Lynne Paretchan, a former student and now attorney extraordinaire, sent me this piece from -where else? The Los Angeles Times! This sounds like something concocted by the engineering students we have here at Oregon State University.
It's about Mazda's Kiyora concept car. The car’s roof has water channels that collect rain and send it through an activated carbon filter. This removes all waterborne pathogens and other pollutants right down to the molecular level. Bacteria and viruses are intercepted without the use of chemicals. Then the pure, clean drinking water pours into a vessel specially designed for Mazda by Lifesaver Systems, which calls it the Bottle Citi. This receptacle is positioned between the front seats, so any occupant can get to it easily.
A first reaction might be that this is all very well in someplace such as Seattle, but not so useful in 
the parched environs of Southern California. But with observers who comment on such things predicting that wars in the future will be fought over precious liquids in dwindling supply -- call them oil and water -- and considering the Kiyora’s low-consumption, low-emissions diesel engine and water feature, Mazda really might be on to something here.
"Inventing is a combination of brains and materials. The more brains you use, the less material you need." -- Charles F. Kettering
Mazda specifies a 1.3-liter engine for the Kiyora, using similar variable valve timing tech and direct injection as the 2.3-liter engine found in the CX-7. Along with low displacement, the powertrain enhances its economy with an idle-stop system, a feature commonly found in hybrid cars,hydrogen in cars.
Posted by: michale | Monday, 07 September 2009 at 11:05 PM