Groasis Waterboxx, winner of Popular Science Magazine’s “Best of What’s New” 2010, swept all 11 categories for the best invention, leaving behind other fantastic inventions, such as the Apple iPad, Porsche 918 Spyder Green Supercar, Panasonic Viera TV, Intel Wireless display, Philips Led Lightbulb and 117 others for the Grand Prize.
Pieter Hoff, inventor of the Groasis Waterboxx, is happy with his innovation, as it is pivotal to the success of his mission. In 2050, the world’s population will grow to around 10 billion. With 6.5 billion people currently inhabiting the earth, and 900 million already suffering from hunger, the immensity of the future crisis is clear. Hoff’s dream is to reforest 2 billion hectares (5 billion acres) of land that has been deforested by mankind over the last 2,000 years.
He explains: “The cutting of trees for lumber and animal grazing and mining has destroyed and eroded an area the size of Canada. If this area was small enough to cut, it is also small enough to replant.”
Pieter Hoff aspires to replenish the eroded area with food-producing trees, and the Groasis waterboxx makes it possible to plant trees, bushes and vegetables in otherwise problematic eroded, arid and rocky soil. The production of food from an additional 2 billion hectares of trees also helps solve the climate problem.
Hoff continues: “The Treesolution is simple. If we unbind more CO₂ atoms from the air with trees than we put in the air through fossil fuels, then the climate problem is solved. Mankind produces annually 8,4 billion tons of CO₂ through using fossil fuels. One hectare of trees unbinds an average 5 tons of CO₂ molecules in harmless C and O atoms and one acre average 2 tons. The C atoms are fixed in wood and the O atoms are put in the air. So if we plant 2 billion extra hectares (5 billion acres) of trees producing food, then these trees unbind 10 billion extra tons of CO₂. That’s more than we pollute.”
While solving the food problem, then, the Groasis Waterboxx combats the climate problem , at no cost. Pieter Hoff expects that farmers, governments and investors will start replanting eroded areas in 2011. The Groasis Waterboxx was tested in the Sahara desert between 2006 and 2009 and on more than 30 places worldwide in 2010, with good results. The box is deliverable from January 2011.
Popular Science Innovation of the Year
www.groasis.com
Many thanks to all of you
I think that this is also the right moment to let you know about the people and organizations who trusted in me and have supported me over the last 7 years while developing the Groasis waterboxx.
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In Holland I want to thank the team of persons and companies that helped me designing and producing the box. They really did a great job and sometimes it wasn’t easy to be ready before the deadlines. Of course I want to thank the Province of Brabant, Stimulus, the European Community (who is going to support a 2 million euro Groasis waterboxx experiment in Spain from 2011 until 2015) and my own government – especially the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Nature – for the strong and ongoing support and subsidies that I have received and not to forget the enormous active team of the Chamber of Commerce of Breda and from Syntens, Starterslift and its inspiring director Johan Sebregts who supported me on a crucial moment. I also want to thank Professor Vincent Icke, Henk Keilman and Willem Sijthoff who awarded me with the Bèta Dragons Award, one of Holland’s most prestigious science awards in November 2008. It really helped me giving the invention it’s credibility. Of course I want to thank Rabobank Breda and it’s team Business Relations managed by Mark de Vries who financed Aquapro during the crisis when no bank was willing to do so!
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Complete article on Groasis.com
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