Have you ever heard of an invention that you just thought was wrong if too many were used? I guess I will really get criticized for this one, but there are stories out there the the U.S. government has been working on and encouraging companies to perfect, a device that will literally suck the moisture out of the air and create about 500 gallons of fresh water a day. Now if there is one thing that many countries on this planet need it is fresh water, there is no dispute on this. Right now there is such a device and FEMA has bought 2 of them for testing. The price was about $500,000 each. I imagine that this would come way down if everyone started buying these things. Many of you must be wondering why I would complain about this, it seems harmless enough and could be of great benefit for some? There are people in this world that have no access to clean drinking water and a machine like this would be a God send wouldn't it?

If this machine gets popular, I can't help but wonder what the effects of sucking the moisture out of the air will be. Will it effect our bodies in some way that we haven't yet thought of? What about the food chain, could the moisture in the air be a necessary element in it? If the plants can't get moisture from the air how will the wild ones survive and if they die, will that effect things like oxygen production and carbon monoxide absorption? Sure none of this is important now because we are only talking about a couple of machines so far, but the goal of the company making these machines is one in every home. What will happen if the price of the machine goes down to some affordable sum, say around $2,000. It is said that this water if far cheaper than bottled water and it certainly will be far more convenient to use. No more lugging in case of water or large, heavy bottles. Just think of it, a builder might even decide to put one of these in every home built in a new tract of housing. That would mean that the air over each home would be very dry. Here is another question, could the air get so dry that there would be very little moisture to drain from it?

It is said that the machine contains a chemical that absorbs water, much as salt would do. The process can then be reversed and the water drained from it. This idea was originally thought up by the Pentagon's Advanced Research Projects Agency, you might know it better as DARPA. It is a great idea for the military who might not have access to fresh water at times and it eliminates the need to have it trucked in. When we speak of the cost of transporting water, we may not realize what this cost is. The average cost to fly in a gallon of water on a C-17 cargo plane is about $30. This price varies, of course, with distance. It is claimed that using the water sucking machine will cut the cost from $30 per gallon to 30 cents a gallon. We all know about wild claims, the space shuttle was supposed to be cheaper than a rocket for sending cargo into orbit, instead it cost about 10 times more. These machines will have to be run for years to figure their real costs, which will have to include repairs and reliability. Then too, will it actually produce 500 gallons of fresh water per day over a period of years?

When we think of the great drought that ran across this country years ago, we have to remember that one of the things that caused dust bowls was the lack or reduction of moisture in the soil. Soil requires a certain amount of moisture. If we take our fictional housing tract with all the homes sucking the moisture out of the air, how will this effect the surrounding areas and their soil? Will the soil eventually turn to dust? I am not talking about properly tended farms and gardens, I am talking about the wild lands that are not tended. When I talk about dryness I am not talking about the air in places like Arizona, I am talking about abnormally dry air.

Here is one for you, did you know that dry air in an airplane cabin can cause dehydration? Some tests have shown that breathing dry air has caused epithelial damage and inflammation and can cause lesions and in combination with cooling air may be responsible for asthma, bronchitis, sinusitis and nosebleeds. Dry air also makes our skin become dry and itchy. This assumes that the air you breathe becomes very dry. I have no data on just how dry the air will become if one of these new machines is used. I am sure that it would take a lot of these machines to be in use in any area before any noticeable changes take place. Another thing that I wonder about is what effect this would have on our weather? Dry air is denser than moist air. I know that the dryer the air is, the more chance for forest fires.

In conclusion I think that this could be a wonderful invention as long as everyone doesn't decide to get one. I think that the key here is not to over do it. Once these machines are produced in amounts that would begin to effect the atmosphere then we might have a problem. Here is the thing, who is to control how many are made? Is someone going to try and tell another country, that is in need of drinking water, that they can't have them? Let's be realistic here, this might be one of those inventions that is great in the beginning, but as it becomes too popular can cause more bad than good. I guess we won't know the answer until we see it in everyday use and exact measurements are made.