How oceans can solve our freshwater crisis – For my academic interest, I was reading the article written by Brandon Griggs, CNN which was published on July 21, 2014
It’s been a cruel irony for ancient mariners and any thirsty person who has ever gazed upon a sparkling blue ocean: Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.
But imagine a coastal city of the future, say in 2035. Along with basic infrastructure such as a port, roads, sewer lines and an electrical grid, it’s increasingly likely this city by the sea will contain a newer feature.
A desalination plant.
Thanks to improved technology, turning ocean water into freshwater is becoming more economically feasible. And a looming global water crisis may make it crucial to the planet’s future.
The United Nations predicts that by 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population will suffer water shortages, especially in the developing world and the parched Middle East. Scientists say climate change is making the problem worse. Even in the United States, demand for water in drought-ravaged California and the desert Southwest is outpacing supply.
This is why a huge desalination plant is under construction in Carlsbad, California, some 30 miles north of San Diego. When completed in 2016, it will be the largest such facility in the Western Hemisphere and create 50 million gallons of freshwater a day.
This is why a huge desalination plant is under construction in Carlsbad, California, some 30 miles north of San Diego. When completed in 2016, it will be the largest such facility in the Western Hemisphere and create 50 million gallons of freshwater a day.
“Whenever a drought exacerbates freshwater supplies in California, people tend to look toward the ocean for an answer,” said Jennifer Bowles, executive director of the California-based Water Education Foundation. “It is, after all, a seemingly inexhaustible supply.”
