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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Vanessa Lowery Brown
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Lowery Brown to chair Urban Sustainability Caucus
Group to hold clean water technology demonstration Saturday
HARRISBURG, July 9 – State Rep. Vanessa Lowery Brown announced the formation of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Urban Sustainability Caucus, which she will chair, and its first field demonstration that will be held Saturday, July 10, in Philadelphia.
"The caucus is a vehicle to discuss innovations that can help sustain our cities and to educate the public about them," said Lowery Brown, D-Phila. "I'm looking forward to Saturday when we see first-hand technology that uses renewable power to purify polluted water. This is an innovation that can help the 1 billion people on our planet who do not have clean water while creating jobs right here in Pennsylvania."
Members of the caucus and Philadelphia City Council will meet 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the Academy of Natural Sciences, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Representatives from The Essential Element will demonstrate the Hydra, which uses solar power to filter viruses and bacteria from water.
"In one day, the Hydra can clean 20,000 gallons of water that can quench the thirst of many needy people," Lowery Brown said. "It also separates hydrogen from water, which can be used to produce electricity via an onboard fuel cell or used as fuel on an adapted gas stove."
Another bi-product of the Hydra is medical-grade oxygen, a critical component needed for mobile medical clinics, Lowery Brown said.
Members of the Academy of Natural Sciences will be on hand to verify that polluted water is going into the machine and coming out clean.
To test the Hydra, Academy of Natural Sciences staff prepared 100 liters of Schuylkill River water that they will certify as undrinkable. Ward Larkin, a Benjamin Franklin interpreter, will be on hand to take the first drink while dressed in period costume as the Philadelphian who first harnessed electricity. Academy staff will also test the water and report the findings to the caucus.
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