CAUSING DESERTS TO BLOOM

Making it Rain

Addressing our water shortage with science

Sweet Honeylu

Published in

Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs

5 min readSep 2, 2023

Picture of cracked dry dirt in the desert — Photo by Micaela Parente on Unsplash

Scrolling through the news at some of the headlines what jumps out at me are the effects of climate change. With drier hotter extended summers is causing water to evaporate and water tables and levels to drop. With water becoming more and more scarce, animal and insect populations are being negatively affected.

With lack of water comes mass looming crop failures. Millions will starve unless we get water to these affected areas. Multiple organizations are predicting mass migration into the billions by 2050. Wouldn’t it be great to be out in the middle of nowhere in a barren wilderness or a dry desert without any water source for miles and yet have access to limitless water? Captain Moses West thinks so.

Man with sun glasses on top if head with arms crossed and smiling — Captain Moses West

Meet Moses West

Born on August 9, 1958, in Columbus, Georgia, to Joe Edgar West and Betty-Anne West. Moses West moved to Germany at a young age, where he witnessed firsthand the harrowing aftermath of World War II. This experience fostered deep empathy for the impoverished and discriminated German population. As the oldest of the boys in a bustling household of 11 siblings, Moses assumed the role of leader early on.

Inspired by his father — an Army combat medical instructor — Moses pursued higher education throughout his early life at Trinity University, Incarnate Word College, and San Antonio College. After earning degrees in Public Administration and Human Relations, he joined the military as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1981.

CPT West’s journey to becoming a formidable Army Ranger began at Fort Benning, Georgia, where he attended the Infantry Officer Basic Course (IOBC) in the summer of 1981. Handpicked for the prestigious Ranger Course, Moses underwent a grueling 90-day training program, emerging as a proud and distinguished member of the elite 75th Ranger Regiment.

Moses’s military career brimmed with achievements, illustrating his exceptional prowess, resilience, and dedication to his country. Serving in the 2nd Armored Division, commanded by George Patton Jr., Moses honed his skills as an Army Ranger and embraced the airborne tradition.

A stream of water pours over a pair of cupped hands — Photo by Arjun Photography on Unsplash

Necessity, the mother of invention

Moses founded AWG Contracting, a company focused on developing and deploying innovative atmospheric water generation technology. He has successfully led missions to provide pure and unlimited sources of water to communities in need, such as Puerto Rico and Flint, Michigan.

If you remember anything about Flint Michigan, nothing made me lose respect and faith in local government when I saw the water that came out of those water pipes. The water was so polluted, that it came out brown and laden with lead. The local government and the governor decided it was a good idea to save money by transporting lake water through old pipes leeching chemicals into the water.

You couldn’t drink it, you couldn’t cook with it and in most cases, it was toxic to the skin so you couldn’t shower in it. It was tragic. I remember pallets of bottled water being shipped to city hall before anyone had a grasp of how widespread the problem was. We watched it all unfold on random Facebook lives. My anger boiled over that day. Bruce Cockburn’s “If I Had A Rocket Launcher” definitely became relevant at the moment.

We can’t forget how Hurricane Maria tore through Puerto Rico and left hundreds of thousands without electricity, and water, but we can’t fail to mention the generosity of our fearless leader, Donald Trump who graciously threw rolls of paper towels to the desperate reaching grasping thankful outstretched hands of the Puerto Rican peasants. Food and water? Pfffffft paper towels, baby!

Thankfully, the story doesn’t end there. With the generosity of multiple donors, enough money was raised to send a couple of these machines which could potentially supply an infinite amount of water. The hotter the climate, the better it runs.

Atmospheric Water Generation

I really don’t know how to begin…It’s condensation. It’s been compared to breathing on a chilly window to leaving a cold bottle of soda outside and watching it collect moisture in the air. Atmospheric water generation (AWG) uses technology to produce potable water from the surrounding air. AWG generators range from home-based units that can produce 1 to 20 liters of water per day to commercial-scale units capable of 1,000 to over 10,000 liters per day.

Water production rates are highly dependent upon the air temperature and the amount of water vapor (i.e., humidity) in the air. The most commonly used AWG systems employ condenser and cooling coil technology to pull moisture from the air in the same way a household dehumidifier does. Although significant quantities of energy can be required to operate these condenser and fan systems, recent technological advancements have substantially improved the energy-water ratio.

Three Cheers for Captain West!

What I like about his inventions is that they can either be run on solar power or an internal generator. If world governments would get behind this initiative, we could solve our water problem or at least alleviate it.

I raise a glass of water to you, Captain my Captain!

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