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Good morning, everyone.
First I'd like to thank you all for being here,
thank Helder, and the entire TED team
for their professionalism in the organization
and for the honor of being here, to tell you guys
a little bit about the solution we have found.
Drawing from what Denis has said, what my fellow speakers have said
about the problems Brazil has...
We think not only Brazil, but the whole world has many problems.
And what do we have to offer?
First of all, I am not the inventor of what I'm talking about here.
But you could say I'm the spokesperson.
I'm a bit less shy than the inventor, but that's alright.
And this inventor, Norman, how did he come to the solution I'm about to tell you?
Because of something called nonconformism.
He needed something,
that which was available in the market
was not what he wanted, did not live up to what he wanted.
Then he began to think: 'How can we solve the problem of water?'
There are countless interesting things, we know about the cisterns,
that's a very cool project.
It offers a solution at a very low cost, but sometimes--
That works well in the semi-arid, because it does rain.
The problem is water distribution, but it does rain, there's water.
In some places in the world, they don't even have that much.
Right?
Take regions like Arabia, like the Chilean desert, there's no water.
But there's actually plenty of water.
People tend to think of water as is kind of... infinite, right?
'If there's a river, there's water.'
'If I open the tap at home, there's water.'
But it's not as simple as that.
Brazil currently has the largest aquifer in the world,
I don't know if you know that, it's the Guarani aquifer.
It encompasses a very large area and, in regions like Ribeirao Preto,
you can get potable water at 3 to 5 meters, through artesian wells.
But on the other hand there's the Northeast.
The semi-arid, which is a very complicated region:
that problem's been around for about a 100 years now, right?
It even gave way to the 'drought industry'.
So where's the big problem?
While we have lots of water in Brazil, in some places we just don't.
So it's all about water distribution.
How can I get water to places?
Cisterns are a great solution, too. But let's think technology.
This technological solution is useful in many situations.
In African countries, for instance, there are many rivers
but no water distribution, it's very complicated.
Take countries rich in oil, and consequently very rich in money,
like the Arab Emirates, Saudia Arabia, they have no water distribution.
The city of Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia, used to be an oasis.
Now there's nothing left, they're supplied by water trucks.
Money from oil, which someone said is our world's addiction,
is now used as funds for mineral water.
So, in Saudi Arabia today you get mineral water for US$ 0,17.
'Wow, but you can't get that price anywhere!'
In Europe a small bottle of water costs 2 or 3 euros.
Sometimes it's more expensive than wine.
But not there. They still have that.
But these rich countries, Russia is also a rich country with a serious problem,
they are very concerned, because they have money and oil now,
but they have no water.
In the case of Russia, their distribution problem is that water pipes freeze.
So how can you get the water to the people?
With that in mind, and through a very interesting piece of information,
that about 1 billion people today have difficulty getting potable water at home,
Norman came to a conclusion:
If we can't distribute it, why can't we make water?
So you say 'how am I gonna make water?', right?
'Doing the rain dance?'
Right?
'How should I go about...'
Sure, you'll ask yourself 'how can I produce water?'
There's not much to do.
I will produce water using technology.
And which technology can we use for that?
We are using interesting technology, because
where's can we find the most water in the world?
In the air.
Something so simple, right?
Because, if you take the ocean, you need desalinization.
It's a very expensive process that rarely results in proper potable water for humans.
And when I talk about potability, it's not just about drinking water, but about
producing food.
So, now, after years of research, we have come to the conclusion
in 2007 we set up the company, and this year we got all certifications
for our water-producing machine.
Some people think 'There's no such thing, that's like a UFO.'
But it exists, and it's right outside.
Feel free to check it out during the break.
It makes water from air.
It takes humidity from the air and turns that humidity into water.
100% pure water.
What are the applications we have today for this kind of equipment?
For example, the use for hemodialysis.
It's an extremely light water, it has no minerals.
You'll see, the machine filters water and then filters the water itself.
Right?
Another application is for emergencies.
For example, in drought situations, and in floods too, right?
It's a paradox to have a flood and shortage of potable water.
But the entire public system of water distribution is contaminated,
in a flood, that was the case of Katrina, many people died from thirst.
It was not in the media, but there were many deaths due to lack of water.
And also in severe drought.
Another application is for food, as I had mentioned.
We are working with the Saudi Arabian government to develop large greenhouses
to produce food.
To produce vegetables, fruit... Because they currently import everything.
So they are looking for alternatives, since they still have a lot of money,
in order to feed the people without resorting to food imports.
Another application we are considering for next year is consumption at home.
Developing a small machine for your home, just like your current water filter or purifier.
So, many doubts arise, always.
'Won't that have an environmental impact?'
No.
That was the big question for the Arabian government:
'What if I have 30 or 40 or 50 thousand machines in Riyadh today,
will it dry the air?'
No, it won't.
The machine operates with software that equalizes the air it produces water from.
Naturally, there's a balance, through the movement of air masses,
to replenish that humidity in the air.
We tend to think the desert is just dry. It's not.
There's a huge variation in the desert.
At night, humidity is over 60%.
And during the day it drops to 15 or 20%.
And these numbers are not far from what we get in the winter
here in Sao Paulo, due to the pollution.
Another point is: is pure, mineral-free water bad for you?
No, it's not bad for you.
Because you get minerals in all your food:
meat, vegetables, fish, dairy, they all have minerals.
So water does not necessarily need to contain minerals.
Let me remind you of the hemodialysis:
this is a lighter water, it aids in the filtering process
and is not harmful to people who have a defficiency in this filtering.
Another point is energy consumption.
Its energy consumption is very low, and that's the big deal.
Being able to produce water with low consumption in interesting quantities.
The machine that's outside produces 50 liters of water per day.
The machine we're developing for agriculture and civil construction
produces up to 10 thousand liters per day.
The cost of production per liter is, today, around R$ 0,07 for the large machine
and R$ 0,15 for the smaller one.
It's a very low cost.
So, that's it, we'd like to invite you all to taste the water over the break and
to feel how light it is...
And it's the solution we propose for TED's question.
Okay?
Thank you very much.