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Nearly 30 million Americans annually are impacted by water scarcity and don’t have reliable access to clean water. The water crisis stems from a wide range of issues, ranging from extreme weather events like hurricanes and flooding to depleted aquifers and overuse of wells. Our aging water infrastructure alone leaks 6 billion gallons per day, while pipe failures lead to nearly 10,000 boil water notices every year. Water is an essential and increasingly limited resource. It shapes where we live (or dont). Vast lands across America remain undeveloped due to a lack of natural water resources, exacerbating the housing crisis. Water increasingly restrains and defines how we live. These crises expose a fundamental flaw in our water infrastructure: Its centralized, fragile, and slow to adapt. For centuries, weve relied on massive, fixed water systemsmunicipal plants, aquifers, and reservoirsassuming theyd always be enough. But droughts, disasters, and rising demand are pushing these systems to the brink. Neither resilient nor quite renewable, the problem isnt just scarcityits rigidity. Energy faced a similar challenge. Grids dependent on fossil-fueled centralized plants proved vulnerable to extreme weather and surging demand, while adding to pollution and climate change. The solution? Resilient and renewable eistributed energy resources (DERs)solar panels, batteries, and microgrids that gave homes and businesses power independence. What if water worked the same way? What if atmospheric water generation (AWG), smart storage, and rainwater harvesting built a new paradigm of distributed water resources (DWRs)? This would make water supply resilient, renewable, and independent. Just as DERs revolutionized energy, distributed water will redefine water. The crucial foundation of DWRs is a renewable water source like rainwater collection and atmospheric water generationproducing clean water directly from the air. While the concept isnt newthe U.S. military has explored it since the 1930searly technologies were energy-intensive, expensive, and impractical for widespread use. Until now, atmospheric water was limited to niche applications. But today, technological advancements have changed the game. Large-scale atmospheric water capture is a reality, and when integrated with storage, entire homes and communities can be sustained with water sourced directly from the air, feeding into showers, kitchens, and more. (One of our companies, Brian Sheng’s Aquaria, builds and sells AWG systems.) This is a water equivalent to a renewable microgridthe hydrogridand its already here. In Texas, rural homeowners have implemented a DWR model themselves, standing up rainwater systems, AWGs and water storage, and unplugging from their failing wells. In Hawaii, a developer is building a pioneering residential community integrating a hydrogrid with a rainwater harvesting system to secure a year-round independent water supply. No need to further stressor rely onoverstressed terrestrial water sources and infrastructure. An Aquaria Hydropack unit is integrated with a rainwater catchment system in this off-the-grid home in Hill Country, Texas. [Photo: Aquaria] Big water infrastructure cant close the supply-and-demand gap quickly At the Texas Water Day at the Texas Capital in March, water advocates shared that it costs about $2 million to build one mile of new municipal-type water pipepipes that only have about a 35-year life! As we expand our urban centers with new suburbs and exurbs, theres no easy path to finance urgently needed new water systems to support growth. Like the energy grid, our water infrastructure is fragmented. A recent McKinsey report on water resilience found that of the nations nearly 50,000 water systems, 91% service small communities of under 10,000 people. Its hard to imagine how these small-scale, rural systems will be able to afford the considerable costs associated with upgrading and maintaining water pipes. As McKinsey sees it, the overall infrastructure funding gap for water utilities in the U.S. could reach $194 billion by 2030. An Aquaria water generator and tank installed at a South Texas home supplements its water supply during drought conditions. [Photo: Aquaria] DWRs are the resilient solution that humanity needs Rural communities highlight why a DWR model is the most reliable, resilient, and adaptable approach to water infrastructure. Traditional hub-and-spoke systems are prone to pipeline failures, contamination, and supply disruptions, leaving entire communities without water or forcing them to live with boil water notices. By pairing localized rainwater collection and atmospheric water generation with storage, communities can remain self-sufficient and resilientproducing, storing, and using water on demand, reducing reliance on distant water. The amount of water in the air at any given time is about 3,100 cubic miles. This stays consistent and regenerates every week or so through natural cycles of precipitation and evaporation. This quantity is about 200 times more than humans consume annually. Water in the air is not only abundant, it is limitless. A homeowner can install an AWG and storage tank starting at around $20,000comparable to the average cost of a residential solar installation. Installation is straightforward, requiring only a connection to the homes water system and can typically be completed within a week. Residential rainwater systems range from humble rain barrels to large-scale systems with 50,000-gallon tanks to maximize collection during the season, plus water treatment, sensors, and even predictive modeling to manage use. Scaling rainwater harvesting and AWGs for community-level water generation is equally practical. These AWG systems are housed in containerized units, similar to container battery storage systems, making them highly modular and deployable within days. A sinle unit can produce thousands of gallons of clean water per day, and multiple units can be deployed in parallel or distributed to different locations based on demand. Aquarias Hydropack X unit, installed with a storage tank for backup water supply thats needed due to unreliable piped water supply in Austin [Photo: Aquaria] Envisioning a new future for water In an ever-changing world, the time to secure water independence is now. Homeowners can install DWR systems into their homes to secure personal water supplies, while local, state, and federal governments can implement these systems at scale to protect their communities amid disaster and climate change, while protecting terrestrial water sources with renewable water. DWRs also enable new development opportunities. Land once considered unbuildable due to lack of infrastructure can now support housing, agriculture, and industry without costly municipal expansion. Imagine if we unlock a new way to harvest and deliver abundant water wherever its needed. A new model of distributed water resources can unveil a radical range of new possibilities in the same way that distributed energy resources diddelivering reliability, flexibility, sustainability, and independence in an uncertain future. The world is experiencing a growing and urgent water crisis. As Niccol Machiavelli once said, “Never waste the opportunity offered by a good crisis.” World Water Day has now come and gone, but we must continue to acknowledge the state of the water crisis and recognize the urgency of strategic, communal action. We live in an era of both rapid technological advancement and accelerating water scarcityand now is the time to bridge the gap.
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E-Commerce
A child-size table and small chairs make up the centerpiece of a playroom. It’s where children do crafts, host tea parties for their dolls, play hide-and-seek, and build forts. So it makes sense that people buy a lot of them: By 2030, Americans will spend an estimated $12 billion on play tables. [Photo: Bauen] The market is flooded with sets, ranging from inexpensive ones like Ikeas $50 version to more design-forward varieties like Lalos $300 set. Still, husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Lynn and Cassidy Rouse believe theres room in the market for a better-designed version. More specifically, they wanted to create a set that was indestructible, easy to assemble, usable indoors and outdoors, and even portable. And they wanted to create chairs that were almost impossible to tip over. The Rouseswho have two young childrenspent two years designing a play table and chairs, exploring hundreds of prototypes and materials, until they arrived at their final design: a whimsical-looking set made from recyclable plastic. The product has already won an iF Design Award. This week, theyre launching a $649 play table and chair set through their new brand, Bauen. Over time, they expect to redesign other children’s furniture. A Packed Market Child-size furniture has been around since the 18th century, when well-to-do families wanted to give their children opportunities to play and develop. Today such items are a staple of childhood. But when the Rouses scoured the market for a play table for their kids, they found most options lacking. Thanks to the rise of cheap, mass-produced furniture, you can find many affordable options from Target, Walmart, and Amazon. The problem is that most of them are made of inexpensive materials that break easily. When we spoke to experienced parents, they said that they had gone through several sets of play tables, Cassidy says. It’s become a norm to get an inexpensive play set and expect to throw it out after a few years. If you have a second child, you just buy a whole new set. [Image: Bauen] Outdoor play sets are slightly more durable, since they are made using heavy-duty plastic, but they’re often designed like picnic tables, and don’t look good indoors. So you end up buying two setsone for indoors, and another for outdoors, he says. Today, thanks to improved child-safety laws, companies need to follow regulations when designing furniture for kids. After receiving reports of injuries, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission established a rule that chairs marketed for children younger than 5 must go through a stability test issued by a third-party testing agency. The test involves putting the chair at an incline to show that it will not easily tip over if the child sits too far back or leans to one side. But in focus groups, the Rouses heard parents say their kids frequently tipped over in play chairs, partly because often they often sit quietly at the table, instead playing vigorously and leaning backward at an unsafe angle. We didn’t think the standard accommodated the way children actually interact with this furniture, Lynn says. [Image: Bauen] Redesigning a Classic So they set out to create a better product, starting by designing a chair that is more tip-resistant than others on the market. When you first see the chairs, their proportions look a little comical. They have a very wide seat, a very short 8-inch back, and thick legs (a now patent-pending design). All of this creates a low center of gravity, which makes them harder to tip over. Most children’s chairs are designed like smaller versions of adult chairs, Cassidy says. But we had a breakthrough when we realized that toddlers don’t need a large, supportive back; their bodies are often leaning forward to see what is in front of them. By creating a wide seat and a low back, the chair is much more stable. [Image: Bauen] Rethinking the chairs led the Rouses to rethink almost every aspect of the set’s design. They wondered whether it was possible to create furniture that would look good indoors but also be practical outdoors. They ended up using polyethylene, a type of durable plastic thats often used to construct outdoor furniture. They sourced it from a company whose products are deemed toxin-free by the EU, which has higher product safety standards than the U.S. [Image: Bauen] Despite being plastic, the set doesn’t look like a traditional picnic table and chairs meant for the backyard. The furniture has interesting curves. Depending on how it’s styled, it can look fun and cartoony in a kid’s bedroom, or sleek in a modern home. But when the sun comes out, you can easily carry the set out to a deck or garden, so kids can eat and play outside. After trying out many other products on the market, the Rouses discovered things they disliked and avoided them in their own design. For instance, they didn’t like the way liquid would spill right off tables, so they designed raised edges so spills would stay contained. Lynn found it annoying that many chairs were not large enough for adults to sit on. We wanted it to fit an adult bottom, she says. That way you can sit with your child at the table. But you can also bring it to the bathroom and sit on it while giving your kid a bath. [Image: Bauen] Finally, they wanted to make the set easy to assemble. The chairs don’t require any assembly. For the table, you only have to attach the legs. It doesn’t require any tools, and it takes less than two minutes. Importantly, the table is designed to be disassembled easily so you can store it and transport it. You might want to bring it on holiday with you, Lynn says. The Bauen set is certainly thoughtfully designed, but its also much more expensive than other kids furniture on the market. At $649, it is more than double the cost of the Lalo set, which is already considered expensive. The table will likely be appealing to affluent, design-conscious parents. But the Rouses are also trying to make the case that their product is much more durable than others on the market, so its a good value for money.
Category:
E-Commerce
We live in an era of rapid technological change, where the rise of AI presents both opportunities and risks. While AI can drive efficiency and innovation, it also increases the temptation for leaders to prioritize short-term gainsautomating decisions for immediate profit, optimizing for productivity at the cost of employee well-being, and sidelining long-term sustainability. Organizations that focus solely on AI-driven efficiency risk creating burnt out workforces, extractive systems, and fragile organizations that cannot withstand economic, social, or environmental disruptions. To build resilient organizations that can weather the future, leaders must embrace regenerative leadership. This requires shifting from exploitative business models that prioritize efficiency to people-centered leadership that actively seeks to restore and enhance resources, whether human, environmental, or technological. Regenerative leaders recognize that AI should augment human potential, not replace or exploit it. They create strategies that use AI to enhance long-term human, business, and environmental well-being rather than diminishing them. The key principles of regenerative leadership A regenerative leader creates sustainable systems. Unlike traditional leadership, which focuses on efficiency, profit, and centralized control, regenerative leadership nurtures ecosystems. Here are the key principles a regenerative leader follows: Systems Thinking: Sees organizations and ecosystems as interconnected, ensuring decisions benefit the whole rather than just isolated parts. Living Systems Approach: Draws inspiration from natures regenerative cycles to create adaptive, self-renewing teams and businesses. A self-renewing team is one that continuously learns and evolves. Purpose-Driven Leadership: Aligns business and leadership goals with meaningful long-term impact. Human Well-being: Prioritizes employee and stakeholder well-being including creating psychological safety and a collaborative environment. Resilience & Adaptability: Leads with agility in uncertain times, designing organizations that can thrive in change. Regenerative Value Creation: Moves beyond extraction of resources, talent, and energy to creating lasting value for people, communities, and nature. Collaborative & Decentralized Power: Encourages participatory leadership, where teams self-organize and contribute to a larger mission. Regenerative leadership in action Heres how different companies have implemented regenerative leadership: Business Strategy: Companies like Patagonia and Interface have pioneered sustainable business practices that go beyond carbon neutrality and actively regenerate ecosystems. Both companies saw improved brand loyalty, cost savings, and competitive advantage from these efforts. Patagonias ethical stance boosted sales, making it one of the most trusted brands globally, while Interfaces sustainable innovations led to higher efficiency, lower production costs, and increased demand for eco-friendly products. Corporate Culture: Microsoft prioritizes employee well-being through flexible work policies, continuous learning programs, and mental health support. This fosters a positive work environment that enhances engagement, productivity, and ultimately long-term business success. Community Impact: The Hershey Company has made significant strides in community impact through its commitment to sustainable cocoa sourcing and education programs. These programs ensure a stable supply chain, enhance brand trust, and meet consumer demand for ethical products, driving long-term success. Developing regenerative leadership skills Regenerative leadership is not an innate talent but a skillset that can be cultivated. Here are some suggestions for becoming a more regenerative leader: 1. Expand awareness to think in systems, not silos. Regenerative leaders recognize that businesses must work in harmony with both the environment and human nature. Companies like Patagonia restore ecosystems through regenerative practices. They emphasize that great leadership works with natural flows rather than imposing rigid control. By shaping organizations that evolve organically, like ecosystems, leaders cultivate resilience, innovation, and lasting success. 2. Practice deep listening to lead with empathy. Success will start with deep listening to employees, customers, and stakeholders. The Buddhist concept of mindfulness will remind leaders to be present, ask the right questions, and cultivate trust, creating cultures where innovation thrives. 3. Embrace a growth mindset to stay adaptive. Regenerative leaders will see challenges as opportunities for reinvention. The Zen principle of Shoshin (beginners mind) will encourage curiosity, adaptability, and a culture of continuous learning, ensuring organizations do not just survive but evolve. 4. Foster collaboration and build networks, not hierarchies. The best leaders will empower teams, encourage co-creation, and shift from competition to co-elevation. By fostering inclusive, participatory decision-making, they will build self-renewing, resilient organizations. 5. Measure impact beyond profits. Success is more than profitsit includes ethical usage of technology, employee well-being, biodiversity restoration, and community impact. Regenerative leaders track holistic KPIs, driving sustainable business transformation. The future of leadership is regenerative By embracing regenerative leadership, leaders will move beyond short-term survival tactics and instead drive innovation, resilience, and long-term success while creating lasting positive impacts. This approach will become an ongoing practice of learning, adaptation, and alignment with the broader ecosystems of business, society, and technology. The choice will be clear: Leadership must not only sustain but regenerateleveraging AI and emerging technologies as forces for good.
Category:
E-Commerce
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