What is Desalination?
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When looking to the future, and ways that we can supply our ever growing population with fresh water, the ocean, and its seemingly endless supply of water is appealing. However, that water is not usable for human life and agriculture. That's where desalination techniques come in. What is desalination? Take a look at the photo below that explains to process....
While desalination could be exactly what is needed to keep providing fresh water to the population globally, it is not without its problems. Desalination facilities are extremely costly to get up and running due to the mass equipment needed, and many that are going up around the global are corporately owned. This means that they are in it for the money. This goes back to the issues with privatization. Many of the corporations that are footing the bills for these plants also own city water supply facilities that they are not investing money in to keep working properly, and they can literally be wasting millions of gallons of fresh water through them. (Barlow, 2007).
There is of course the issue of energy use as well with desalination plants. Where is that energy coming from? Is it coal, nuclear, natural gas? Well, one of the options available is wind and sun as well. As with any new technology, the government needs to regulate water desalination plants. They need to make sure that they have strict standards, and that they are not doing more harm to the environment, because while they may be providing water, if they are destroying other natural resources or the ozone layer, then what good are they really doing us in the long run?
Water desalination is on the rise, and hopefully it can be an answer for out future problems, but it will need to be heavily regulated for that to be possible. Below are two photos, the first is of what a plant may look like and the second of ideally what desalination plants could provide to the population if used correctly and for the good of people.
There is of course the issue of energy use as well with desalination plants. Where is that energy coming from? Is it coal, nuclear, natural gas? Well, one of the options available is wind and sun as well. As with any new technology, the government needs to regulate water desalination plants. They need to make sure that they have strict standards, and that they are not doing more harm to the environment, because while they may be providing water, if they are destroying other natural resources or the ozone layer, then what good are they really doing us in the long run?
Water desalination is on the rise, and hopefully it can be an answer for out future problems, but it will need to be heavily regulated for that to be possible. Below are two photos, the first is of what a plant may look like and the second of ideally what desalination plants could provide to the population if used correctly and for the good of people.