Should all coastal areas of the world greatly increase there seawater desalination capacity?
Answer:
Desalinization plants use exorbent amounts of energy (to operate and build). I think that something this extreme should be kept in the wings as a last alternative. There are many things that can be done to conserve water first. Just to name a few:
1. rainwater collection from home and business roofs for irrigation and toilet flushing.
2. low flow everything
3. retain grey water for irrigation and toilet flushing
4.native landscaping only- (if you want St. Augustine grass in the desert then you should have to collect your own H2O to water it.)
Often conservation is an issue of innovative design techniques and retrofitting (scarey and expensive for most people)
5. manufacturing industry sharing water (Kalundborg Denmark)
6. stop trying to grow food in the desert (west Texas) and in the process increasing the salinity of aquifer water
If population continues to increase, this avenue will have to be explored. But it will require large increases in electrical requirements.
It is rather humorous that environmentalists continue to use droughts--and the subsequent lack of water--as a fear tactic to win support for their arguement. Basically this will fix the problem that is causing global climate change--OVERPOPULATION. They won't tell you this, because then they would have to admit they want us to basically limit reproduction. But droughts and disasters will bring the world back into it's own balance, as it's been doing for years. Unless you believe that human tinkering with the eco-system will be more effective than natural systems than already exist.
Absolutely & without question. The problem is that we are all f*'ed because it's not profitable to the likes of the Bushmen.
Sure. But they have to build the nuclear power plants to run them first.
I agree with Scott. Overpopulation is a huge problem that is not directly related to global warming. Increasing desalination facilities along our coasts is rough on the delicate coastal environment. We've already done enough damage by overfishing - how much further can we wreck the ocean's food chain (Don't forget that the oceans convert 75% of the global CO2 into O2).
Desalinization is basically humans defying nature. Of course we all do this every day, but to the extent that we are unable to sustain a civilization in an arid region without this artificial process _ I believe that we are putting a heavier burden on the environment than with our pumping of a little more CO2 into the air.
I would definetly think so.You said coastal areas;do you really think that the coastal areas will be only ones affected?There is alot of fresh water in the north and south poles.If they were to melt the great lakes would swallow up all areas regardless of who owns what.All rivers will overflow rendering farms useless for crops,roads would be taken out,communication will be affected,people isolated by flood waters,death,disease and starvation will be common.In essence water stills should be used now to help protect the nation as you know it for it will change,just a matter of time.
If you can find someone who's willing to pay $15/bottle for water, I'll start building a desalinization plant.
I believe we should increase seawater desalination capacity. We as humans need desalinated water to drink. We as humans have the ability to create such. Yes it is costly. We as western minded humans do not move ourselves as often as say, birds or other animals. We are sedentary and call a location, "ours" and work to keep it as so.
The birds and other animals are part of the world we as humans live in, and we need them to be as they are.
A very large and difficult question, this is.
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