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To: Chispas who wrote (66517)	7/9/2007 3:10:16 PM
From: yard_man	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 116555

I am not arguing that it isn't a problem -- tons of places where lack of potable water is a very big problem -- but 1) It is not a matter of limited supplies of water -- but water that is potable and the location of it 2) Such shortages do not threaten all the developed nations 3) Water purification is a fairly low-tech proposition -- settling, filtration, etc. 4) The problem of the southwest US is not a matter of not enough water but too much population -- the problem becomes acute when enough energy is expended to start to exceed the regions capacity to bear water consumption 5) Again, energy is a much more pressing problem -- there is not an "oil cycle or coal cycle" unless you want to think in terms of VERY, VERY long time periods compared to lifetimes The author of the article in order to make his point about water -- suggested that energy sources was just a technological problem which could be easily shifted out of -- the reverse is true -- water is there and can be purified and transported for a price -- that price is ... energy.

To: Chispas who wrote (66517)	7/13/2007 8:42:30 AM
From: yard_man	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

thought you might enjoy this snippet, since you posted earlier on the subject: >> To stay ahead, Immelt is pushing GE hard into an advanced phase of globalization he calls "in country, for the world." That may sound like some celebrity ditty composed for Live Earth, but Immelt is quite serious. He believes that by figuring out how to meet demand in these still relatively poor growth markets, he's going to achieve hard-to-imagine price breakthroughs. And here's what's truly radical: As GE and others do this, these products won't just be sold in emerging markets. Instead they'll filter back into the rich economies - a new deflationary force that should delight buyers but devastate competitors who lack a global footprint. Examples? "Water," says Immelt. "There's a shortage everywhere, even in places like California and Florida. Some systems we're working on in the Middle East, India, and China are trying to do water desalination at $0.001 per milliliter, which is an off-the-charts low cost. We'll never hit that in the U.S. But we'll hit it someplace outside. And the second we do, a huge market is going to open up inside as well." Immelt sees the same thing happening with coal-sequestration technology or MRI scanners, where GE is working on a product in China that could cut prices in half. "At the right cost point, you not only sell it in China, you open up a market among the 35% of U.S. hospitals that today cannot afford to have an MR scanner," he says. "We've got 15 or 20 projects like this that are going to open up big markets around the world over the next five years." << money.cnn.com another interesting thought in there -- someone gung-ho on housing in underdeveloped nations