A Water Micro-Infrastructure

This micro-device makes potable water by condensing and treating water vapor present in the air. Increasingly, with affordable household appliances such as this, we live in a world where distributed utilities can replace or augment traditional centralized utilities.

Unfortunately, the device doesn't work below 30% relative humidity so it is little help for the very driest regions of the world. However, it could help ensure the security of drinking water in a country like Australia, which is facing decreased rainfall due to climate change yet enjoys high relative humidity levels in populated coastal areas.

The article also addresses the environmental impact of bottled water:

In the US alone, about 30bn litres of bottled water is consumed every year at a cost of about $11bn (£7.4bn). According to the Earth Policy Institute, about 1.5m barrels of oil - enough to power 100,000 cars for a year - is used just to make the plastic.