Successful innovators are the people who see a demand before it arises and develop the technology required to meet it. Certain demands may seem to arise on a whim, as part of some inscrutable cultural shift. But other demands are inevitable; we can see them coming. They develop as a result of irreversible and linear changes: the shifting landscape, the growing population. These are examples of hard trends–what will happen–as opposed to what might happen (soft trends).
One such hard trend on the horizon is the growing scarcity of fresh water and the consequences of drought. Make no mistake: this will be a growing demand. The term “blue tech” has become a shorthand for the community of inventors and entrepreneurs who are at the leading edge of addressing the world’s pressing need for bountiful, clean water.