http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/6/13/154827/219 "You have to suck pretty hard at first to get it moist, but after that it's easy," said 35-year-old Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen. en-us Thu, 14 Jun 2007 17:35:37 EST Sun, 17 Jun 2007 22:28:43 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/6/13/154827/219#8 I like the lifestraw idea, especially since it is portable and so people can still be protected while they flee unrest. <p> There have been several <a href="http://www.cartercenter.org/news/documents/doc2229.html">horrible pathogens</a> which were destroye Sun, 17 Jun 2007 22:28:43 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/6/13/154827/219#7 The LifeStraw sounds pretty cool.  I've been donating some of my money to <a href="http://solarcookers.org/">Solar Cookers International</a>, which includes kits to make solar stills as well as cookers.  It sounds like solar methods are still <a Sun, 17 Jun 2007 22:15:34 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/6/13/154827/219#6 I hope within the next century hopefully Africa will get it together enough that stability lets infrastructure be built back up. As a lot of these preventable diseases get eradicated and/or reduced due to better care and public health it will be interestin Sat, 16 Jun 2007 14:37:44 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/6/13/154827/219#5 <blockquote><i>If you look at this simple diagram of solar distillation concept you can probably imagine how to make one of these things on your own...</i></blockquote>I've done it before, in <a href="http://rk19-bielefeld-mitte.de/survival/FM/06.htm#par2" Fri, 15 Jun 2007 11:21:47 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/6/13/154827/219#4 Hmm 3 bucks you say?<p> For ~3 bucks  worth of packaging material/plastic sheeting/recycled-repurposed sheet of glass you could build a primitive <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_still">solar still</a>.  All you would need is some empt Fri, 15 Jun 2007 09:17:40 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/6/13/154827/219#3 <blockquote><i>lots of propane and lots of pumping an MSR-Filter device</i></blockquote>What was the propane for? If you're using a MSR filter there is no need to boil the water as well.<br> <blockquote><i>Some of the guys were a bit macho about it and wou Fri, 15 Jun 2007 08:02:22 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/6/13/154827/219#2 I grew up drinking local stream water (which came from springs just a mile or so upstream) and my childhood home has always gotten its water from a natural spring (water pump in the basement is literally connected to a rubber hose that's connected to a sed Fri, 15 Jun 2007 07:55:49 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2007/6/13/154827/219#1 I watched the Newsweek video there, I thought it was strange, taking 5 minutes to sell a 30 second idea.  Having spent 6 mo. in the front/back country of Alaska, I have a basic appreciation of what it takes to purify water day in and day out - lots of Thu, 14 Jun 2007 22:03:02 EST string http://www.treesandthings.com/search/