Clinton Center’s Earth Day to Feature “Innovate or Die Contest” Winner
The William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park will host the fourth annual Arkansas Earth Day Festival on Saturday, April 26.
This year’s festival will host "The Aquaduct: Mobile Filtration Vehicle," a potentially revolutionary new bicycle that filters dirty water as it is being transported.
The Aquaduct was the winner of the Innovate or Die Pedal-Powered Machine Contest. The contest, sponsored by Specialized Bicycles; Goodby, Silverstein & Partners; and Google, challenged participants to create a pedal-powered solution for offsetting climate change.
The pedal-powered machine successfully transports and filters water without burning fossil fuels or wood, which contributes to a reduction in CO2 emissions.
Clean water has been a focus of The Clinton Foundation since The Foundation’s formation in 2004. The objective of The Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program is "to reduce childhood death and diarrhea through the provision of safe drinking water at the household level."
"Access to clean drinking water continues to be a major health issue in
many countries around the world. The Aquaduct has great potential to
make a profoundly positive impact on this critical challenge," said President William J. Clinton. "I'm pleased my presidential center will host the team that invented this incredible machine, allowing its innovation to inspire a new
generation of public servants, scientists, engineers and designers vital
to creating realistic solutions to solve this crisis."
The Aquaduct was initiated and conceived independently by five Palo
Alto based designers. They are now working with their employer, design
and innovation firm IDEO, to identify ways to provide clean water to the
developing world.
"The Innovate or Die contest provided the team with an opportunity to apply our background in design and passion for cycling to address one of the biggest issues in the developing world," said Aquaduct team member Adam Mack.
"We hope that through creating the Aquaduct, we will raise awareness and inspire others to tackle challenging real world issues."
The Aquaduct, and the team who created it, along with Specialized Bicycles and local dealer Arkansas Cycling and Fitness will be in Little Rock for the Earth Day Festival on Saturday, April 26. The public will have an opportunity to see the bike and meet the winners at a public ceremony on Friday, April 25.
"We believe in the power of the bicycle," says Specialized’s Founder and President Mike Sinyard. "We believe that the bicycle can be a self-powered solution for reversing global warming, improving the environment and making the world a better place for future generations."
For more information on the contest, please visit www.innovate-or-die.com.
About the William J. Clinton Foundation:
Through the William J. Clinton Foundation, President Clinton promotes the values of fairness and opportunity for all. His vision is the Foundation's mission: to strengthen the capacity of people in the United States and throughout the world to meet the challenges of global interdependence. Together with the generosity of citizens and volunteers, President Clinton and the Foundation are vigorously working to advance those principles that move us beyond differences to a common future of shared responsibility, shared benefits, and shared values. For more information, please visit www.clintonfoundation.org.
About Specialized Bicycles
Specialized Bicycles, founded in Morgan Hill, CA in 1974, is a company filled with passionate cyclists who lead the industry with innovative bikes for all types of riding. Specialized is committed to global cycling advocacy and environmental consciousness, including programs like its annual Bike-to-Work Day Challenge, Recycle-a-Tire Project (over eight tons of bicycle tires recycled to date) and Specialized Employee Commute Club, which has offset more than 23 tons of CO2 emissions since 2006.