Magical Water Purification
Kanani Burns, a division head of the MACUSA Environmental Protection Agency can be found here in a comfortable, easily accessible conference room ready to speak on the importance of Magical Water Purification. Kanani has witnessed all sorts of water-related hardships during her travels and in her own life, and that has made her well aware that anything can happen at any time. Water is important, not just for her as a self-professed islander, and needs to be seen as such. She undertook extensive study on site in Hawaii and various other island nations over several years, learning of ways the magical population dealt with water rationing and purification and devising ways to streamline those processes and bring them to the wider Wizarding population.

ooc: Remember, this is not a lesson like in the school RPG. Due to the nature and format of these presentations, please try to limit yourself to one main reaction post in response to the presentation/speech showing your character listening/participating/reflecting as you see fit. You may post a second time after the speaker character responds to your questions, or to interact with the speaker at the end of the presentation.

In some ways, the woman in the wings waiting to make her way out on the stage knew that her appearance might surprise some people. Kanani had kept her mingling to a minimum during the early brunch, more just out of the knowledge that she had the first presentation than anything else. She fully planned on going out to see the rest of the exhibits and the other things the summit had provided for those who chose to attend, but she also knew it was a bit more difficult than usual. Hence the easy access of the conference room she was waiting in, a plate of fruit on her lap that she was nibbling on as she listened to the soft sounds of people getting settled.

Checking the time, she noted it was ten o’clock, so she set the plate aside and rolled out onto the stage. “Good morning everyone. Thank you for making the time to come and listen to what I can educate you on. I do know there are plenty of other manners of excitement going on,” she said with a smile. The activists were certainly one of those excitements, both rather unexpected and yet expected. Maybe it was being from America, but protests weren’t quite as unusual in her eyes. She just hoped none of them had filtered into her presentation.

“Anyhow, for those who may not have read the pamphlet, my name is Kanani Burns. I happen to be a division head working for MACUSA in the environmental protection department, and I’m here to talk to you about water. I know, it seems like a simple thing. Water. We need it to survive, and I’m sure most of you are thinking about one of the first spells I’d imagine you learned in school. Aguamenti. Yes, as witches and wizards we have the ability to conjure something so necessary for our survival, yet what if you needed quite a bit of it. Sometimes depending solely on magic isn’t the best plan of action, and I’m here to show you other ways we can acquire that rather undervalued commodity. Water.” There had been another underlying meaning to her comment about depending on magic, but that was irrelevant to her topic. Her appearance had nothing to do with her subject, except in some ways it had everything to do with it.

“I’d imagine you might wonder why I chose to focus my course of study on water. The short answer is that water has always been part of my existence, coming from my native island of Hawaii, where I first began my exploration into the topic once I entered the environmental protection community. I both studied how the magical community there dealt with the need for fresh water as well as the Muggle methods, and as I continued my travels I chose to examine how they were similar as well as ways we as a magical community could adapt those Muggle techniques for our own benefit.

Magically, as you would imagine, the answer is simple. Even in a drought, we can just conjure up the water we need. Simple, except what happens when there are Muggles nearby? One would have to explain why they have water while others do not, and that could be complicated. Not every Muggle is conducive to being told only what they need to know, and some are rather dogged in their pursuit of answers. Especially in places that may not be quite as civilized as England or Hawaii. Places that may not be quite as developed. People there need to survive just as much as those in urban society, and also, there’s the matter of water not being an inexhaustible source. Aguamenti notwithstanding.

Another magical method of purifying existing water that quite a few witches and wizards I’ve observed is just as simple. I’d imagine you have all heard of Scarpin’s Revelaspell and its usage to identify the ingredients in potions and their darker counterparts, poisons. The same spell, used appropriately, can be used to separate out the components of water from natural sources, such as the ocean or even rain water, and subsequently we can discover ways of permanently separating those solids from the water we need. Whether through Muggle-adapted forms of filtration and distillation or otherwise, it is possible, and also a way of not overusing Aguamenti.

Basic distillation entails boiling the collected water until it creates water vapor which can be collected, yet the opposite can also be used. Especially in the less tropical islands, such as when I visited a Wizarding colony near Antarctica, there is a method of slowly cooling the air until it condenses into vapor. Of course, no Muggle-adapted method is particularly quick, nor is it quite as simple as just conjuring the water we need in the instance of it not being readily available. Yet that does not mean they are any less useful, and perhaps they are simply a more creative way of utilizing the magic we have been given.” She paused for a moment, allowing the listeners to continue taking their notes or just to absorb the information she had given, and then she smiled again.

“I hope I’ve given you some things to think about, but I don’t want to take up all your time. There are other presentations to attend as well,” some of which she had thought of attending as well, [b]“Thank you for coming to listen, and feel free to ask any questions you may have. Otherwise, enjoy the rest of the summit!” And don’t get too worked up by those activists.[/COLOR]

Checking her watch Victoria decided to go to another speaker, this one was on water. Well everyone needed to learn about how to help the environment and that meant the water they used as well. So she took her seat and got ready to listen. Hawaii that was on one of her list to travel to, she had to see the breath taking beaches one day. She loved looking at pictures there. Maybe she could get Cossy to take her sometime soon. Bart could handle a little bit with Helena and she knew Charely would take the twins.


Everything the woman was saying seemed simple enough and she thought it was all very educational. Once it was finished she didn't have any questions, but she would love to hear anyone else that might have one. Her eyes moved about the group to see if there were any before she clapped to applaud the woman's words.

Very good it was and now time for another.