[Fluffy]

there is an easy solution, just get rid of all the salt in the seas, then all the water will be desalinizated

[onoway]

This company is apparently doing something different in the way it is using membranes..it's using biomimicry in the design
http://www.aquaporin.dk/

What do people do with the residue of filtered water? Not only the salts but everything else as well?

[TimG]

Gerben42, on Sep 22 2010, 11:39 AM, said:

Quote

Issue 1: Do you appreciate just how much water flows down a river?

Just to get a feeling, the Indus river (one of Asia's main rivers) discharges about 6600 m³ / s into the sea. That's about 20000 bath tubs per second!

The Amazon river gets close to a million bath tubs per second.

It is not easy for me to grasp these big numbers even when put in terms of bath tubs per second. And, it is staggering to me just how much natural turnover there is in things like rivers, rainfall, and evaporation.

I live near Portland, Maine. The public water supply for about 200,000 residents of greater Portland is drawn from Sebago Lake which covers about 30,000 acres (or 47 square miles).

Every year more water is drawn from the lake by evaporation than is used in the public water supply.

[P_Marlowe]

Hanoi5, on Sep 22 2010, 08:30 AM, said:

Many countries are facing (and more will face in the future) a shortage of water. Rivers, trees and animals are also suffering from this and so I wonder what's the problem with using desalinizated sea water. Some countries have it. In fact, what about reviving rivers with it? Maybe the water cycle will start over again?

There is a cheaper and more efficient way: add vegeation to the land.

The main reason the desert zones getting bigger and bigger is, that peoble
used the forest, but did not keep the forest alive.
Bring the forest back, and you will bring the water back. (*)

But bringing the forest back, takes a long period of time, vegetation (and for
that matter trees) take a long time to grow.

And until the wilderness is feeding itself it takes time.

But: There is no other way.

(*) The reason for this is, that the vegeation stores the water, and protects the earth
from the wind, i.e. the vegetation does not only use the water, it also keeps the system
flowing.

[onoway]

This is a link I posted earlier but it is pertinent to this last comment and imo worth linking again in case it was missed...get past the first bit about the orangutans and get to what he has done and how. In 4 years he has done some amazing things.
http://www.youtube.c...vfuCPFb8wk&NR=1

[mike777]

P_Marlowe, on Sep 25 2010, 02:17 PM, said:

Hanoi5, on Sep 22 2010, 08:30 AM, said:

Many countries are facing (and more will face in the future) a shortage of water. Rivers, trees and animals are also suffering from this and so I wonder what's the problem with using desalinizated sea water. Some countries have it. In fact, what about reviving rivers with it? Maybe the water cycle will start over again?

There is a cheaper and more efficient way: add vegeation to the land.

The main reason the desert zones getting bigger and bigger is, that peoble
used the forest, but did not keep the forest alive.
Bring the forest back, and you will bring the water back. (*)

But bringing the forest back, takes a long period of time, vegetation (and for
that matter trees) take a long time to grow.

And until the wilderness is feeding itself it takes time.

But: There is no other way.

(*) The reason for this is, that the vegeation stores the water, and protects the earth
from the wind, i.e. the vegetation does not only use the water, it also keeps the system
flowing.

of course you must first prove that bigger desert zones are not in fact a good thing.

in anyevent if the northern latitudes get much warmer we all move to alaska and greenland.

Add in teck advances no problem.

People do seem to forget about technology in fields such as the brain or biology.

[P_Marlowe]

mike777, on Sep 26 2010, 09:10 PM, said:

P_Marlowe, on Sep 25 2010, 02:17 PM, said:

Hanoi5, on Sep 22 2010, 08:30 AM, said:

Many countries are facing (and more will face in the future) a shortage of water. Rivers, trees and animals are also suffering from this and so I wonder what's the problem with using desalinizated sea water. Some countries have it. In fact, what about reviving rivers with it? Maybe the water cycle will start over again?

There is a cheaper and more efficient way: add vegeation to the land.

The main reason the desert zones getting bigger and bigger is, that peoble
used the forest, but did not keep the forest alive.
Bring the forest back, and you will bring the water back. (*)

But bringing the forest back, takes a long period of time, vegetation (and for
that matter trees) take a long time to grow.

And until the wilderness is feeding itself it takes time.

But: There is no other way.

(*) The reason for this is, that the vegeation stores the water, and protects the earth
from the wind, i.e. the vegetation does not only use the water, it also keeps the system
flowing.

of course you must first prove that bigger desert zones are not in fact a good thing.

in anyevent if the northern latitudes get much warmer we all move to alaska and greenland.

Add in teck advances no problem.

People do seem to forget about technology in fields such as the brain or biology.

Ok we move to Canada, where you still have lots of area covered by forests,
or we move to Sibiria, the Taiga is also quite huge.
Please forget for the moment, that there is lots of CO2 stored in the perma
frost earth of Siberia, which will be set free, if the temperature raises, which
will certainly slow down the increase in overall temperature.

If we move everyone from area threatened by deserts up there, we will need
to replace the forests with citys, ... and so on, hopefully you can agree on this?

Hopefully the technological advances you are taking about generate enough
oxygen, since the forests wont do this for you anymore, for a not so
obvious reason, resarch to understand this is currently in the planning to be
set up.

Of course, you wont feel the lack of oxygen, and maybe your children wont either,
but I am pretty sure that your Grand Grand childrend will.
Hopefully ou know, how long it took for the Qxygen to get generated.

And ..., we need a certain amount of Oxygen in the air, otherwise our brain
functionality will slow down, which wont stop the technological advance, since
creativity is not needed.

I dont forget the power of human creativity, but one should not overestimate the
power human either.

With kind regards
Marlowe

PS: As I was talking about the time need to get the forests back, I was thinking on
forests in mediteran areas, the jungle grews faster, but even to get the jungle
back, you need time, it can be done, but you need peoble, organisations and ...
time.

[PassedOut]

P_Marlowe, on Sep 27 2010, 02:58 AM, said:

Please forget for the moment, that there is lots of CO2 stored in the perma frost earth of Siberia, which will be set free, if the temperature raises, which will certainly slow down the increase in overall temperature.

Did you really mean to say this?

[P_Marlowe]

PassedOut, on Sep 27 2010, 09:37 AM, said:

P_Marlowe, on Sep 27 2010, 02:58 AM, said:

Please forget for the moment, that there is lots of CO2 stored in the perma frost earth of Siberia, which will be set free, if the temperature raises, which will certainly slow down the increase in overall temperature.

Did you really mean to say this?

I did choose those precise words, but thanks for the italic, this would have
made the intention clearer: that this was intenteded to be a sarcastic comment,
since the post claimed, that all would be fine, if the temperature raises and we
can go to whereever.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[jdeegan]

The problem is that it takes lots of energy. This makes it too expensive nearly everywhere. The only large-scale desalination plants are in the Persian Gulf where water is scarce and energy in the form of natural gas is overflowing in abundance.