Not long ago, I was talking to a columnist and writer and we were discussing the need for desalination. It is my contention that desalination must be a priority, and we need to bring the cost down, and deal with the salt waste. Now then, I live out in Southern California, and water is a huge issue here. So, our think tank has been discussing some strategies for our future water infrastructure. Okay so, let's talk shall we?
It is my contention that there are ways to do this. So take the land between San Onofre and Camp Pendleton along the coast and put in ocean wave generation to power up the desalination plant, as they do take a ton of energy, then use the cross-RO-fire on a hot plate (solar heated) as the method, they have this latest desalination technology now in some Middle Eastern countries.
Next, take the left over salt and allow bacteria to eat it, and leave us with bio-fuel and minerals we need, so we have a complete system, this saves us from having to take rail cars to the desert to dump it or leach out the brine there, although we may have to do it there anyway. There is a very good TED Talk video on YouTube you ought to watch titled; Damian Palin - Mining Minerals from Seawater."
Oh, now I didn't say any of these strategies would be easy. You see, the problem with all these projects are the EIRs take years, and really the fluctuations of the Colorado snow pack and Lake Meade don't give us that much warning ahead of time. I can recall Santa Barbara building a desalination plant as their lake above them was in a severe drought, but the time they got done with the plant, financing, environmental impact reports, and bringing in all the equipment the drought was over.
Still, as populations increase the drought effect is worse and more drastic each time, thus, yes, it's both an issue of needing more, plus using what we have wisely. In fact, I wrote a decent essay about all this back in 2003 "The Flow of Water" and you know what? Since I wrote that in 2003 after following the challenges for a couple of decades, well nothing has really changed except now, another ten-years later the problem is worse. Not just here in So Cal, but really everywhere, perhaps the biggest notable places are in China, Africa, Middle East, etc.
My acquaintance suggested that the Federal Government take on this important responsibility. Okay, yes, the Federal Government could take a more decisive role, but more mandates and regulations without funding is not going to sit well with the states, counties, communities, towns, or special assessment districts. The water companies do indeed have decent PR, but the whole community needs to get on the same page. Interestingly enough, regarding politics, well, Water is so serious everyone can agree on it, it's almost above politics from a personal voter standpoint so any administration could take the lead on this.
Anyway, I was formerly in the car wash business so I do know a little about water, filtration, systems, and the industry. So, what I am saying here is; time is running out, and we are going to have to deal with this issue, make it work, float the bonds, and watch the costs or we must prepare for a time in the future where water becomes scarce. Please consider all this and think on it.
Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative eBook on Future Recycling Concepts. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/
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