the redwoods and caught many gallons," Rose said. "This is all I drank for an entire winter-not from necessity, but from curiosity, passion, glee. Aside from the pure fun of catching rain, it is the best tasting substance I've ever ingested. Truly a chalice full of delight. One day, while holding up a glass, I realized that over a billion people on the earth can't enjoy this simple act. What I came to take for granted was not available to many, yet, at times, India and Africa are visited by opulent monsoons, just like Kauai and Mendocino. Right there I decided to design simple ways to catch rain everywhere."
Knowing that up to five million people around the world die from tainted water every year, Rose became possessed with the idea of capturing and storing water from the skies. "Like the Richard Dreyfuss character in 'Close Encounters' making mashed potato 'Devil's Tower' sculptures," Rose said. "I began my work."
A self-taught engineer who worked in construction for many years, Rose found the model for his system in the Golden State. "I grew up along the coast of California with a mountain range, the Sierra Nevada, in my back yard," Rose said. "Every year, like clockwork, moisture floats in from the Pacific, hits the Sierra, and drops an abundance of rain and snow. The mountains store precious water in the frozen state for a few months, then release it one drop at a time all throughout the long, dry season. For those billions who are chronically thirsty, all that's missing is a means to catch and store each season's rainfall. With the RainCatcher project I aim to bring the mountains to the people, tilting the playing field in their favor. Every possible structure can act as a mini-mountain and catch a lot of water."
To start his project, Rose went to where the need for water was greatest. In April of 2003, he was invited to join "Water For Children Africa" in a humanitarian journey to set up water storage tanks for schools.
"While traveling through Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa, I designed RainCatchers that people could cob together with local materials," Rose said. "In the hill country, where every home grows their own food, I showed farmers how they could spread plastic up the hill, berm the sides to make a funnel and direct the next rainfall into storage tanks. I worked with a tent manufacturer in Nairobi to create RainCatcher tents that, instead of the middle rising to a peak, it sloped to a waiting tank in the center. Everywhere I visited in Africa I was greeted with, 'Water is life, thank you for being here.' Everyone wants clean water. They have the skill and the will, but lack the resources. I came back knowing that my job is to tell the RainCatcher story, to come up with ways to bring water tanks and filters that require no electricity or moving parts to remote villages and crowded townships throughout Africa."
Closer to home, Rose is applying RainCatcher to Dolphin's Run, a Malibu home that will get all its power and hot water from the sun, and most of its water from above.
"Malibu averages about 15 inches of rain," Rose said. "The formula I use is the square footage of the roof area, divided by two, multiplied by annual rainfall equals the gallons you get for every inch of rain. This house has 5,000 square feet so that adds up to 2,500 gallons of storage a year for every inch of rain. That makes 30,000 gallons of water a year. This house will have a 10,000 gallon storage container buried in the backyard, and that will cover the need for landscaping."
Rose's next project is for a village called Bosiango in Western Kenya. The whole story began with an email plea from a David N. Ogachi, who told Rose of the water-borne diseases that his community, especially the women and children, were suffering from, to help install safe and clean piped water.
That began a long back and forth with Rose by e-mail, which can be read on the www.raincatcher.org Web site. Rose is hoping to bring a truckload of six RainCatcher tanks to the village, which will allow them to capture and store 8,000 gallons of water.
"Right now they are getting their water from contaminated streams," Rose said.
Rose is putting his Miata car up for auction to raise funds for the trip as a part of the effort to install rain-catching systems in places where it's a matter of life and death.
"This is the real 'Survivor'," Rose said. "So I'm thinking about the 'Global Garage Sale' where people here offer some of the extra stuff laying around America to be transformed into water storage tanks for Africa. A jet ski here, piano there, etc. How many boats are sitting unsailed in America's marinas? There's probably enough stuff here to provide clean drinking water for the entire world. The exchange rate is very good, the reward is great. I'm offering my Miata as the first example of this concept."
An Nov. 10 2006 L.A. Times story cites that dirty water is the second-leading cause of death among children globally.
Jack Rose's RainCatcher.org
waters the world.
By Ben Marcus / Special to The Malibu Times
Malibu resident Jack Rose believes the next worldwide resource battle will be about water. However, if collected properly, there is more than enough water for most of the planet.
Inspired by his travels throughout the world, and for the taste of what he calls a magic elixir, rainwater, Rose is developing systems for capturing and storing rainwater that can be used by future generations of Californians and underdeveloped villages all around the world.
Roe, 58, has been developing what he calls the RainCatcher since the late '90s, when he was inspired to capture rainwater by trips to two of the wettest places on earth: Kauai and Mendocino.
"In the late '90s, I arrived on Kauai in the middle of an El Niño winter," Rose said. "In a rental car wandering around the island, my first response to warm, sparkling tropical rain was to pull the car over, grab a big stainless steel soup pot from our gear and place it on the hood. I continued to catch and drink this elixir all winter. I would stand on the balcony bug-eyed with Einstein hair, raise a glass and toast this bizarre discovery."
In the winter of 2002, Rose was living in Mendocino, which is green and lush like Kauai. "I rigged up rain gutters on a cabin in the redwoods and caught many gallons," Rose said. "This is all I drank for an entire winter-not from necessity, but from curiosity, passion, glee. Aside from the pure fun of catching rain, it is the best tasting substance I've ever ingested. Truly a chalice full of delight. One day, while holding up a glass, I realized that over a billion people on the earth can't enjoy this simple act. What I came to take for granted was not available to many, yet, at times, India and Africa are visited by opulent monsoons, just like Kauai and Mendocino. Right there I decided to design simple ways to catch rain everywhere."
Knowing that up to five million people around the world die from tainted water every year, Rose became possessed with the idea of capturing and storing water from the skies. "Like the Richard Dreyfuss character in 'Close Encounters' making mashed potato 'Devil's Tower' sculptures," Rose said. "I began my work."
A self-taught engineer who worked in construction for many years, Rose found the model for his system in the Golden State. "I grew up along the coast of California with a mountain range, the Sierra Nevada, in my back yard," Rose said. "Every year, like clockwork, moisture floats in from the Pacific, hits the Sierra, and drops an abundance of rain and snow. The mountains store precious water in the frozen state for a few months, then release it one drop at a time all throughout the long, dry season. For those billions who are chronically thirsty, all that's missing is a means to catch and store each season's rainfall. With the RainCatcher project I aim to bring the mountains to the people, tilting the playing field in their favor. Every possible structure can act as a mini-mountain and catch a lot of water."
To start his project, Rose went to where the need for water was greatest. In April of 2003, he was invited to join "Water For Children Africa" in a humanitarian journey to set up water storage tanks for schools.
"While traveling through Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa, I designed RainCatchers that people could cob together with local materials," Rose said. "In the hill country, where every home grows their own food, I showed farmers how they could spread plastic up the hill, berm the sides to make a funnel and direct the next rainfall into storage tanks. I worked with a tent manufacturer in Nairobi to create RainCatcher tents that, instead of the middle rising to a peak, it sloped to a waiting tank in the center. Everywhere I visited in Africa I was greeted with, 'Water is life, thank you for being here.' Everyone wants clean water. They have the skill and the will, but lack the resources. I came back knowing that my job is to tell the RainCatcher story, to come up with ways to bring water tanks and filters that require no electricity or moving parts to remote villages and crowded townships throughout Africa."
Closer to home, Rose is applying RainCatcher to Dolphin's Run, a Malibu home that will get all its power and hot water from the sun, and most of its water from above.
"Malibu averages about 15 inches of rain," Rose said. "The formula I use is the square footage of the roof area, divided by two, multiplied by annual rainfall equals the gallons you get for every inch of rain. This house has 5,000 square feet so that adds up to 2,500 gallons of storage a year for every inch of rain. That makes 30,000 gallons of water a year. This house will have a 10,000 gallon storage container buried in the backyard, and that will cover the need for landscaping."
Rose's next project is for a village called Bosiango in Western Kenya. The whole story began with an email plea from a David N. Ogachi, who told Rose of the water-borne diseases that his community, especially the women and children, were suffering from, to help install safe and clean piped water.
That began a long back and forth with Rose by e-mail, which can be read on the www.raincatcher.org Web site. Rose is hoping to bring a truckload of six RainCatcher tanks to the village, which will allow them to capture and store 8,000 gallons of water.
"Right now they are getting their water from contaminated streams," Rose said.
Rose is putting his Miata car up for auction to raise funds for the trip as a part of the effort to install rain-catching systems in places where it's a matter of life and death.
"This is the real 'Survivor'," Rose said. "So I'm thinking about the 'Global Garage Sale' where people here offer some of the extra stuff laying around America to be transformed into water storage tanks for Africa. A jet ski here, piano there, etc. How many boats are sitting unsailed in America's marinas? There's probably enough stuff here to provide clean drinking water for the entire world. The exchange rate is very good, the reward is great. I'm offering my Miata as the first example of this concept."
Saturday, May 05, 2007
A global clean-water shortage
A U.N. agency report calls for action to save lives and energize economies by boosting supplies and sanitation.
By Robyn Dixon, Times Staff Writer
November 10, 2006
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA — While people in wealthy suburbs of Africa use water to maintain lush lawns and fill swimming pools, many slum dwellers struggle to obtain the crucial resource and pay much more per gallon for what little of it they can get, according to a United Nations Development Program report calling for an end to "water apartheid."
At the same time, dirty water is the second-leading cause of death among children globally, after respiratory infections. It kills 1.8 million children younger than 5 each year, more than do HIV/AIDS, malaria, war or traffic accidents, says the U.N. report released Thursday in Cape Town.
"In the year 2015 they plan to send a spaceship to Jupiter to search for water, yet in Africa or India we can't get water to people who need it," Kevin Watkins, the report's author, said at a briefing for media in Johannesburg.
The report's main contention is that if countries increase access to clean water and sanitation simultaneously, the rates of child survival in developing countries can rocket "almost overnight," Watkins said. Globally, 2.6 billion people have no access to proper sanitation. The 1.1 billion people who don't have clean water use about 1.3 gallons a day.
"It is hard to find anything that has a greater impact on human life than water," Watkins said.
In cities such as Dar es Salaam, capital of Tanzania, people pay more for water than do New Yorkers, Watkins said. The water and sanitation crisis in sub-Saharan Africa slowed economic growth by 5% of gross domestic product per year, more than the region receives in foreign aid, the report says. A big increase in spending on water and sanitation would pay for itself in economic growth.
"No other investment could bring greater benefits," Watkins said.
Collecting water is a colossal waste of labor, he said, with the burden falling overwhelmingly on women and girls. Sub-Saharan African women spend about 40 billion hours a year walking and queuing to collect water.
Some countries spend much more on their military than on water.
In Pakistan, where diarrhea caused by dirty water kills 118,000 people each year, the government spends 0.1% of its budget on water and sanitation. It spends 47 times that on the military. India, where 450,000 die of diarrhea annually, spends eight times more on its military than on water resources, and Ethiopia, which has one of the highest rates of infant mortality due to lack of clean water and sanitation, spends 10 times more on the military.
The global cosmetics industry is $200 billion.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
RainCatcher Documentary
OBSERVATIONS FROM MY RAIN CATCHING TRIP TO KENYA:
I know all too well there is no way to be here without being permanently changed. Such is my bond with Africa.
I give my self completely - blending with this place, these people, inventing a tomorrow where everyone has clean water to drink, everyday, just like we have at home.
I don't think it's too much to ask for - and so I ask and will ask, over and over and over again, until it is done.
If NASA can ask for billions to search for water on Mars, then we can ask the same for water here on Earth.
If DEPT. OF WAR can ask for 20 million for one tank, then we can ask the same for 40 million tanks.
-1 army tank = 40 million water tanks, the equation of common sense.
Resources allocated for space water exploration, redirected back to Earth, would provide clean, safe drinking water for everyone, almost over night.
This isn't philosophy or politics, it's hardware: tanks, gutters, filters - distributed through the many non-profits already in the field, doing good work, bringing as much water as they can.
It's just a matter of hardware. We have the resources, why aren't we sharing all this? There's far more than we could ever use.
Soon, the RainCatcher documentary will tell the story of 'Water for Everyone', featuring the historical, geo-political, natural resource and humanitarian expressions of the relentless quest for water - Bringing to the big screen for the first time images of people all over the world catching and using rainwater.
Simple solutions for everyday problems will be be discovered and revealed and woven through the story.
Dramatic threads will include water wars and water woes, and amazing displays of natures' abundance.
Example: One days' rainfall on one mountain in Hawaii is equal to the amount of bottled water Americans consume in one year.
There are many such spigots all around the Earth. The RainCatcher documentary will put a bucket under each one and tally the catch, showing how supply far exceeds demand.
The film will clearly show there is no shortage of water given, just a shortage of water received. The gift has been offered,
but we are required to meet it half way, we must put a bucket under the rain storm.
A billion buckets, actually. The film will spotlight all the clever ways people are already doing this around the world.
Including interviews with the inventors who dream up unusual ways to catch it, store it, clean it and bottle it.
And the film will also show designs of the future, where every golf course is a RainCatcher, and every shopping center parking lot, and roof tops of giant commercial and industrial buildings, and every new house built with a ten thousand gallon water storage tank buried under the back lawn. (I'm creating the model for this in Malibu, near the High School)
There are villages in India with laws requiring homeowners to catch and collect all the rainwater that falls on their roofs. California will have the same law 20 years from now.
We're not talking rocket science here. Just tanks, gutters & filters. That's all it takes. That's all I'm asking for.
There will be a day when clean, safe water is available for everyone. I have seen it. This movie points to that day with passion, grace and hope.
The problem is clear: 5 million die each year from exposure to contaminated water. Billions lack consistent access to clean water. Fortunately this is a solvable problem, a matter of hardware. My wish list has only three items on it: tanks, gutters and filters.
'Water for Everyone', the RainCatcher documentary tells the story of many people in many places already catching as much rain as they can, but needing more hardware.
Who can you help me make this movie, tell this story and get this hardware to those who need it?
I know all too well there is no way to be here without being permanently changed. Such is my bond with Africa.
I give my self completely - blending with this place, these people, inventing a tomorrow where everyone has clean water to drink, everyday, just like we have at home.
I don't think it's too much to ask for - and so I ask and will ask, over and over and over again, until it is done.
If NASA can ask for billions to search for water on Mars, then we can ask the same for water here on Earth.
If DEPT. OF WAR can ask for 20 million for one tank, then we can ask the same for 40 million tanks.
-1 army tank = 40 million water tanks, the equation of common sense.
Resources allocated for space water exploration, redirected back to Earth, would provide clean, safe drinking water for everyone, almost over night.
This isn't philosophy or politics, it's hardware: tanks, gutters, filters - distributed through the many non-profits already in the field, doing good work, bringing as much water as they can.
It's just a matter of hardware. We have the resources, why aren't we sharing all this? There's far more than we could ever use.
Soon, the RainCatcher documentary will tell the story of 'Water for Everyone', featuring the historical, geo-political, natural resource and humanitarian expressions of the relentless quest for water - Bringing to the big screen for the first time images of people all over the world catching and using rainwater.
Simple solutions for everyday problems will be be discovered and revealed and woven through the story.
Dramatic threads will include water wars and water woes, and amazing displays of natures' abundance.
Example: One days' rainfall on one mountain in Hawaii is equal to the amount of bottled water Americans consume in one year.
There are many such spigots all around the Earth. The RainCatcher documentary will put a bucket under each one and tally the catch, showing how supply far exceeds demand.
The film will clearly show there is no shortage of water given, just a shortage of water received. The gift has been offered,
but we are required to meet it half way, we must put a bucket under the rain storm.
A billion buckets, actually. The film will spotlight all the clever ways people are already doing this around the world.
Including interviews with the inventors who dream up unusual ways to catch it, store it, clean it and bottle it.
And the film will also show designs of the future, where every golf course is a RainCatcher, and every shopping center parking lot, and roof tops of giant commercial and industrial buildings, and every new house built with a ten thousand gallon water storage tank buried under the back lawn. (I'm creating the model for this in Malibu, near the High School)
There are villages in India with laws requiring homeowners to catch and collect all the rainwater that falls on their roofs. California will have the same law 20 years from now.
We're not talking rocket science here. Just tanks, gutters & filters. That's all it takes. That's all I'm asking for.
There will be a day when clean, safe water is available for everyone. I have seen it. This movie points to that day with passion, grace and hope.
The problem is clear: 5 million die each year from exposure to contaminated water. Billions lack consistent access to clean water. Fortunately this is a solvable problem, a matter of hardware. My wish list has only three items on it: tanks, gutters and filters.
'Water for Everyone', the RainCatcher documentary tells the story of many people in many places already catching as much rain as they can, but needing more hardware.
Who can you help me make this movie, tell this story and get this hardware to those who need it?
