Posted by Mike on November 28th, 2007 in power generation

The desalinization of seawater has been a Holy Grail for tinkerers forever. Finding a cheap, fast, mobile method of removing salt from water may be the most important scientific challenge for this century. I think by now we all can see the handwriting on the wall. Lake Lanier is about as gone as the water supply for Atlanta. California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico are all battling over water. The south is eyeing the Great Lakes as a saving supply, while the people in Michigan are unable to use their boat as the Lakes drop. And this may be just the beginning.

Now, the Indians have spoken the unspeakable: Nuclear power for desalinization. Thats right, a nuclear-powered desalination plant that sits out in the middle of the ocean, turning the salt water into potable tap water and piping it back to land to meet our various hydration-needs. Before we all go ballistic, I think we all should get a grip and look a little more objectively at this.

A few years ago, Scientific American publish a seminal article on the future of energy on this planet. They analyzed all of the possible methods of generating energy with an eye toward sustainability, impact on the planet etc.. They cover wave, wind, solar, nuclear, coal etc.. The article concluded that the only presently available, sustainable, practical solution was nuclear. Even scarier, it was in the form of a breeder reactor, one that created more fuel than it used.

Now, I know we all cringe at this, but if we calmly look at places where nuclear has been done, and done well, specifically at the French, who generate and have been generating most of their power by nuclear for years without incident, we can maybe look more objectively at this. I think that the Indians are on to something here; if we can solve the waste issue, and there seems to be some breakthrough methods of concentrating (and then encasing) the waste on the way, we might actually be able to breath and drink a little easier.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-11/ip-nd111507.php

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