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Politics : View from the Center and Left
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To: Bread Upon The Water who wrote (136096)4/7/2010 8:07:39 PM
From: Wharf Rat  Read Replies (4) of 541957
 
There are lots of dreams which are scientifically feasible... this is only one of them. It doesn't break the laws of thermodynamics, anyway.

Desalination - Energy Down the Drain
Posted by Nate Hagens on March 2, 2009 - 9:47am

This is a guest essay by Debbie Cook, former Mayor of Huntington Beach, CA and ASPO-USA Board member. Debbie recently lost the election for the 46th Congressional district in California. It is a testament to our nations current focus that we have few leaders like her in DC aware that energy and natural resources are ultimately what we have to spend. Her essay looks at the energy required to turn ocean water into potable water. The interrelationships of energy and water in our social systems will be paramount going forward--as we need water to procure most energy and energy to procure most water. And we are learning that more money won't magically procure more of either.

Energy Down the Drain
The Next Worst Idea
The next worst idea to turning tar sands into synthetic crude is turning ocean water into municipal drinking water. Sounds great until you zoom in on the environmental costs and energetic consequences. It may be technically feasible, but in the end it is unsustainable and will be just one more stranded asset.

In 2003, I was one of two elected officials invited to serve on the California Desalination Task Force. The task force was the result of Assembly Bill 2717 (Hertzberg), authorizing the Department of Water Resources to study desalination facilities and “report on potential opportunities and impediments...”
theoildrum.com
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