Low tech versus high tech and the LifeStraw

The other day, I wrote about fusion reactors, comparing the high tech tokamak to the low tech cold fusion types. The jury is still out as to which technology is ultimately successful but imagine if both do succeed. Which would you rather have? A multi-billion dollar controlled hydrogen bomb versus a little box that can sit in your back yard and supply all of your electrical needs? Personally, I would take always take low tech, all things being equal, just because it seems to be most logical. My daughter, who works for Verizon, bugs me every day to get a smartphone but I prefer a "dumb" phone so I'm not tempted to waste time using all of its features. I just use my phone to make phone calls. Just in case you are wondering, I do have two computers at work, six servers and at home, an iPad, a desktop computer, a laptop, a Mac mini and a Nexus tablet for good measure so I am not anti-technology. Just anti-smartphone.

I have already written about the Ark program featured in Rome's Revolution. I'm not going to say that a starship ferrying frozen people in ceramic, nuclear-powered sarcophagi is low tech, but the body of the Ark certainly is.

Here is another example. There are many, many places in the world where acquiring clean, potable water is a serious, life-threatening issue. For millions and millions of dollars, you can build a water filtration or desalination plant that is bound to break down from time to time. Or you could get your clean water via a tiny, simple device called the LifeStraw.


The LifeStraw Personal, pictured above, is just a straw with an intricate filtration system built within. It uses no power and no chemicals. According to the manufacturer, the LifeStraw:

-Filters at least 1,000 liters of water (264 gallons)
-Weighs only 54 grams (2 oz.)
-Removes up to 99.99999 percent of waterborne bacteria
-Removes up to 99.9 percent of waterborne protozoan cysts
-Reduces turbidity by filtering particles of approx 0.2 microns
-BPA Free and contains no chemicals
-Uses no batteries or moving parts

This straw is so amazing, it won the "Best Invention of the Year" in 2005 awarded by Time Magazine. And this will blow your mind: the LifeStraw Personal only costs $19.99! The LifeStraw Family costs $80.00 and will provide a family of five enough clean drinking water for three years!

Bottom line: give me Low Tech every time.