3 ms·

http://www.sci-news.com/geology/science-fresh-groundwater-reserves-ocean-01606.html http://www.sci-news.com/geology/science-fresh-groundwater-re...

by swatkat 13y ago

schiffern 13y ago
>"Knowing about these [non-renewable] reserves is great news because this volume of water could sustain some regions for decades" Let's destroy a 100,000 year old fresh water ecosystem so we can push off sustainable water systems for a few decades! Liquidate our ecological life-support system and name it "growth"? Not a smart move, space monkeys. http://i.imgur.com/gH0VvPD.jpg http://i.imgur.com/gH0VvPD.jpg
- ryan_j_naughton 13y ago
  At the rate we are daming rivers, we will destroy many river ecosystems. This seems less harmful than dams and could be a bridge until the energy costs of desalination are low enough . If this discovery spurs investment in desalination (since this is simply cheaper desalination due to the lower salinity) that would an added benefit as it would accelerate the move toward desalination. Perhaps we could skip the dams entirely.
  - wavefunction 13y ago
    We could stop and reverse damming rivers. That's another alternative. Less people living in deserts. Less people in general. I'd rather pursue those than start messing with yet another part of the planet.
  - __alexs 13y ago
    Energy prices are unlikely to be low enough to support desalination in our life times. Water prices will have to rise to support it.
- 7952 13y ago
  For it to be an ecosystem it needs a community of living organisms. If they find no living organisms in the water it isn't any more of an ecosystem than an oil well is. In fact onshore aquifers have very low levels of bacteria which makes them a good source of drinking water. I understand that there may be negative consequences but it is worth more research.
  - schiffern 13y ago
    Ecosystems can be difficult to detect, since they're not always extensive. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_fall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_fall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemotroph https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemotroph Of course, the point isn't whether or not it's an ecosystem. The point is that we just discovered this, and already we contemplate destroy it. We should first figure out what role it plays in planetary dynamics.

http://www.sci-news.com/geology/science-fresh-groundwater-reserves-ocean-01606.html http://www.sci-news.com/geology/science-fresh-groundwater-re...

by swatkat 13y ago

http://www.sci-news.com/geology/science-fresh-groundwater-reserves-ocean-01606.html http://www.sci-news.com/geology/science-fresh-groundwater-re...

schiffern 13y ago

>"Knowing about these [non-renewable] reserves is great news because this volume of water could sustain some regions for decades" Let's destroy a 100,000 year old fresh water ecosystem so we can push off sustainable water systems for a few decades! Liquidate our ecological life-support system and name it "growth"? Not a smart move, space monkeys. http://i.imgur.com/gH0VvPD.jpg http://i.imgur.com/gH0VvPD.jpg

ryan_j_naughton 13y ago
At the rate we are daming rivers, we will destroy many river ecosystems. This seems less harmful than dams and could be a bridge until the energy costs of desalination are low enough . If this discovery spurs investment in desalination (since this is simply cheaper desalination due to the lower salinity) that would an added benefit as it would accelerate the move toward desalination. Perhaps we could skip the dams entirely.
- wavefunction 13y ago
  We could stop and reverse damming rivers. That's another alternative. Less people living in deserts. Less people in general. I'd rather pursue those than start messing with yet another part of the planet.
- __alexs 13y ago
  Energy prices are unlikely to be low enough to support desalination in our life times. Water prices will have to rise to support it.
7952 13y ago
For it to be an ecosystem it needs a community of living organisms. If they find no living organisms in the water it isn't any more of an ecosystem than an oil well is. In fact onshore aquifers have very low levels of bacteria which makes them a good source of drinking water. I understand that there may be negative consequences but it is worth more research.
- schiffern 13y ago
  Ecosystems can be difficult to detect, since they're not always extensive. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_fall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_fall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemotroph https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemotroph Of course, the point isn't whether or not it's an ecosystem. The point is that we just discovered this, and already we contemplate destroy it. We should first figure out what role it plays in planetary dynamics.