Can Ocean Desalination Solve the Worlds Water Shortage?
Dear EarthTalk: Is removing the salt from ocean water (desalination) a feasible fix for the world s shortage of fresh water? — Nora Jones, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Fresh water 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 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
Author:Larry West Fresh water scarcity水荒 is already posing major problems for more than a billion people around the world, mostly in arid干旱 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 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 m
