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Neil Gordon
 | May 2nd, 2010 America Needs a New Strategy for Safe Drinking Water Neil Gordon CEO, Early Warning Inc An estimated 19.5 million Americans, representing about 7% of the entire US population, got sick last year from drinking water containing pathogenic bacteria, viruses and parasites. Countless more consumed water with cancer-causing chemicals, radioactive substances, and nuclear materials. Pathogens and toxins are ending up in tap water from ineffective treatment of contaminated source water, infiltration of contaminants through broken water mains, an absence of government regulations that require drinking water to be adequately tested for multiple pathogens and hundreds of toxic materials, and a lax enforcement of regulations by government officials that allowed over 94% of Clean Water Act violators to avoid fines or significant punishments. Current trends suggest that the problems will intensify. An increase in America's population and related water-intensive industries such as food processing will require even more contaminant-free water, while at the same time pristine water sources are depleting. Maintaining the status quo will likely lead to a greater number of illnesses from an aging population with an increasing number of sick, immuno-compromised, and malnourished who are less able to fight off pathogens and toxins. This will place a greater burden on the health care system. Rebuilding under-capacity water treatment plants and deteriorating water distribution infrastructure will take decades and approach a trillion dollars nationally in the next 20 years. A more cost-effective solution is to implement a new generation of nanotechnology-based inline sensors that rapidly detect a diverse suite of pathogens and toxins, along with updated regulations and meaningful enforcement. This will allow water operators to more quickly identify dangerous contaminants and take actions to prevent contaminated water from reaching consumers. With a network of sensors providing precise information about the sources of infiltration, water administrators would be able to prioritize major infrastructure projects by measuring the potential health benefit versus the cost of prospective investments. Read the Whole Article |
| February 24th, 2010 Will 2010 be a better year for nanotechnology? Neil Gordon CEO, Early Warning Inc 2009 was a bad year for nanotechnology. The financial demise of long established nanotechnology companies such as Nanogen, Evident Technologies, and NanoDynamics may be an expected fall-out of the economic downturn. However, the real impact of the financial crisis to nanotechnology is more pronounced. Read the Whole Article |
| May 12th, 2009 Biohazards are the greatest threat to humankind Neil Gordon CEO, Early Warning Inc Bacteria, viruses and parasites are responsible for the bulk of the 18.4 million deaths worldwide from communicable diseases in 2004 estimated by the World Health Organization plus additional deaths from non-communicable diseases and cancers. With advances in nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and wireless technology, new generations of low cost biosensors and early warning systems will provide a front line of defense against the transmission of deadly pathogens. Read the Whole Article |
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