5 ms·
Isn't this problem "easily" solved by desalination?
by marcell 5y ago
Isn't this problem "easily" solved by desalination?
- ssivark 5y agoYes, but that ignores the energy/carbon cost.
- refurb 5y agoSolar. Easy peasy.
- azinman2 5y agoNevada and Arizona aren’t on the sea.
- MisterBiggs 5y agoCalifornia who is by far contributing the most to the drought and regularly bullies Arizona and Nevada for water has plenty of coast.
- bsder 5y agoIt's also "easily" solved by shutting down agriculture in stupid regions that don't get enough rainfall so they keep taking water from rivers and aquifers. Shrug. Desalinization will cover the coasts. Agriculture will shut down when the aquifers finally fail.
- bushbaba 5y agoWouldn’t desal be cheaper co2 & energy wise than lighting and temperature control?
- msrenee 5y agoYou mean to say we shouldn't be growing pecans and keeping dairy cows in the desert? That's crazy talk. Seriously though, I was gobsmacked when I found out there was such water-intensive agriculture being done in an area where they're dead proud of the scraggly cottonwood trees that manage to survive along creeks that go dry most summers. Where you have chihuahuas in your yard instead of squirrels because there's nowhere for the squirrels to live. Big fields of alfalfa supported by center pivots in the middle of rocky scrubland where even the cactus dry out some years. It's not sustainable and never has been and now people are sitting around scratching their heads like it's some kind of mystery what's happening.
- rexarex 5y agoDesal discharges salt waste back into the surrounding water, which accumulates on the sea floor. This salty desert kills marine life. Also, the energy needs are very high—-probably too high for our infrastructure to cope. I don’t have sources handy at the moment but a lot of research is done on this in the Middle East / Israel:
- nightowl_games 5y agoNot just research is being done in the Middle East. The Saudis desalinate billions of liters every day.