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Ocean Desalination
Can Ocean Desalination Solve the World's
Water Shortage?
By Earth Talk
Freshwater scarcity is already posing major problems for more than a
billion people around the world, mostly in arid developing countries.
The World Health Organization predicts that by
mid-century, four billion of us -- nearly two-thirds of the world’s present
population -- will face severe fresh water shortages.
Population Growth Drives Quest for Water by Desalination
With the human population expected to balloon another
50 percent by 2050, resource managers are increasingly looking to alternative
scenarios for quenching the world's growing thirst.
Desalination -- a process whereby highly
pressurized ocean water is pushed through tiny membrane filters and distilled
into drinking water -- is being held forth by some as one of the most promising
solutions to the problem.
But critics point out it doesn't come without its economic and
environmental costs.
Costs and Environmental Impact of Desalination
According to the non-profit Food & Water Watch, desalinated
ocean water is the most expensive form of fresh water out there, given the
infrastructure costs of collecting, distilling and distributing it.
The group reports that, in the U.S., desalinated water costs at least
five times as much to harvest as other sources of fresh water.
Similar high costs are a big hurdle to desalination efforts in poor
countries as well, where limited funds are already stretched too thin.
On the environmental front, widespread desalination could take a heavy
toll on ocean biodiversity.
"Ocean water is filled with living
creatures, and most of them are lost in the process of desalination," says Sylvia Earle, one of the world's foremost marine
biologists and a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence.
“Most are microbial, but intake pipes to desalination plants also take
up the larvae of a cross-section of life in the sea, as well as some fairly
large organisms… part of the hidden cost of doing business,” she says.
Earle also points out that the very salty residue leftover from
desalination must be disposed of properly, not just dumped back into the sea.
Food & Water Watch concurs, warning that coastal areas already
battered by urban and agricultural run-off can ill afford to absorb tons of
concentrated saltwater sludge.
Is Desalination the Best Option?
Food & Water Watch advocates instead for better freshwater
management practices.
"Ocean desalination hides the growing water supply problem
instead of focusing on water management and lowering water usage," the group reports, citing a recent study which found that
California can meet its water needs for the next 30 years by implementing
cost-effective urban water conservation.
Desalination is "an expensive, speculative
supply option that will drain resources away from more practical
solutions," the group says.
Of course, the recent California drought sent everyone back
to their drawing boards, and the appeal of desalination has revived.
A plant providing water for 110,000 customers opened in December 2015
in Carlsbad, north of San Diego, at a reported cost of $1 billion.
The practice of desalinating salt water is becoming more common
worldwide.
Ted Levin of the Natural Resources Defense Council says that
more than 12,000 desalination plants already supply fresh water in 120 nations,
mostly in the Middle East and the Caribbean.
And analysts expect the worldwide market for desalinated water to grow
significantly over the coming decades.
Environmental advocates may just have to settle for pushing to
"green" the practice as much as possible in lieu of eliminating it
altogether.
Edited by Frederic Beaudry.
Professor of Environmental Science
Education
Ph.D., Wildlife Ecology, University of Maine
M.A., Natural Resources, Humboldt State
University
B.S., Biology, Université du Québec à
Rimouski
Introduction
Associate professor of environmental science,
Alfred University
Academic publication credits
include Biological Conservation and Journal of Applied Ecology
Experience
Frederic Beaudry, Ph.D., is a former writer
for ThoughtCo who contributed articles on pollution, global warming, and
climate science for three years. He is an associate professor of environmental science
at Alfred University in New York.
Prior to teaching, Dr. Beaudry worked as a
wildlife biologist, focusing on the ecology and conservation of birds and
turtles. He has authored several scientific papers on land use and conservation
and has conducted research examining land use changes and their effects on
bird and amphibian communities. Dr. Beaudry's work can be found in
peer-reviewed journals such as Biological Conservation, Journal of
Applied Ecology, and the Journal of Wildlife Management.
Education
Dr. Beaudry has a B.S. in biology
from Université du Québec à Rimouski and an M.A. in natural resources
from Humboldt State University. He earned a Ph.D. in wildlife ecology at
the University of Maine. He also completed postdoctoral research at the University
of Wisconsin-Madison.
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