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Stopping water consumption is an inadequate solution to our three biggest water supply problems: 1. Desalination 2. Purification 3. Distribution There would

Stopping water consumption is an inadequate solution to our three biggest water supply problems: 1. Desalination 2. Purification 3. Distribution There would be no shortage of fresh water on earth if we simply put resources into solving these three problems.

thehappypm 5y ago
There is no shortage of fresh water in the US. The water is simply not near where the farms are because we're unbelievably irresponsible with where we do farming.
simiones 5y ago
All of those things are likely to increase our global warming issues, as they are highly energy consuming in several ways. If we want any semblance of current society to keep chugging along 50-100 years from now, we need to reduce our production of almost everything, energy most of all. There is simply no other solution to stop catastrophic global warming.
- FooHentai 5y ago
  I have to say it's vanishingly rare to see someone else advocate for net reduction in energy usage. In so many similar discussions it seems to be as much a taboo as topics like population control or not being able to freely buy tat products from china. But it seems one way or the other these shifts are inevitable, either by choice or it left unaddressed the other way as a natural consequence and with much greater suffering. Same with water use in arid areas, it's either restricted today or ultimately gone tomorrow. I guess the approach of burying our heads in the sand can be at least assured of an increasing sand supply to support it.
- t0mbstone 5y ago
  Energy consumption is not a problem, provided it comes from the sun. The sun is going to burn and blast the earth with energy, whether we harness it or not. Harnessing the sun's energy and applying it towards water desalination and distribution would allow us to grow all sort of plants (including trees) in areas that would otherwise be unable to sustain plant growth. Plants are composed largely of carbon that is extracted from the air, so the more plants you can grow, the closer we get to solving global warming.
  - tsimionescu 5y ago
    > Energy consumption is not a problem, provided it comes from the sun. The sun is going to burn and blast the earth with energy, whether we harness it or not. Harnessing solar energy is not free - you still need to build solar panels or other kinds of solar plants. Producing these requires metals that need to be mined, forged and transported. Solar energy only works for half the day, and is only plentiful part of the year. Not to mention, today we need to decommission all fossil fuels in the world and replace them with renewables, also covering the energy needs of emerging countries. So while in some distant future of 100% renewables we could contemplate desalination, we can't spare any energy today towards new industries. Even so, it is unlikely that we could replace all of our current energy consumption with renewables, given the huge problems with variability, in the foreseeable future.

thehappypm 5y ago

There is no shortage of fresh water in the US. The water is simply not near where the farms are because we're unbelievably irresponsible with where we do farming.

simiones 5y ago

All of those things are likely to increase our global warming issues, as they are highly energy consuming in several ways. If we want any semblance of current society to keep chugging along 50-100 years from now, we need to reduce our production of almost everything, energy most of all. There is simply no other solution to stop catastrophic global warming.

FooHentai 5y ago
I have to say it's vanishingly rare to see someone else advocate for net reduction in energy usage. In so many similar discussions it seems to be as much a taboo as topics like population control or not being able to freely buy tat products from china. But it seems one way or the other these shifts are inevitable, either by choice or it left unaddressed the other way as a natural consequence and with much greater suffering. Same with water use in arid areas, it's either restricted today or ultimately gone tomorrow. I guess the approach of burying our heads in the sand can be at least assured of an increasing sand supply to support it.
t0mbstone 5y ago
Energy consumption is not a problem, provided it comes from the sun. The sun is going to burn and blast the earth with energy, whether we harness it or not. Harnessing the sun's energy and applying it towards water desalination and distribution would allow us to grow all sort of plants (including trees) in areas that would otherwise be unable to sustain plant growth. Plants are composed largely of carbon that is extracted from the air, so the more plants you can grow, the closer we get to solving global warming.
- tsimionescu 5y ago
  > Energy consumption is not a problem, provided it comes from the sun. The sun is going to burn and blast the earth with energy, whether we harness it or not. Harnessing solar energy is not free - you still need to build solar panels or other kinds of solar plants. Producing these requires metals that need to be mined, forged and transported. Solar energy only works for half the day, and is only plentiful part of the year. Not to mention, today we need to decommission all fossil fuels in the world and replace them with renewables, also covering the energy needs of emerging countries. So while in some distant future of 100% renewables we could contemplate desalination, we can't spare any energy today towards new industries. Even so, it is unlikely that we could replace all of our current energy consumption with renewables, given the huge problems with variability, in the foreseeable future.