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With all the smart people in California I wonder why they can't convert ocean water into fresh water? Seems a good desalinization plant instead of all those big

With all the smart people in California I wonder why they can't convert ocean water into fresh water? Seems a good desalinization plant instead of all those big houses next to the ocean would do wonders. Back in the day, government would solve problems, like building the Hoover Dam or the Erie Canal. Now they just find ways to scare us and create shortages, while they all get rich. It's the new carbon tax scheme all over again, this time for fresh water.

bovermyer 5y ago
The government is rarely as malicious, unified, and competent as most people believe. Regarding desalinization... that's not really my area of expertise, but isn't desalinization really expensive/inefficient?
- nikkinana 5y ago
  Not when it's sunny like in the desert or in southern california. Run some pipes to the desert and it's mostly passive.
KineticLensman 5y ago
> why they can't convert ocean water into fresh water? Desalination has high costs, both in terms of energy and disposal of the waste products. These costs would be massive at California-scale.
- nikkinana 5y ago
  Actually not. There are a ton of ways to do it, and I'll bet if you put some smart people on it and make it a national focus it'd get done. Lots of nanotech research, it'd be trivial with that technology.
bequanna 5y ago
Desalination would be quite expensive in terms of having to essentially “manufacture” fresh water from saltwater. Then, you have to fight gravity to pump that water to a higher altitude where it is used. The cost for this water would presumably be bore by the agricultural consumers who are the majority users. Currently, the water they use is essentially free. If we start charging farmers more for water I think we’ll discover that much of this farming becomes uneconomical.
- nikkinana 5y ago
  Actually it's not. Set up some nuclear, use the waste heat to desalinize the water. Electricity problem in California = solved Water problem = lessened I'm only 19 and I figured it out. Career politicians can't because they don't want to.
freedomben 5y ago
Desal takes a tremendous amount of energy. In a state where there's already an electricity shortage to the point of rolling blackouts, I don't think desal is an option. You can't build reservoirs anymore either, so I'm not sure what else to do except population control.
- phendrenad2 5y ago
  We need a national water grid, like the national power grid.
  - supertrope 5y ago
    Water is too cheap to justify long pipelines. Unless you're willing to pay $100/barrel (vs. $0.42). Even the natural "pipeline" of the Colorado River no longer flows into the ocean.
  - nikkinana 5y ago
    Absolutely. So much water on the east coast and especially the southeast. Even if you dig down into the earth you find an almost endless supply of fresh water.
- nikkinana 5y ago
  Pipes are cheap apparently https://news.slashdot.org/story/21/07/25/1859220/two-us-companies-propose-thousands-of-miles-of-pipelines---for-capturing-carbon https://news.slashdot.org/story/21/07/25/1859220/two-us-comp...
coldtea 5y ago
>With all the smart people in California I wonder why they can't convert ocean water into fresh water? They could use a perpetual motion machine to lower costs too...
nullc 5y ago
> California I wonder why they can't convert ocean water into fresh water? There are apparently 11 desalinization plants in California today: https://www.wired.com/story/desalination-is-booming-as-cities-run-out-of-water/ https://www.wired.com/story/desalination-is-booming-as-citie...

bovermyer 5y ago

The government is rarely as malicious, unified, and competent as most people believe. Regarding desalinization... that's not really my area of expertise, but isn't desalinization really expensive/inefficient?

nikkinana 5y ago
Not when it's sunny like in the desert or in southern california. Run some pipes to the desert and it's mostly passive.

KineticLensman 5y ago

> why they can't convert ocean water into fresh water? Desalination has high costs, both in terms of energy and disposal of the waste products. These costs would be massive at California-scale.

nikkinana 5y ago
Actually not. There are a ton of ways to do it, and I'll bet if you put some smart people on it and make it a national focus it'd get done. Lots of nanotech research, it'd be trivial with that technology.

bequanna 5y ago

Desalination would be quite expensive in terms of having to essentially “manufacture” fresh water from saltwater. Then, you have to fight gravity to pump that water to a higher altitude where it is used. The cost for this water would presumably be bore by the agricultural consumers who are the majority users. Currently, the water they use is essentially free. If we start charging farmers more for water I think we’ll discover that much of this farming becomes uneconomical.

nikkinana 5y ago
Actually it's not. Set up some nuclear, use the waste heat to desalinize the water. Electricity problem in California = solved Water problem = lessened I'm only 19 and I figured it out. Career politicians can't because they don't want to.

freedomben 5y ago

Desal takes a tremendous amount of energy. In a state where there's already an electricity shortage to the point of rolling blackouts, I don't think desal is an option. You can't build reservoirs anymore either, so I'm not sure what else to do except population control.

phendrenad2 5y ago
We need a national water grid, like the national power grid.
- supertrope 5y ago
  Water is too cheap to justify long pipelines. Unless you're willing to pay $100/barrel (vs. $0.42). Even the natural "pipeline" of the Colorado River no longer flows into the ocean.
- nikkinana 5y ago
  Absolutely. So much water on the east coast and especially the southeast. Even if you dig down into the earth you find an almost endless supply of fresh water.
nikkinana 5y ago
Pipes are cheap apparently https://news.slashdot.org/story/21/07/25/1859220/two-us-companies-propose-thousands-of-miles-of-pipelines---for-capturing-carbon https://news.slashdot.org/story/21/07/25/1859220/two-us-comp...

coldtea 5y ago

>With all the smart people in California I wonder why they can't convert ocean water into fresh water? They could use a perpetual motion machine to lower costs too...

nullc 5y ago

> California I wonder why they can't convert ocean water into fresh water? There are apparently 11 desalinization plants in California today: https://www.wired.com/story/desalination-is-booming-as-cities-run-out-of-water/ https://www.wired.com/story/desalination-is-booming-as-citie...